TRICIA WATSON OFFERS a curt but firm handshake as we enter West Coast Legal, an unmistakeably burnt-orange coloured chambers in St James.
The precision of the interaction quickly revealed the attorney-at-law was a textbook Type A personality – a characteristic she readily admits.
In the midst of serious conversation however, Tricia’s Blackberry blurted a quirky tune from the popular Santana web series out of Trinidad and Tobago.
“That tells you a lot, doesn’t it? And if you hear my alerts, it would tell you even more!” she quipped with a carefree laugh.
It really was telling: there was a diverse personality not too far under the surface of a 44-year-old with numerous titles, professional achievements and clear-cut ambition.
“People see me and think I am very serious and unapproachable and reserved and it is really funny to me and probably to my friends, because a lot of the time I am the bigger clown, and I have a wry sense of humour.”
While practising law for the last 19 years, mainly in corporate and managerial positions, Tricia has never stopped looking for items to check off her short-term bucket list.
Moderating on Brass Tacks was one of them.
“I have always been interested in . . . having a voice with what is going on in this country,” she explained in the waiting area of the chambers she shared with Claire Lewis.
“I thought it was a good vehicle for having a voice. I hope we can have an influence, and people who don’t feel inclined to call will call, and see it as a mechanism to speak . . . .
“Not everyone will be involved in active politics, but I know there are many people who are interested in how the country is going and want to be involved. They don’t want to join a political party, but they think that is the only way, and it can’t be the only way.”
Tricia has been on the air since January, alternating Wednesdays with Corey Layne.
“Actually doing it is scary; you are thinking on your feet and you have to respond to different people with different agendas and subject matter areas . . . . I was excited but nervous, and I knew that either it was going to work out, or it wasn’t,” she added.
“But I can say that I did this thing that was a challenge and against the norm, and I like that. I like newness and I like change.”
Describing her moderation style, Tricia said she encouraged callers to look at the positive in our island, as well as find solutions for daily problems which do not require governmental intervention.
“We have done a lot of complaining but the solutions are within us. My question [to callers] is: ‘are we doing what we can do to help arrest the problems that we are facing’?’
With the foray into broadcasting, the proud product of Queen’s College also had to balance the rigours of her business, which celebrated its five-year anniversary on April 2.
“It is a bit of a struggle, because you are at a stage when you want more [out of] life but because you have a new practice, you have to work as hard as you would if you had just came out of school and you are proving yourself . . .”
But ever the ambitious one, Tricia was still planning to expand the scope of the business.
“We are actually in discussions with two other attorneys with a view of starting a firm . . . We want to go out there with a new brand, new firm and delivering law in a modern way.
“We want to be non-traditional. We want to work in partnership with the clients, instead of the attorney just forging ahead and the client just hears from time to time what is going on.”
Her assertively non-traditional approach to law has also been brought to bear in her fashion-forward dress style and natural hairstyle.
Tricia loves bold prints and sleeveless dresses, bringing out the suit only as necessary. While she has received comments about both, the professional has chosen not to conform.
“You always hear about the ‘they’ that tell you about the rules. Who is this ‘they?’ . . . Individually we decide what we want to do with our fashion, bodies, style and taste . . .
“I think in traditional professions there are a lot of limitations, but I have shrugged off a lot of [them]. If it doesn’t work for me then I am not going to do it.”
In addition to being a commentator, attorney-at-law and working with the National Anti-Doping Council, Tricia also tries to find the time for “serious amateur” photography, choosing uniquely Barbadian art pieces and is an unabashedly avid Crop-Over lover. She also believed in finding time for doing absolutely nothing and hanging out with friends.
“For young people they think that your life shrinks when you get older but that is not true – there is more to do. If you are like me and you are always looking for the next challenge and the next big thing, then there really is no slowing down [and] you have to slot in that relaxation time,” she said frankly.
“We are pressured to constantly be on the go – that is the new world culture. No one wants to say that they are home just doing nothing, but that is necessary. Sometimes one needs to be at home doing nothing constructive.”
So what is Tricia’s next big thing? More giving back!
“I want to start something that is geared towards young women. I think that our young women have not been taught a lot of life skills. When I am on the road and I see some of them who are new to womanhood . . . and I wonder if they appreciate how time goes. If there was one thing I would like to say to young girls is that times flies and you have to focus a lot on self-development.”
She wants to create an opportunity for successful women to provide assistance for young women entering the workforce for the first time, focussing on dress, conduct as well as handling people and social situations.
“Some women are naturally strong and some aren’t. But you can bring strengths to bear when you feel daunted. We can help young women feel stronger,
