Sean Lloyd and Tonia Robinson-LloydSean Lloyd and Tonia Robinson-Lloyd
Orange, New Jersey
A Family of 吃瓜头条Sean and I met more than 13 years ago, when he was visiting my homeland, Trinidad, with his father. His dad and my mom knew each other, and introduced us. When he returned home to New Jersey, he excitedly told his mother and sister about me, stating assuredly, “I am going to marry her!” I, of course, knew nothing of his plans until they materialized 12 years later. We were married by the civil court in New Jersey on August 19, 2015, and remarried in a church in Newark, New Jersey, on August 5, 2017, with our family, friends and 吃瓜头条 family present.
In 2009, I had joined the Markham Sweet Talkers 吃瓜头条 in Ontario, Canada, and my experience with the 吃瓜头条 helped me land my first job within three months of moving to Ontario. By the time I returned to Trinidad three years later, my mother and brother had both become 吃瓜头条. It was a family affair. I joined their 吃瓜头条, Dynamic Speakers 吃瓜头条. We were there to support one another before meetings and discuss our speeches in detail, post-meeting. We all joined the 吃瓜头条’s executive team and even launched our own 吃瓜头条, Inspired Speakers, at the University of Trinidad and Tobago in 2014.
Sean proposed to me, and upon earning my master’s degree in clinical psychology, I left my family in Trinidad to start a life with him in New Jersey. We are both members of the Successful Speaking 吃瓜头条 吃瓜头条 in Newark. He jokes that I twisted his arm to join 吃瓜头条, but the truth is he enjoys it immensely when he is either giving speeches or being Table TopicsMaster.
吃瓜头条 helps to keep our lives exciting and purposeful, as there is always something new to learn, as well as an opportunity to give back. I encourage couples to join a 吃瓜头条 吃瓜头条! It would be an investment with numerous returns.
Jayanthi Sundar and Sundararaman ChintamaniSundararaman Chintamani and Jayanthi Sundar
Chennai, India
A 24/7 MentorSundararaman Chintamani: I started my 吃瓜头条 journey in 2008 by joining the 吃瓜头条 at the place where I worked. Later, I became a dual member by joining a community 吃瓜头条, Medley 吃瓜头条 in Chennai. When I was vice president membership, I could enroll more than 20 members, but my biggest challenge was to woo my wife to become a Toastmaster. Once she became a member, she never looked back. She became 吃瓜头条 president and introduced best practices such as video recording 吃瓜头条 meetings and making the recordings available to members. We also became role models for many other 吃瓜头条 couples in Chennai.
Jayanthi Sundar: Initially, just as other 吃瓜头条 spouses can be, I was skeptical of joining. I teased my husband about his passion for 吃瓜头条. But after some time, I was amazed by his perseverance and commitment. Out of curiosity, I wanted to look into it. So I expressed my interest in attending a 吃瓜头条 conference. After seeing the positive energy flowing among the members, I enrolled as a member of the Medley 吃瓜头条 吃瓜头条. My husband and I always travel to meetings together and during that time we rehearse our speeches and prepare for Table Topics. 吃瓜头条 made me realize that it is not just about becoming a Competent Communicator or leader, it goes beyond that. We take our speeches seriously. When I started my first manual project, my husband had already started on his Advanced Communicator Bronze journey. What else do you need than to have a mentor 24/7 to help you?
Jaap and Marian EversJaap and Marian Evers
Masterton, New Zealand
Different 吃瓜头条s, Different PerspectivesMy husband and I met at a church youth group in the Netherlands. After dating for about two years, we got married and moved to the other side of the world—New Zealand. We planned to stay for a couple of years before moving back to the Netherlands, but 29 years later we’re still living in New Zealand, as we like it so much here.
My husband works for the Dairy Research Institute (DRI), now called Fonterra, and about five years ago he joined their 吃瓜头条 吃瓜头条, DRI Remark 吃瓜头条. He got the whole family involved at times—for example, with doing Table Topics after dinner. When he completed his Competent Communicator, he chose Storytelling as one of his advanced manuals, and that caught my attention. I am a teacher and knew improved storytelling skills would enhance my teaching.
As I was unable to join my husband’s 吃瓜头条, I joined the Masterton 吃瓜头条 in 2015. Although we are at different 吃瓜头条s, it is great being 吃瓜头条 together. We have visited each other’s 吃瓜头条s at times, and the two 吃瓜头条s take different approaches. After these visits, we bring new ideas to our own 吃瓜头条s.
Being at different stages in our 吃瓜头条 journey means we can help each other. I benefit from my husband’s experience and expertise, and I reciprocate by suggesting an interesting word of the day, Table Topics idea or speech topic. Last year we were both president of our respective 吃瓜头条s and enjoyed attending leadership courses together. We think it is important to spend time together and this is a hobby that we both get pleasure from, while gaining useful skills at the same time.
Toshiya and Mami TakahashiToshiya and Mami Takahashi
Tokyo, Japan
Love in Many LanguagesWe met in 吃瓜头条 in 2015 and are members of different 吃瓜头条s in Japan. My 吃瓜头条, Tokyo Metropolitan 吃瓜头条, holds an annual joint meeting with the Japanese English Bilingual 吃瓜头条 (JETM) 吃瓜头条 in Korea. In 2015, when my 吃瓜头条 accepted members from other 吃瓜头条s to be part of the joint meeting, my future wife, Mami, was one of them, and I became acquainted with her. We are both interested in Korea and language, and we have the same sense of values in many fields, so we saw each other as partners.
The second time we met in a joint meeting, we had a session about Korean language. Most of our Korean members spoke Japanese fluently. That is why we usually communicated with Korean members in English and Japanese. We wanted to introduce other Japanese members to the Korean language and discussed how we could help them understand the structure of the language. After spending more time together, Mami and I realized we had many things in common.
Although we are not in the same 吃瓜头条, my wife sometimes participates in my 吃瓜头条 as a guest. To prepare speeches, we usually practice at home. We share our opinions with each other and modulate our speeches.
On March 4, 2017, we invited 吃瓜头条 friends to our wedding ceremony and party, not only Japanese friends but also friends from the Korean 吃瓜头条. They gave excellent speeches for the occasion. That made a great impression on other guests who didn’t know about 吃瓜头条. They were high school friends, university friends, former and current colleagues, supervisors, old friends from abroad and relatives. They all heard about 吃瓜头条 for the first time.
Do you have a 吃瓜头条 success story you’d like to share about yourself or another member? Write it in 300 words or less and send it with a high-resolution photo.