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START BY SAYING THAT YOU'RE GOING TO BE QUICK
Before you begin launching into your story, let your audience know that you're going to be brief. Right up front say, "I've got a quick story for you" or "This will only take a minute." This alerts your listeners to pay attention for only a short period of time which is something that most people are willing to do. After you've done this, it's up to you to deliver on your promise by making your story brief, briskly paced, and to the point.
When you tell good stories in an interesting way, you will have a subtle positive effect on other people. It opens the door to further discussions with your listeners in the future. Otherwise, a poor display of storytelling will cause people to avoid getting into conversations with you out of their fear of being bored.
The Bottom Line
When you learn how to tell interesting stories, your self-confidence and influence will improve dramatically. All it takes is some additional awareness, accurate feedback, intelligent refinement, and practice with the purpose of getting better. Before long you'll be able to tell stories that people will naturally pay attention to because of true interest instead of forcing themselves to listen out of mere courtesy. Both you and your audiences will be happier when you develop this important, yet largely underappreciated skill.
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