Public Speaking - How To Uncover Interesting Stories To Be More Effective

Stories will add interest and sparkle to any speech. They will brighten up the speech and the audience. They are great at gaining the audience's attention and illustrating the main points of the speech. They make for more interesting and effective public speaking.

For stories to be effective they need to meet certain criteria guidelines:-

1) Be appropriate for the occasion

2) Not be offensive to the audience

3) Be relevant to your topic or the point you are making

4) Not be so well-known the the audience loses interest because they have heard it too many times

5) Have some drama, action or suspense The most effective stories to use in public speaking are human interest in nature and the more personal to you the better.

The sources where stories can be found, in order of preference are;-

1) Your own experiences and life

Your personal experiences should be the primary source of material for your speech. It is those things that happen to you and around you as you go through life. The stories may be as simple as splinter in the toe or full of mixed emotions such a date that did not work out. Take a keen interest in what is going on around you in your daily life and you will soon acquire a vast storehouse of stories that can be added to your speaking repertoire.

2) Newspapers/Magazines

These are an excellent source of stories for the public speaker. The best stories to use for a speaker are not the headline news but the smaller stories found throughout the publications. When checking through a publication, the speaker should have in mind their theme or topic.

3) Books/TV/Film

These can be fertile fields for interesting stories. The speaker should read and watch a great number of biographies looking for human interest stories. As with the newspaper you are looking for stories that are unusual and also believable.

4) The Internet

The internet is the last place to look for stories. There are 2 reasons a) it is likely that audience will be over-familiar with them, and b) The internet cannot be relied on as an accurate source. But there are times when unusual interesting stories are reported on that are perfect for illustrating your message or point.

As you come across stories that could be useful, note them down so you don't have to rely on your memory. Build yourself a storehouse of stories by developing a filing system by theme either electronically or physically. You will be able to find them when you need them for a speech.

Finding interesting stores takes more effort than using tired and over-used stories but the rewards are worth it for you and your audience. The audience will be more engaged and interested in what you have to say. Your effectiveness in public speaking will improve (you can also use the stories to develop your conversation in the same way). So get started playing closer attention to your life and be on the look out for those interesting stories that will make for more effective public speaking.