Thank you all for your awesome post and advice. This place is pretty incredible when I actually put into practice some of the techniques. I have hit my next hurtle that I would like to overcome.

There are plenty of interesting and funny stories in my life that I am willing to share but my problem is that my method of telling them is horrible. I can kill the emotion of the story trying to convey even my funniest times because I suck at story telling.

Do you have links or suggestions on how to become a better story teller? Thank you.

Edit: Thanks for all the responses I am going to summarize some of the points that stuck with me

  • Give only the necessary details in a story; to much detail can make people become uninterested.

  • Keep the story short and to the point. People have short attention spans and a long winded story can cause a loss of interests very quickly.

  • Make sure the story is in context with the current conversation. The funniest storys should only be told if the topic in the current conversation is on that subject.

  • Become animated when telling a story. When telling a story you must be the "actor" so make sure you tell the story in an interesting way

  • Add embellishments to the story when possible. If you can exaggerate points in the story DO IT!

  • Take notes on good story tellers in your life and notice how they keep their audience, big or small, infatuated and compelled while listening to the story.

  • Basic elements of a story

    1. Rising Action (This is the point of the story to introduce all important characters in the story)

    2. Climax (The punchline of your story)

    3. Resolution (This should be very brief and wrap up the story to make it complete)

  • Practice, practice, practice. As your telling the story judge the audiences attentiveness and interest in the story and notice the times you hold the attention and the times when you can see its slipping.

  • Smile!

  • Slow down when talking because you are probably going faster than you think. Speaking fast can reek of lack of confidence.

  • Take a look at this thread. It offeres many other good points Thanks vj88 for sharing.

  • If you can include the people that are around you in the story do it. Even if no one in the group is in the story make a connection with one of your characters and a group member. This could be similar personalities, looks, ect... When you bring people into the story they can connect better and therefore will be more interested.