How to Use Stories in Speeches

In his winning speech presented at the 2000 Toastmasters World Championship of Public Speaking®, Ed Tate told a story. Called “One of Those Days,” the speech made a strong point, but it also helped the audience—and judges—see, feel, smell, hear, and taste the experience Tate described. That’s how it helped him prevail over some very tough competition.

Crafting your entire speech as a story is one way to use stories in public speaking. To some extent it depends on the subject matter, but most subjects can be approached narratively.

You could also just lead off with a brief story, such as something that happened to you or someone else, or a folktale, or even a simple narrative joke. Ensure the meaning is clear enough that the opening segues easily into the rest of your speech. And keep it brief, so you have time for everything else you want to say.

Or, you can tell a story or two in the course of your speech to vividly illustrate points. You might simply pause before you do, as long as it’s clear that’s what it is—a pause. You could also say, “Let me tell you a story,” then pause when it’s over.

Finally, you might end with a story. This is probably the least common use of storytelling in speeches, unless you add a “clincher” line of your own afterward to wrap everything up.

When you choose a story, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Will I feel comfortable telling this story to any audience, no matter their age, gender, class, or ethnicity? Should I alter it a little depending on the audience?
2. Does the story clearly make the point that I intend it to?
3. Is the story so long that the audience loses track of what is going on in the speech, and if so, can I shorten it?

By the way, Ed Tate ran out of time before he could tell the moral of his story. When he told me that afterward, I said he was lucky. The speech clearly worked better without it. No moralizing needed. If your entire speech is a story, give the audience, and yourself, the benefit of the doubt that you crafted it well enough that they will understand your meaning.

Just as when you tell a joke, you get the strongest response when you leave the interpretation to the audience.

—Caren Neile