How to Find Stories for your Next Speech?

We all love stories, don’t we? But then where do stories come from? History, epics, books, mythology, experiences and so on. The source may vary, but the impact of a great story lingers on. We consume stories in different forms. Read a physical book, listen to an e-book; read a blog like this one, or even a live narration by a friend at a local tea shop! For a public speaker, stories are the glue that connects the audience with the content. So, we speak on various issues or topics, for a different audience at different times. Where do we get stories that fit seamlessly into our narrative?

Sometimes when we are driving down the countryside, we often see trees laden with fruits. In summers, it's often mangoes. Sometimes, we stop, hop across, pluck it and enjoy it on the journey ahead. Stories are something very similar. Stories are happening all around us, right from the moment, we step out of our homes. Waiting to be discovered right around the corner - at a traffic signal, on the side street, in the lift and so on. But then why don't we find them? Because we are too often engrossed in our thoughts or mobile phones. We miss out on these amazing stories that are right around us. What if we can put a process to the whole thing?

Here is a small checklist of actionable tips to identify the stories around us and use them in our speaking: -

1. Be observant as a habit. When you are travelling or taking your dog out for a walk or even when reading the newspaper, watch out for stories. Develop an eye for the underlying human value. After all, you would spot the mango tree by the countryside only when you observe. 
2. Once you spot a story, pluck it out from the view or article that you read. An incident or anecdote becomes a speaker's story when we can connect it with a human value. So, pull out your notepad or Evernote and scribble it down in as much detail as possible, while it is fresh in memory. The way you would pluck the ripest looking fruit from the tree! 
3. So, you saw a tree, stopped and plucked the fruit? What do you do right after? Clean it and if need be, peel it and chop off the stem and leaves. Right? That's what you do to your story as well. Take your scribbled notes and edit them out. Remove every word or line that is surplus to requirement. Flesh out the core of the story that conveys the message in the shortest possible duration. 
4. Now, if you are serving the fruit to your family or kids, you would probably slice it up or sprinkle a bit of spice mix on it. Do the same for the story. Flesh it out and arrange the order of sentences to maximise the impact of the story. Add a few histrionics and touch it up with a bit of humour or pathos if applicable.  

Voila! Your story is ready to be consumed and relished by your audience. A story is not a filler or a nice-to-have in your speech. It is a powerful tool to connect with your audience and engage them at an emotional level. So, watch out! There might be a beautiful story lurking right around you!