Speaker coach Mark Travis suggests you can expand time to emphasize a critical point in your story. Say a trigger phrase that puts your story in slow motion and describe in detail how you think and feel at that moment. Then use a trigger phrase to get the story out of slow motion and into regular time again.
For example, if you're telling a story about the time you forgot an important meeting, you could say: "And I was sitting at my desk thinking, "Wasn't there something I was supposed to be at right now?" and then it hit me: "Oh no! The meeting! I'm missing the meeting!" I feel an absolute terror coming over me, starting in the center of my stomach and spreading over my whole body, until I feel terror at the top of my head the tips of my feet. I sit in my chair, shaking, unable to move. "This is the meeting I couldn't miss! And now I've missed it!" I look up and my boss is standing over my desk, looking angrily at me, saying, "Why aren't you at the meeting?" I look up and stare at him, still shaking. And my boss said, "That's it. Clear out your desk. You've gotta go."
Expanding,
Tim Wilson
Professional Speech Coach
Free speaking tips at: http://speakingquicktips.blogspot.com
