How to Tell Stories 

How can you tell or write exciting stories? I have a friend who always gets halfway through her story, and she feels the need to hurry it up because she’s like, "God, I've spoken for so long." And she thinks people lose interest, so she shuts down. Why is that? 

We all know people like this who doubt themselves. Their feelings probably aren't wrong, but they don't know how to interpret them, it seems. If this is the case on how they are about the matter, two things might have gone wrong with how I think about it. Either you stretch out the story too much by giving too many details repeating yourself, or in any way or form provide more information than is actually needed. Or you haven't yet figured out how to make your story entertaining at all times to the point where you feel it yourself. 

Think of your accounts like a novel, a series, or a movie that really has an exciting premise, and think about where the writer fails to keep the pacing right or succeed in it. That’s the key you're looking for since, based on the phrasing, it doesn't seem like you lack the exciting bits that form your stories. Capture attention before you start. Use preamble; you can repeat some words twice, so address people by their name to grab attention. Don't ever get into a story without first having attention. Commit to your account, commit to your humor, and play your character's voice body language experiment. Notice people's reaction to your story; notice how and why you lose people's attention. Get their attention, and make sure you answer side questions before plowing ahead with the story. Be animated, because if you're not excited about the story, you can't expect your audience to be excited about the story. Set up the account if it’s a "true story", and last but not least, practice the story. 

When it comes to people who are successful at a particular skill, it's pretty much always both. At the highest level, you don't only need instinctual talent. You need to be conscious of what you're doing and how you're doing it well. That way, you don't stagnate. However, talent helps you learn faster, and the instinctual aspect increases your experimentation's success rate to be the best. Getting people's attention is concise and adding spice in the moment of a story to see which part has vibed with your audience.