There’s nothing like a story to add impact to your presentation or speech, and especially if it’s a story of your own.

I’m thinking about the distinction between a story based on something that you did or something that happened to you, versus a story that revolves around someone else.

You’ll find several advantages to telling your own stories, even if they seem modest compared to the stories of others.

First, when you tell you own story, you don’t have memorize as much. After all, you know how the story began, developed, and concluded. You don’t have to worry as much about the details, because they’ll come to you as you speak.

Second, telling your own stories involves a sincerity that you won’t achieve by telling someone else’s story that you read in a magazine. You may not be able to tell the difference, but listeners will. First hand accounts almost always trump second hand accounts.

Third, you have more discretion in shaping your stories to fit a larger theme or framework. Perhaps you’ll talk about a camping trip to illustrate the importance of always being prepared. In this case, you can pick and choose from among the details so you have set the context for the moral of the story.

And, if you feel there just aren’t enough good stories in your personal experience, then spend a few minutes watching Seinfeld, the ultimate expression of making mountains out of life’s little molehills.