Make them relive it

Two ways to tell the same thing. "I was nervous" reports it. "Wet hair, one coat of mascara, a yellow dress"—and the person is back in the room with you. The first one they hear. The second one they relive.

I found this prepping a speech that already had a spine. What it was missing wasn't more story—it was the detail I'd left on the floor. The cologne. The yellow dress. The bellyache. The five senses, made specific. Put those back and the words stop being a summary. People live it.

So when something you're telling falls flat, don't reach for more story. Go back into the one you already have and find the detail you skipped.