These are really great ideas.

Have to say I am a little playfully jealous that people compliment you for telling great stories.

For me, I have found writing about my personal experiences to be a wonderful way to express myself, and invite others to relate with me back.

There is a lot of baggage I carry around. Telling an extended story in voice is very hard for me to do. My folks could never listen to, "how was your day?" without redirecting my mention of hardships into fluff they felt more at ease thinking about. I think I became so used to letting others interrupt and hijack my turn to speak, that I default into always turning my stories into an open-ended conversation, to allow others a chance to relate and share their experience with me. I became a better listener.

Let me know if you have tips to find a more captive audience. Is there a secret sauce when hanging out at a BBQ to get people to lean in and listen to you share, so they don't try to cut you off? Social parties can sometimes make me very anxious when I run out of opportunities to regain a chance to speak or finish what I start to say. Is it better to accept others will always be quicker to dominate, or can this be improved to develop captivating charm to keep everyone in the palm of my hand to tell a short story?