No speaker can live without personal anecdotes. When situations occur in one’s own life that are interesting or funny it is worth making a note of them and keeping them in a folder for future use. Also, when you hear of other people’s anecdotes they likewise can join the folder.
Most speeches benefit from a well-placed, relevant anecdote from real life. In humorous speeches anecdotes are often the stuff of the speech itself.
Audiences relate to speakers they like. The anecdote may forge empathy between the listeners and the speaker. The listeners may identify with the speaker through hearing the anecdote. If you can win your audience on a human level, they will listen to the rest of what you have to say.
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