ira glass recently gave a talk on how to tell a story

...here are his pointers

• Builds momentum, slowly but surely. Listeners will hang tight when you build suspense, sequencing one event or step after another. We're all hungering for surprise (the media too).
• Features multiple characters. Use different voices (with all their intonations, accents, and other specs) to highlight interplay among characters; otherwise you're doing a monologue -- much less interesting than multiple points of view.
• Casts the right storyteller. Whose perspective will shape the most compelling tale?
• Is specific. The details -- like the minutia that make up your life -- make it real. Like it or not, that's what 90% of our daily life is made of.
• Connects pieces and voices in an overall theme. Make sure to step away here and there to frame events in a context that ties them together. That's your theme.
• Uses music to build suspense. For greatest impact, stop the music for a few seconds of silence before your revelation. But make sure the music doesn't overwhelm the teller's voice or distract from the story.