Even if your stories are classics and you just can't bring yourself to lie about them (No good deed goes unpunished), you should, still, begin your presentation with a "personal" story as a warmup. Audiences are more comfortable with reality (real or imagined) and, once you've got them, you can lay on the gnomes and trolls with abandon. I am not suggesting that you start off with, "Once upon a time, I was a princess in a tower." You can, and should, tell about something that really happened to you or to a relative but, if your life has been truly uneventful, you'll have to borrow a little.

                           Mike