Let’s say you were stuck in traffic today. Sure, you could tell the full story—how your day was rough, you had back-to-back meetings, left work drained, got stuck for an hour, roads packed, all you wanted was to be home.

You could tell that story—but let’s be honest, speaking for minutes might feel awkward. And honestly, it can get a bit boring.

So instead, zoom in on one specific moment. Here’s how that idea could be expressed as a micro story:

“Just today, I was sitting in my car, stuck in traffic, thinking—this is madness. How is traffic this bad at 1:00 p.m.? Man, I hate the city.”

Same story, but now you’re in the moment. It’s real. Emotional. Personal.

You can zoom in by sharing your inner dialogue. What were you thinking in that exact moment?

Here’s another example.

Let’s say you got praise at work. Sure, you could tell the full story—how you prepared for a big presentation, felt nervous, powered through, and your team liked it. Then your manager came up and said you did a great job.

You could tell all that. But again, speaking for minutes might feel awkward. And it might not land as well.

So zoom into a moment. This is how it might look as a micro story:

“Today, my manager walked over and said, ‘Hey, that presentation—you nailed it. Seriously, great work.’ And I just stood there smiling like a 10-year-old boy who had just won the lottery.”

Same story—but now we’re in the moment with you. It’s clear. Specific. Memorable.

In that example, I zoomed in using outer dialogue. Instead of summarizing, I quoted exactly what someone said to me in that moment. Those little shifts make your story feel more real.