Why Your Stories Fall Flat

Read on my website | Read Time: 3 Minutes

Last week, I asked 87 professionals a simple question in my live webinar:

I gave them 30 seconds to answer out loud (while muted).

Here's what happened. Most people couldn't finish their answer in time.

When I asked how many got their first sentence out in under 10 seconds, the chat filled with "no" and "maybe 15 seconds."

These weren't inexperienced speakers. These were managers, consultants, and team leaders who communicate for a living.

So what went wrong?

The Real Reason You Ramble (It's Not What You Think)

The problem isn't that the question was hard. It's personal, low-stakes, and you definitely have an answer.

The problem is that most people start speaking without a clear structure. They dive into backstory, context, and details before ever stating their main point.

It's like giving someone directions by describing every building you'll pass instead of just telling them the address first.

When you don't have a strong opening sentence, you're doomed to ramble. I'm just going to say it.

But here's the good news: there's a stupidly simple framework that fixes this immediately.

The PREP Framework: Your Anti-Rambling System

PREPS stands for:

• Point (your bottom line up front)
• Reason (why you believe this)
• Example (story or data that proves it)
• Point (restate your main idea)
• (Optional) So What (why it matters to them)

Let me show you how this works with that same question: "What's one of the best things that's happened to you this year?"

Here's how I answered it during the webinar (see video here of my demonstration):

"One of the best things that's happened to me this year was seeing my sister get married." (Point - 7 seconds)

"What was crazy was just last month, she had a collapsed lung. She's 2 years younger than me, and we weren't even sure if the wedding would take place." (Reason - why it matters. She was dealing with a major obstacle.)

"But luckily, we were able to have it in Atlanta, Georgia, where I'm from, and she was even able to last the entire 2 days. Just was a little bit tired, but she made it through." (Example - the specific story, add key details.)

"It was fantastic to see." (Point restated - circles back)

Notice what I did:

1. Led with the answer in one clear sentence
2. Explained why it was meaningful
3. Gave specific details that created a picture
4. Brought it back to the main point

The entire answer took less than 40 seconds and felt complete.

Why Personal Questions Are Your Secret Weapon

Here's what makes this approach powerful: I'm teaching you PREPS using a personal question, not a professional one.

Why?

Because personal questions are:

• Lower stakes (less pressure)
• Easier to practice (you always have answers)
• More relatable (everyone can do this)

Try This Today

Most communication training makes you practice with high-pressure professional scenarios right away. That's backwards.

You need to build the muscle memory with low-stakes questions first.

Try this right now:

1. Set a 45-second timer
2. Answer this question out loud: "What's something you're looking forward to this week?"
3. Use PREPS: State your answer in one sentence, give a reason, add an example, circle back

Did you finish in time? Did your first sentence come out clearly?

If not, that's exactly why you ramble in meetings, interviews, and presentations. You haven't practiced the framework enough on easy questions yet.

The beauty of PREPS is that once you master it on personal questions, it transfers seamlessly to professional scenarios:

• "What's your recommendation for the Q4 strategy?" → PREPS
• "Tell me about a time you handled conflict" → PREPS
• "How would you approach this customer issue?" → PREPS

Same framework. Different context. Instant clarity.

For a deeper dive into how to apply this framework across different question types, check out my previous article on how to sound clear and intelligent when you're put on the spot.

The Bottom Line

Rambling isn't a personality flaw. It's a structure problem.

Smart people ramble because they haven't practiced organizing their thoughts with a simple framework like PREPS.

Start with personal questions. Build the habit. Then watch it transform every high-pressure conversation you have.

Your next meeting, interview, or presentation will thank you.