One way i found to get the crowd interested is through all my performing arts classes
Stop with the ums, urs and i thinks.
Get rid of anything that isnt part of the point at all
Reenact everything "I was amazingly tired running up this hill (Act out over the top wheezing)"
Gestures are important
Open body language
Be loud and self interested in your story
Eye contact (To the group or to the singular)
Smile
Even the simplest of stories (E.g took me hours to find my phone) can be dramatically told to get attention, try to add humor in unlikely places and sure you can have some leeway in the story.
Hope that helps!