I was in the cafeteria this afternoon eating lunch with the rest of my buddies. When I began to tell the story (more of a joke about a friend of mine actually), most seemed to be disinterested and had quiet, side-conversations going while very few people were actually paying close attention.

Then the problem arose. My buddy and his brother got offended during the middle of my story/joke about him and continually kept interrupting. I tried to keep my cool and ignore this, going on with the story, but they CONTINUALLY interrupted and didn't allow me to finish the story. They were spewing phrases like "nobody is listening" and "nobody cares" over and over again.

Basically, I responded with something along the lines of "it's a joke, relax, don't get so uptight about it... anyways.. blah blah blah." I attempted to go on with the story for the few people that actually were listening, but things sort of broke apart after what had happened and it didn't go to well.

My questions are:

1. What mistakes did I make and how will I prevent / deal with them in the future? It seems I was lacking in crowd control and failed to capture their interest.

2. Tips on story telling in a loud area where you can't isolate? (cafeteria etc). From my personal experience, talking slow...and...pausing...like...Mystery... doesn't work well in loud areas such as a lunch room. Do I have to pick up the pace of my voice and pause less often in loud areas? If I pick up the pace of my story and begin to speak faster, how do I continue to hold the interest of my listeners?

I've always had troubles when trying to execute story telling or capture the interest of my friends at the cafeteria table, so if anyone could give me a few pointers on what to try next time in the field, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Thanks!