A nice framework for understanding the way men and women share stories (from Raymond Salzwedel who apparently stole it from Graeme Codrington):

Ladies, when sharing stories, share in a "me too" manner – this means that when a friend tells a story, another friend will want to relate to that story by telling a "me too" story. Guys, on the other hand, play "one-up" with each other where they try to improve on the story told by telling a bolder, bigger, better story.

Some examples:

Lady: You know, there was a sale on at Woolworths today and the marked down prices were such good value for money.
Lady Friend: Yes, and I found a sale at the Gap yesterday, and the proces were great as wll. You should pop past there.

Guy: Hey, you won;t beleive it, but I had a puncture on the freeway yesterday.
Guy Friend: That's nothing, my tyre got ripped off my car as I swerved out of the way of hitting a little boy who was chasing his lost ball across the road.