解:过点$A$作$AE⊥ BC$于点$E,$过点$D$作$DF⊥ BC$于点$F$
∵四边形$ABCD$是等腰梯形,$AD// BC,$
∴$BE=FC=\frac {BC-AD}{2}=\frac {20-8}{2}=6。$
$ $在$Rt△ABE$中,由勾股定理得:
$ AE=\sqrt {AB^2-BE^2}=\sqrt {10^2-6^2}=\sqrt {64}=8。$
∴$S_{梯形ABCD}=\frac {(AD+BC)× AE}{2}=\frac {(8+20)×8}{2}=112。$