Stories are effective rhetorical tools for:

1. Starting a speech.

2. Regaining the audience's attention.

3. Persuade about principles and values.

4. Talking about our strengths and weaknesses.

When we look at good stories, the ones that grab people's attention and take them where the speaker wants them to go, they all have the same structure. That's true whether a story lasts two minutes or two hours, like a play or a movie. There will be twists and turns, but the essence is always the same.