話す
ha-na-su
話す is time spent with words going both ways
The picture Two people facing each other while words travel back and forth and time passes. 話す is time with words going back and forth; 言う is the single lump that came out inside it.
Where the picture shows up in 話す
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Facing someone, trading words
店長と話しました。
tenchō to hanashi-mashita
I talked with the manager.
Two people sit across a desk while words cross between them both ways.
The partner is joined with ~と.
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Back and forth on a line
後で電話で話しましょう。
ato de denwa de hanashi-mashō
Let's talk later by phone.
Words shuttle along the line between two handsets.
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Words run from the mouth
日本語が話せますか。
nihongo ga hanase-masu ka
Can you speak Japanese?
The language pours out of the mouth without catching anywhere.
For 'can speak a language' it is 話せる, never 言える.
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Unfolding the situation
事情を話してください。
jijō o hanashite kudasai
Please tell me what happened.
Papers folded against the chest are opened and laid out one by one in front of the listener.
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Making time to consult
先生に話してみます。
sensei ni hanashite mi-masu
I'll go talk to the teacher.
You set up a seat in front of the teacher where words can go back and forth.
All of it in one picture
話す is one picture: words traveling both ways. Sit facing someone and you talked with them; send that traffic down a phone line and you talk by phone; let words run out of your mouth without catching and you can speak the language; unfold the situation you had folded away and you are telling someone what happened; make that stretch of time in front of a teacher and it becomes asking for advice. So 話す always has a partner and a duration under it.