ABSTRACT
Stories are attention-getters. In the midst of ordinary conversation, they call attention to themselves through conventions of structure and form and through a style of delivery that suggests that what is about to be told is of particular significance. Stories also call attention to storytellers, to those who command certain traditions and use them for their own purposes before an audience. Thus, storytelling is a means to personal power. Effective storytellers display their skills and proclaim their knowledge, not only as a way to entertain, inform, or instruct others but also as a way to seek a position of respect and authority for themselves. 1
