Example sentences
shuō说huà话xiǎo小shēng声diǎn点。
Speak quietly.
tā他zài在gēn跟péng朋you友shuō说huà话。
He's talking to a friend.
About this word
说 is "to speak" and 话 is "words, speech", so 说话 is "to speak words", a verb-object compound. 话 is the content: 一句话 is one sentence, and the same character builds 普通话 (Mandarin), 电话 (telephone), 笑话 (joke). 别说话 is "don't talk", and 说话算话 is "to keep your word". For addressing a room, Chinese switches to 讲话 or 发言, which sound more public.
The story behind the character
说
言 (speech) plus 兑, which gives the sound. Xu Shen wrote 说, 释也: "to explain." To speak is to explain.
话
言 (speech) plus 舌 (tongue). It just means spoken words. A phonetic character, no mystery.