Sensible Storytelling: How to Use the 5 Senses to Create Unforgettable Stories

There’s a reason why some stories linger long after they are told.

While a good structure and powerful message are important, it is often the sensory details that help a story leave its mark. When the audience can envision the moment and feel the story the way you do, it will stay with them in a much more powerful way. That is the magic of sensory details.

In the art of storytelling sensory details are the brushstrokes that turn your sketch into a masterpiece. And if you want your audience to remember your message, your focus needs to be on helping them feel it on a deeper level.

Today we are learning why sensory details are important elements of your stories, and how you can use them to captivate your audience.

Why Sensory Details Matter

Various research has shown that sensory details help activate the brain and create stronger neural pathways. When we hear a story with vivid sensory input like “the smell of fresh-baked bread” or “the icy grip of the steering wheel,” the parts of our brain associated with those senses wakes up and joins the proverbial listening party, creating a better experience when listening to a story.

In other words, you’re not just telling your audience a story, you are creating an immersive experience that they can hear, see, and feel. You invite them into the story to go on a journey with you. 

That kind of immersion does two powerful things:

1. It builds emotional connection — When people feel like they are in the scene, they relate to and care more about the outcome.
2. It enhances memory — The more senses a moment engages, the more likely it is to stick in your listener’s mind.

Magic happens when you anchor your audience in your story, in real time, using the same tools your brain uses to remember life’s big events: sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell.

The Five Senses in Action

Let’s get practical. Here’s how each of the five senses can show up in your storytelling, with examples:

Sight

The most commonly used sense in storytelling, and often the easiest to describe. Go beyond generic terms to help you audience envision the scene. This allows your audience to sink deeper into the story as they visualize what that moment may have looked like.

• Example: Instead of “The room was messy,” try: “Clothes spilled from the chair like it had given up trying to hold them. A half-drunk cup of coffee stared over the edge of the desk.”

When you give a detailed description of the moment, the audience can join you in it. Don’t be afraid to properly set the scene as this will allow your story to have a greater impact.

Sound

Sound can bring energy, urgency, or stillness. Describing sound helps the audience to subconsciously hear that sound, again helping them sink farther into the story. 

• Example: “Her heels clicked like a metronome across the tile floor, each step sharper than the last.” 

You can also incorporate sound into your speeches via your voice. If you are describing a soft or scary situation, try lowering your voice. This will force the audience to lean in. And then, at the right moment, you can get loud. This will create the immersive experience and also regain the audience’s attention.

Smell

Smell is tied most directly to memory and emotion. Use it to ground a moment in time. How many times have you smelled something and it instantly took you back to a specific memory? Smell is a powerful sense that we often underestimate. Don’t be afraid to use it in your sensory details.

• Example: Instead of saying “I could smell the flowers from the other room.” Try saying “The scent of gardenias hit me before I even opened the door...”

Being specific in your sensory descriptions is a great way to help the audience experience what you are saying.

Taste

Taste can be literal or metaphorical. It adds nuance, especially when tied to tradition or memory because it can evoke powerful emotions or associations without a single bite of food.

Taste can reflect emotion, experience, or even judgment. Think about phrases like “the bitter taste of regret” or “a sweet success.” These metaphorical uses bring dimension to the emotional landscape of your story.

• Literal example: “That first bite of peach cobbler was warm, syrupy, and far too sweet, just like my childhood summers.”
• Metaphorical example: “The deal left a sour taste in my mouth, like I had just smiled through something that reeked of betrayal.”

• Example: Instead of saying “I was nervous and unsure if I had made the right choice.” Try saying this: “Doubt lingered like the aftertaste of burnt coffee: bitter, heavy, and hard to ignore.”

Just like the sense of smell, taste is underrated in its ability to help you take your audience on a journey through your story. Using it both literally and metaphorically allows you to recreate the moment in the minds of your listeners!

Touch

Touch: the physical feeling of something on your body. We talk a lot about feeling something when we tell stories. Generally, that is the emotional sense of feeling rather than the physical sense. But using the physical sense of feeling, or touch, is also a powerful tool in your storytelling toolbelt.

• Example: Instead of saying “I grabbed the steering wheel.” Try saying “The worn leather of the steering wheel felt smooth and familiar under my palms, even as my knuckles turned white.”

Using touch as way to signal comfort, discomfort, heat, cold, tension, or familiarity is another impactful way to help your audience immerse themselves in the story, especially when it describes something so many of us do, such as driving (we all know that feeling of a worn out steering wheel!).

Using Sensory Details Without Overloading

You don’t need to use all five senses in every scene of your story. In fact, you shouldn’t. Too much description will bog the story down. Your audience will be so busy creating the scene in their mind that they will miss the main point. Think of sensory details as seasoning in a dish. Use just enough to flavor the moment with out completely overpowering it.

Here’s how to keep it balanced:

• Pick one sense per moment to highlight. What was most memorable about the scene or what is the most powerful sense in the moment?
• Use contrast to emphasize emotion: A silent room after a loud argument. A warm hug after a cold rejection.
• Ask yourself these questions to help you: Where were you? What were you wearing? What could you hear/see/smell/taste/touch?

Pro tip: Go back through your story drafts and highlight any paragraph that feels flat or rushed. Ask yourself, What did I experience through my body in that moment? Add that to your draft and then try a few different ways of phrasing it.

Remember, your story isn’t just a timeline of events that you will deliver like a college lecture. It is an experience. And if you want your message to move people, whether on stage, in a book, or in a business pitch, sensory details are the key to making that happen.

If you are ready to add more depth, emotion, and connection to your storytelling, download my free “Sensible Storytelling” worksheet HERE! This guide will help you bring your story to life and give your audience the chance to experience it with you!

And if you are ready to go even further, book a free call with me HERE. Let’s talk about your story, your message, and how we can turn it into something powerful enough to move a room.

Your story deserves to be seen, heard, and felt. Let’s make that happen—together.