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Ever had a sense put you right back in time somewhere?

Like that sharp chlorine sting when you first tried to swim underwater…

Your eyes might’ve burned, lungs tightened.

Like, suddenly your whole body is remembering something before your brain catches up.

That’s the magic of the senses:
They can just take you to a certain place and time.

But here’s the thing:
In public health, we often drain the feeling out of our stories.

It’s the texture of truth that gets people to care.

Facts inform us. Feelings transform us.
It’s the texture of truth that gets people to care.

We talk about “barriers to care”

You could say,

“People are frustrated with access to care.”

Or you could show it:

“Deena sat in the plastic chair for three hours. The smell of disinfectant burned her nose. Her phone battery died. Her voice cracked when she said, ‘They turned me away again.”

Idk about you, but not only am I mad as hell that Deena got treated this way,

I’m also ready to ride at dawn for Deena and be her advocate.

That’s what sensory storytelling does: it closes the distance between statistics and experience.

Have you heard the quote

“Speak the truth, even when your voice shakes.”

What if we could hear the shaken voice?

Feel the hands tremble as you prepare the notecards for a speech.

or the sting in your eyes from sweat dripping down the face as the heart pounds.

🛠️ The PHacilitator’s Corner:

Find a story from your work.
Add one sensory line to capture someone in a different way.

Use sight, sound, smell, touch or taste

If a story engages a sense, it’s more likely to make sense to someone.