Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins: How to Use Your Own Stories to Communicate with Power and Impact

CHAPTER 11Experience Is Sensory

HUMANS EXPERIENCE THE world through five primary channels: what we smell, taste, hear, touch, and see. Perceptions that begin as raw data coming in by way of our senses are then matched to an existing pattern. Because any one “thing”—apples, for instance—displays wide ranges of size, color, and shapes, the brain is designed to accept a “close enough” match rather than seeking a literal exact replica. When we look into a pasture, our brain initially registers the colors brown and white, low sustained vocalizations, and barnyard smells. In the split seconds required to comprehend that sensory data, your brain has found and chosen the perception known as “cow.” Objectively, the vast array of patterns that fit the ...