If you’re going into the field, make sure you take advantage of the opportunity. Gather tidbits using your five senses: Sight, Hearing, Touch, Smell, Taste.

It's easy to forget about using our senses at a scene. There's too much hustle and bustle in getting the story. For many journalists, capturing tidbits involving our senses is limited to what we can remember when we're back at the office. You're bound to forget details with this method.

Draw a line down the side of your notebook with the following subheads:

Sight    your notes here

Hearing     your notes here

Touch     your notes here

Smell   your notes here

Taste     your notes here

To describe the scene, do a 360°. When you arrive at the scene, do a full turn and note what you observe. All the action may not be centred at the scene.

Remember, there’s more to collect in the field than quotes. Observation can be a powerful tool for journalists.