Ethical Storytelling

When Collecting Stories

Seek continuous consent.

• Always get consent and continue asking throughout the collection and creation process.
• Be respectful if people choose not to share and DO NOT be coercive.

Practice transparency.

• Go to the source of the story (partners and participants). Don’t make assumptions about someone else’s experience.
• Explain why you want to share their experiences and perspectives. Explain how their story will be used and where it will be shared. Share the updated media release form.

Exhibit conscious curiosity.

• Take a posture of humility and learning.
• Be aware of your own assumptions, biases, reactions and emotions. Strive to be respectful and non-judgmental.
• Use a trauma-informed approach to asking questions, since sharing stories about life can increase vulnerability.

When Sharing Stories

Co-create stories.

• Invite diverse perspectives from all stakeholders involved.
• Practice “member checking” where you allow the people in the story to review your work and continue to check in about accuracy.
• Seek the opinion of leaders and cultural liaisons to ensure ethicality.

Challenge dominant narratives with counter-storytelling.

Dominant narratives “tacitly maintain the narratives and normative behaviors of dominant groups.” (Cooke, 2016) Bell and Roberts (2010) have theorized that storytelling can be transformative if we give more attention to concealed stories, resistance stories, and emerging stories.

• Concealed stories are the flip side of dominant narratives. They might refer to an archetype like the “white savior” as revealed by the story of someone who was not deemed deserving of salvation by someone casting themselves in a “savior” role.
• Resistance stories are about resistance to oppression and show that oppression is not inevitable.
• Emerging stories are designed to subvert and critique dominant narratives and imagine alternatives into being. They can make use of concealed and resistance stories.
• Use strengths-based language.
• Frame personal challenges as a temporary issue, not as a defining characteristic. Be aware of how sharing a person’s story could place the sharer at risk for harm.
• Use direct quotes from community members (with pseudonyms) whenever possible.
• Include the nuance and complexity of each story because people and groups of people are not all the same (monoliths).
• Be intentional and avoid perpetuating misinformation, stigmas, or stereotypes.

When Teaching with Stories

• Share principles of ethical storytelling with your students and allow dialogue around limits to the presented perspectives.
• Enable students to engage safely in reflective learning through storytelling by ensuring they understand clearly what problems are associated with projection, an unconscious process involving subjective information being placed on a person, group or thing.

Attribution

“Ethical Storytelling” is adapted from Part 4 of the Storytelling & Communications Template created by the Rebus Community, licensed CC BY 4.0.

References

Bell, L. A., & Roberts, R. A. (2010). The storytelling project model: A theoretical framework for critical examination of racism through the arts. Teachers College Record, 112(9), 2295–2517. https://doi.org/10.1177/016146811011200907

Cooke, N. A. (2016). Information services to diverse populations: Developing culturally competent library professionals. ABC-CLIO, LLC.