Ethical storytelling practices within the storytelling boom.
On the path towards industry standards.
Industry-wide standards and best practices have not been established — yet.
However, some organizations have shared their internal policies publicly (find some here) offering a resource to others who are developing their own internal policies.
Standards
(Prevention)
Informed consent.
Informed consent takes place when the participant understands the objective of the story, the plan for its use and distribution, format and context. (A media release is not informed consent.)
Story approval.
Stories are approved for use — by participants — after the final product has been produced, to verify that the product matches what they understood to be consenting to.
Publicity support equity.
Publicity support is available to staff and non-staff, equally.
Stakes-free storytelling.
Storytelling does not create stakes for the participant; there is no relationship between participating in a story and accessing an organization’s programs.
Trauma-informed approach.
Stories that include traumatic events are collected using a trauma-informed approach.
Best Practices
(Goals)
Always be storytelling.
Invest in storytelling as an ongoing strategy to develop an ethical practice, rather than only responding to individual requests.
Consent, often.
Confirm consent frequently during the storytelling process by creating opportunities where the participant can change their mind.
Approval. Every time.
Stories are approved for use by the participant each time they are used.
Publicity gets a publicist.
Participants are provided with the support of a publicist to guide them through the publicity process.
Narrative literacy training.
Provide narrative literacy training for participants.
If it’s novel, let it go.
Organizational storytelling is representative and describes expectations — not exceptions.