What is ‘ethical storytelling’?
Are you following best practices?
At Better Story, we’re all about the power of effective storytelling. Telling the story of your charity involves telling the stories of people you’ve worked with and helped.
But we can’t forget the real people behind the stories we use, and the effect that sharing their story might have on them and their family.
A good rule of thumb is always to imagine yourself in their shoes. Would you be happy with how your story or photo is being used? Do you like the way you are portrayed, or does it make you look like a helpless victim or a stereotype? What would you want to know before agreeing to your (possibly very personal) story being used?
For a more structured way of thinking about this and checking your charity’s practices, Digified Storytelling have come up with 10 principles to follow, which we think are worth studying:
It’s not my story.
I do no harm.
We are all multi-dimensional.
Consent is more than paperwork.
I know I am biased.
I do my research.
I am empathetic.
I protect other’s data like my own.
Truth over headlines.
A story can change the world.
You can read more about each one on their website, and sign The Pledge to show that you agree to abide by these principles whenever you use someone’s story.
It’s a helpful framework to make sure that your charity is always ethical, not only in the way you work, but in how you talk about your work, too.
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Get in touch with our team if you’d like more help to tell your story, better.
