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The ethical foundation of storytelling

The foundations of storytelling are built from ethical practice. We have a responsibility to gather and share stories ethically. It's about telling and sharing stories in a way that’s fair, respectful, and truthful.

How do we share stories ethically?

Stories are are highly personal and their power means that there’s a responsibility to gather and share stories ethically. The ethics of storytelling, in simple terms, is about telling and sharing stories in a way that’s fair, respectful, and truthful.

Honouring the dignity and agency of storytellers means getting permission from people before sharing their stories. It’s also about being sensitive to people’s feelings and backgrounds, avoiding stereotypes, and making sure that everyone involved feels respected and valued.

Before inviting anyone to share their story you must:

  • spend some time thinking about what it might involve for the storyteller, yourself and your audience
  • be accurate about the details
  • be sensitive to others who are involved in the story
  • make sure you have their permission to share (when relevant).

Be sensitive to people’s feelings and backgrounds, avoid stereotypes, and make sure that everyone involved feels respected and valued

How can we protect stories?

Identify a secure place

Stories should be kept in a secure place, whether they are shared in digital, audio or written format. Safe storage may differ depending on the intended use for the stories. Stories captured for individual well-being might need different storage solutions compared to stories for learning and development that might be held by an organisation for training. Look at how other organisations, like Mencap, handle story storage and sharing.

Develop a sharing plan

Before sharing stories, make sure everyone involved agrees on the final version and the plan to share. The sharing plan should reflect what and how the storyteller has agreed to share. To create this plan, everyone needs to understand the purpose of the story and the intended audience.

In some circumstances it will be important to discuss the sharing plan in detail. For example, if you’re sharing stories on a website or through social media, it’s important to let people know that you can remove the stories if requested. As an alternative, you can review, at agreed intervals, that the storyteller is happy for the story to remain available. 

It’s also important to acknowledge with contributors that once something is shared online, it can’t be completely erased and will always leave a digital footprint.

Ethical processes

When we use storytelling, we follow the same principles as outlined in our Codes of Professional practice.

If you’re gathering and sharing stories for evaluation or research, you need to make sure:

  • your processes align with the ethical standards set out for each purpose
  • a person can give informed consent and, if they’re not able to provide informed consent, you follow appropriate guidance.
  • you record the consent that storytellers give you to use their stories (we’ve produced a template consent form, which you can adapt).

We have resources that provide guidance on assessing capacity to consent. If you want to know more about ethics in relation to research and evaluation, we run a session on ethics in our Demystifying Evaluation series.

How can we make storytelling as inclusive as possible?

Engaging in storytelling is about recognising and valuing all voices. It’s important to build genuine relationships with diverse communities to create richer, more representative stories that reflect the unique experiences of different groups.

There are some things you can do to make sure that you’re aware and respectful of cultural differences when gathering stories:  

  • build your own understanding: take time to learn about the cultural backgrounds of the people telling their stories. Understanding their history, traditions, and values can help you approach their stories with respect and insight.
  • build trust: establish genuine relationships with the individuals and communities you’re working with. Show interest in their experiences and invest time in getting to know them.
  • ask permission: always obtain the necessary agreements before gathering and sharing stories. Make sure everyone involved in these decisions understands how the stories will be used and feels comfortable with the process.
  • listen actively: pay close attention to what people are saying and listen without judgment or interruption.

Creating the right environment

Creating a safe space where people feel respected and heard encourages them to share more openly, leading to richer and more meaningful exchanges. Approaches such as exploratory talk and collaborative communication are helpful tools for creating the conditions where people are encouraged to say what they think.

Approaches such as exploratory talk and collaborative communication are helpful tools for creating the conditions where people are encouraged to say what they think.

Exploratory talk is a reflective way of communicating that involves open-ended questioning and active listening (Mannion and McAllister, 2020). People are encouraged to say why they think, believe or feel as they do regarding the stories being discussed, and others are encouraged to ask questions and offer alternative views.

It helps people engage meaningfully with the stories shared and learn from them as individuals can take part in thoughtful discussion that investigates, questions, and expands their understanding of a topic.

References - click to expand

Mannion, J. and McAllister, K. (2020) Fear is the mind killer: why learning to learn deserves lesson time - and how to make it work for your pupils, John Catt.