Ethical Storytelling

Telling stories about real people — narrated by organizations — without causing harm.

Your impact organization needs an ethical storytelling program.

Every impact organization is expected to be able to produce impact stories — for the press, for your website, and for your donor or customer communications.

Ethical storytelling means considering:

  • How the stories are collected

  • What the story includes and excludes

  • How the stories are used

t’s normal now to have a storytelling program — for press, for public communications you produce. BUt, how to do it ethically?

  1. You need to set up a program.

  2. Every organizaiton is differnet.

  3. how to oeparte it.

  4. Organizational storytelling sits at the intersection of communications: creating narrative text, but using it to benefit an organization. The best practices communicators borrowed from journalism and media don’t extend to the ethical issues that are raised by this specific practice, including narrative agency, identity and exploitation.

Ethical Story-Modeling™ is a multi-disciplinary approach to ethical impact storytelling.

NLS Ethical Story-Modeling™ is an intersectional, narrative-first framework for ethical impact storytelling at your nonprofit, NGO or social change organization:

  • A narrative-first approach recognizes that the best stories come from prioritizing narrative first; it doesn’t matter how well you communicate a story if it doesn’t work

  • Story-Modeling™ is an approach to storytelling that understands how stories work as scientific models when they are used to generate knowledge about the real world.

  • An intersectional approach to storytelling recognizes that impact stories are not literature or publicity or a scientific model: they’re all three.

By applying what we already know about ethics in Modeling & Simulation, Literature and Narrative and Journalism, Media & Communications, NLS Ethical Story-Modeling™ is the storytelling program that addresses ethical risk in all aspects of current storytelling practices.

NLS Ethical Story-Modeling™ has been developed over 20 years’ storytelling experience in the nonprofit sector. Start a conversation about your organization’s needs here.

Ethical Story-Modeling™ Principles

  1. Stories are how we “make sense” of the world.

  2. Narrative holds power.

  3. Instrumentalization does not equate ownership.

  4. Everyone has a right to privacy.

  5. A power imbalance is inherent.

  6. Change organizations need to tell stories.

  7. Organizational storytelling is not the press.

  8. Public storytelling is publicity.

  9. Stories are biased.

  10. The teller is responsible.

Learn more about ethical storytelling at Tell Ethical Stories.

FAQ

  • You can find resources, research and organizations related to ethical storytelling at Tell Ethical Stories.

  • You can learn more at Tell Ethical Stories, or request a training here.

  • There is no consensus (yet) on industry standards and best practices. But, many practitioners have sharing their own guidelines: find them at https://www.tellethicalstories.com/resources

  • No problem. Reach out here.