9 suggestions for respectful storytelling
Written by Niki Juhasz
When we, as communicators and leaders, interview families about their experiences, they often share deeply personal details with us.
That’s why it’s so important to tell stories thoughtfully, with care and respect. Gathering consent during interviews is just one of many critical parts of ethical storytelling. We're sharing how we approach that below.
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Consent in Interviews
To us, consent means ensuring that every person we interview feels comfortable, confident and even empowered about sharing throughout the interview process. In other words, consent is so much more than asking for permission to share a story. We use the following steps to gather consent.
Build understanding. I personally like to start off by sharing what we are doing and why. That includes explaining our goals, who will see the story and where we’ll feature it. I also make sure to mention that once a story is live online, anyone can Google it – even if the story is later taken down.
Offer a chance to ask questions. Consent means making sure people feel safe and comfortable asking questions throughout the process! Make sure the person you’re interviewing has a chance to ask these questions. You can prompt this by saying “what questions do you have?” or “what might you be worried about during this process?” Make sure to take as much time as you both need.
Schedule the interview based on the interviewee’s preferences. Some families may feel more comfortable if they meet you in person. Others prefer a quick phone call. Make sure you’re scheduling based on what feels best to them!
Conduct the interview with clarity. I always start interviews with a reminder about what we are doing and why. At the end of the interview, I ask “Is there anything you’ve shared today that you want to make sure does not appear in the story?”
Discuss naming and photos. Research shows that when you tell a story, sharing the person’s name and an image can build more empathy and interest. However, in some cases – like when you’re working with a survivor of domestic violence – this can put your interviewee at risk. Work with your interviewee to decide if they are comfortable using their real name and/or photo, or if they would prefer a pseudonym and stock photo.
Share the story with the interviewee for review. Once you’ve completed your internal editing process, share the story with the interviewee for a final review. If the person doesn’t feel comfortable reading it themselves, one option is offering to read the story to them (or asking someone they trust to read it to them).
Bottom line: always always always ensure they have a chance to edit it and feel comfortable with the content. I like to share a reminder about next steps during this stage – and to reinforce that we only want to post the story if they love it and are fully comfortable with the content. They can change their minds about sharing!
Share the live version. Once the story is live, share the link (or printed version) with the interviewee and say thank you. I personally also like to share any feedback we receive. For example, “Councilmember Frizzle said reading your thoughts about our underfunded special education programs made her update her budget recommendations for the upcoming year!”
Follow up. If you’re planning to use the story in a new way you haven’t cleared with the interviewee, follow up with them. For example, if you shared that you would use it in a policy campaign, but then want to make it the centerpiece of your fundraising event, double check to ensure they feel comfortable with that use, too.
Bonus step: compensation. Okay this one isn’t *exactly* part of consent during interviews, but is an important part of ethical storytelling. Sharing personal experiences takes emotional bandwidth, and those you’re interviewing are sharing their valuable time with you as well. Consider investing in gift cards (grocery store and credit card-style cards tend to be good options) for participants. If you’re asking for group feedback as part of storytelling, offer a meal and child care during feedback sessions.
More Than Nine Steps
So, here’s the thing. We can’t fit everything about consent into one email. (Or into one webinar. A full semester even.) The steps we outlined above are just a starting point, specifically focused on the interview stage of storytelling. From considering how power dynamics impact storytelling to avoiding a white savior lens, there are SO many additional focus areas to incorporate into your plan.
At Forthright, we’ve done a lot of research on this topic, and built our process based on data, best practices and our own experiences. (We believe that the learning never actually stops!) However, we want to acknowledge that every organization – and the families and stakeholders you work with – is different. It’s important to think through what works best for YOU and those you partner with when it comes to consent, and how, when and why you share stories.
Storytelling helps us show our audiences why we advocate – and why our work is so important. We are privileged to work with these families. Building consent into our storytelling is just one way we can honor and thank them.
