Storytelling: Demystifying a Dynamic Art Form and Tool
The art of storytelling has existed across community and cultural contexts for centuries. In modernity, storytelling has proved profitable throughout industries, disciplines, and sectors. Elevate observes that within the past few years, and more specifically, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, storytelling as a tool (and not just an art form) has become a critical component for the design of programs/initiatives, measuring the progress of achieving outcomes, and disseminating information about impact in the social impact sector. In an effort to adopt equitable reporting requirements for their funded partners, funders are expressing an increased interest in storytelling as a tool to measure and communicate impact. Consequently, funded partners are finding creative and innovative ways to repurpose the art of storytelling for utility. In this blog post, Elevate–along with inputs from the thought leadership of social impact and design field practitioners–will demystify the utility of storytelling by discussing types of stories, how storytelling can be used, as well as ethical considerations and guidelines for use.
“We have already seen hints of storytelling at work: in ethnographic fieldwork; in the synthesis phase, in which we begin to make sense of large accumulations of data; and in the design of experiences.” (Change by Design, 132)
There are many different types of stories that mission-driven organizations find useful to communicate with their respective audiences e.g., funders, general public, beneficiaries, etc. In “Ethical Storytelling for Nonprofits,” The Berkeley Group illuminates different types of stories and their stages of use. While the types of focus, people, and impact stories discussed in this article are not an exhaustive list, they are those most emergent in the work shared between Elevate and our clients.
“Focus stories allow readers to understand the current work and purpose of organizations.
Elevate observes that focused storytelling is most beneficial when integrated throughout the stages of design for intentional and impactful programs and initiatives. We often support our clients in translating the narrative form of focused storytelling into inputs for visual storytelling such as logic models, theories of change, graphs, etc. This strategy is especially helpful to map systems and their opportunities, gaps, and relationships that exist across actors within them. Additionally, focused storytelling translated to visual storytelling can be used to illustrate the experience of an individual that navigates a particular system and matriculates through a program/initiative designed to intervene in that system.
“People stories are about staff, volunteers, donors, clients, or individuals within an organization’s service population.
Stories often elicit when an individual faces a conflict or challenge while navigating a system, and on occasion, includes the sharing of a resolution as a part of that navigation. Therefore, storytelling can be considered a key component for pulling on the levers of systems change by defining community-based interventions. The act of storytelling by individuals with lived experience can be used as a method to provide balancing feedback loops within organizations implementing systems change initiatives. If an individual is navigating a system with a history of injustice, the term counterstories more appropriately suits the act of storytelling. Counterstories are narratives that disrupt power dynamics, and counteract assumptions and perceptions about an individual and/or community. With the presence of people stories and counterstories, organizational staff are more likely to experience increases in empathy for an experience they may not share, and organizational leadership are more likely to observe a shift in mental models. These shifts position the organization to influence change on the individual (short-term), community (mid-term), and/or policy (long-term) level.
“Impact stories are testimonials that showcase the influence and impact of an organization on their clients.
Robust, tenured programs and initiatives are able to track and measure observable outcomes that in the long-term, contribute to individual or community impact. Elevate utilizes spheres of control, influence, and interest to communicate when organizations can claim they caused versus help to cause an observed outcome. In the current climate of the social impact sector, many funders and organizations are more attentive to the spheres of influence and interest where programs/initiatives contribute to observed outcomes by helping to cause them. Amongst the inputs for tracking and measuring these outcomes, the capacity for observing change or experience over time is most prominent. Storytelling in the form of testimonials capture the essence of an experience or change over time. However, when organizations lack the capacity and resources to track and measure these outcomes in the long-term, they rely on quantitative data collection and analysis in the form of outputs. Storytelling is not lost in this circumstance, in fact, narrative technique can be used in tandem and consequently, bring life to numbers.
“Data storytelling is the ability to effectively communicate insights from a dataset using narratives and visualizations. It can be used to put data insights into context for and inspire action from your audience.” (Catherine Cote, Harvard Business School)
How is storytelling used?
The use of storytelling can prove beneficial in many forms for organizations. The following contexts are namely the most recurring for Elevate’s clients:
Marketing
While Elevate does not provide marketing services as a part of our offerings, we observe that inputs from other aspects of our work are used to bolster storytelling as a marketing tool.
Increasing Engagement (or Buy-In) across Stakeholders
Used as a tool to connect stakeholder groups within your organization, storytelling can foster empathy and support the development of trusting relationships. It can also deepen commitments to the mission and values of your organization.
“Stories can shape people; they can inspire them to think and act differently. Stories are what can connect your nonprofit’s community, funders, beneficiaries, and employees with your cause and vision.” (Andy Goodman)
Program/Initiative/Pilot Design
The involvement of individuals with lived experience is critical during the initial engagement of design, or the “scanning” of an environment, all the way through ideation and implementation. These inputs will inform the design of intentional, sustainable, community-based interventions.
“...dialogical approaches...arrive at…the conclusive objective of collectively imagining how to solve identified social problems or scourged social structures.” (Black Feminism in Qualitative Inquiry, 23)
Facilitation
Facilitators help create environments where individuals feel comfortable to participate in the act of storytelling, especially when the goal of the meeting is to explore issues or share strategies. This shows up frequently in facilitating both affinity and unification groups. Additionally, conducting focus groups and interviews for qualitative data collection often present the opportunity for individuals to participate in storytelling.
Reporting
Both quantitative and qualitative data convey stories. Elevate often uses content and thematic analyses methods as starting blocks for what will be produced into a narrative summary of findings. We also depend on data visualization and best practice on developing visuals as a means for storytelling.
Considerations for Ethical Storytelling
Individuals are often exercising transparency, and on occasion, vulnerability when they participate in storytelling. With the intent to increase safety for individuals who willingly share their stories, especially for the benefit of designing and sustaining an intervention, Elevate remains mindful of the following considerations which we’ve gathered from a plethora of resources and our own experiences.
In this context, stories shared are not tales told. They are not fiction. They are glimpses into the shaping of an individual’s experience and the insights they choose to disclose from their experience. We should be cautionary about how we engage, consume, and when necessary, disseminate them.
While data convey stories, it is not our duty as researchers and evaluators to inscribe a narrative not present within the data.
Narrative stories are dynamic, but not an exhaustive depiction of an individual’s identity. There are cultural and dialectic factors that without the presence of comprehensive context, can often be misconstrued.
Building relationships with individuals by developing trust and having a shared agenda creates nets of safety for storytelling.
Ask for an individual’s willingness to share a story and give them the opportunity to opt out. Ask for consent to share their story, and if they would like to be identified with their story or remain anonymous.
Explicitly ask how an individual wants their story to be told, who they want to share it, and in what format and when. Give individuals the opportunity to omit parts of their story that include information they do not want widely disseminated.
When information shared in storytelling requires immediate action, do not tarry.
When information shared in storytelling serves the purpose of balancing feedback loops by identifying gaps, barriers, or issues within a system, do not penalize or shame the sharer.
Caution against the “over-dramatization, stereotyping, or simplifying” (Ethical Storytelling for Nonprofits) of stories. While storytelling can support learning, it should not do so at the sole benefit of the audience. Be careful not to other individuals or commodify their lived experience.
Storytelling is a dynamic art form and tool that we engage with across the service areas of our clients, transcending a singular form of use. In both its art form and tool use, the presence of storytelling invites Elevate staff into the operationalization of our mission and values as we partner with our clients in their impactful work. We look forward to being in continued community with you as we all participate and indulge in the nuanced act and reception of storytelling!