Would you trust someone else to tell your story?

We hold our own experiences tight.

They are the foundations of who we are.

Our personal stories are our identity.


I talk about storytelling all the time.

I help people find the words to tell THEIR story.

But sometimes we use the experiences of others to make a point.

Someone else’s story.

I watched a fascinating presentation by Jess Crombie, who consults on ethics & storytelling in the humanitarian sector. (Link in the comments.) Thanks for sharing Sara Gomez !

She explores something I don’t think we discuss enough in storytelling: what story the subject would WANT to be told.

How would they want to be represented?

At the end of the day- the story is theirs, not yours.

Before you include someone else’s story in your talk, make sure you are thinking of the subject as an active participant. Ask yourself these questions:

1) Does the purpose of my story line up with the desires of the subject?
2) Are my biases influencing how I tell the story?
3) How would the subject of the story want to be represented to my audience?

Just as we ask for consent to tell someone else’s story, ask for their consent on how you tell it.

When in doubt, ask yourself- how would I want my own story told?


#storytelling #publicspeakingtips #speakercoach #consent