How do you challenge stereotypes in your storytelling?

In my storytelling, I aim to challenge stereotypes and promote understanding and empathy by directly addressing those topics. For example, in my short film "Denial," I talked about molestation and the denial factor surrounding it, aiming to raise awareness and start conversations. Through my documentary on special children, I aimed to showcase their unique abilities and challenges. Additionally, by regularly discussing depression in my podcast, I strive to reduce stigma and encourage open conversations about mental health.

In business storytelling your audience is the entire point of your story. If you're not providing them with insight, evoking emotion, or creating a stronger connection with them somehow, you might as well skip the story altogether. When you want to challenge a stereotype in professional storytelling, a good place to start is actually with that ideal audience. What kinds of stereotypes could they have experiences with being boxed into? What stereotypes are likely to make them angry, upset or shocked? By deciding to challenge a stereotype that's directly relevant to your audience, you're designing your story for ideal client-connection.

Just to say that stereotypes slip very easy into any compelling storytelling, because you need to build a narrative that your target audience can relate to. The more defined and familiar that target audience is, the easier it becomes to play to common images. It becomes more difficult when you are writing for a global audience, because suddenly, the stereotypes are at best not understood, at worst they offend someone. In my (Protestant) journalist school, we were reminded of the Bible quote: Judge not, so you won't be judged. Every stereotype is a judgement. Be aware of where you judge, and always imagine the person or group you are portraying reading your text, is a start.

Common storytelling tropes include: - The "damsel in distress" - The "evil villain with no redeeming qualities" - The "nerdy girl who suddenly took off her glasses" - The "Cinderella Story" These types of tropes can perpetuate stereotypes and result in super predictable, and extremely uninspiring stories. We quite literally predict everything that's going to happen. To overcome this, develop characters who have agency and depth and nuanced backgrounds to defy one-dimensional portrayals. Embrace diversity, challenge predictability, and explore moral gray areas. Avoid tokenism and empower marginalized characters with meaningful roles. By challenging tropes, stories become more interesting, socially conscious, diversified, and inclusive.

Vermeiden würde ich die Klischees und Tropen nicht. Spiele damit. Klischees gibt es aush einem bestimmten Grund, denn sie basieren auf der Wahrheit und beschleunigen die Verbindung im Kopf. Natürlich, viele sind überspitzt und unnötig. Und genau das macht es so einfach damit zu spielen. Nimm ein Klischee und leite deine Leser auf eine falsche Fährte.

Clichés, tropes, and stereotypes are detrimental because they make the narrative two-dimensional, predictable, and limited. Interestingly, in attempting to avoid them, storytellers often push too hard and end up on the opposite side of the cliché spectrum. It's like a horseshoe where the "Grumpy Elderly" character meets the "Modern and Extremely Active Elderly" character. No character is the "typical anything." Tropes, however, can be well-utilized if appropriately subverted. Nowadays, storytellers are successfully evolving tropes in a very interesting way, taking a trope and altering its conclusion to evoke surprise and emotion.

It can be interesting to start with a trope but then subvert it, and create depth - for example, my man in the suit character is a typical Man in the Suit, but I also tell his story as a corporate slave, as a person who is educated and conditioned to be how he is, as a person who is afraid to be different. Through the explanation of how and why, he can surpass his archetype.

Avoid Tokenism. True diversity goes beyond tokenism. It’s not enough to include diverse characters just for the sake of representation. These characters need to play meaningful roles in the story, contributing significantly to the narrative and having well-developed arcs. Highlight Individuality. Every character, regardless of their background, should be portrayed as a unique individual with their own story. This helps in breaking down broad generalizations and showcases the diversity within groups.

Respecting diversity and inclusion is a hygiene factor that should be in your subconscious in any communication and storytelling scenario - be mindful of this each and every time. Additionally ... also remember that everyone is an individual. This doesn't mean that you should be curating your story in multiple ways, multiple versions, it just means that you will need to mindful that it wont land with everyone, despite best efforts. That's ok. Find a version you are comfortable with, that is authentically you and run with it.

Ja und nein. Achte auf deine Zielgruppe und auf den Kontext deiner Geschichte. Nutze Diversität und Inklusion da, wo es Sinn ergibt und erzwinge es nicht, sonst wirkt es einfach nur falsch und fehl am Platz. Jede Welt und ihre Diversität hat eine Geschichte. Unterschiedliche Kulturen treffen unter bestimmten Aspekten aufeinander und die Einwohner der Welt werden nun mal unterschiedliche Meinungen und Haltungen zu allem haben. Du als Schreiber solltest der neutrale Betrachter sein. Deine Charactere wiederum sollten sich aber auch so verhalten, wie es für sie Sinn ergibt.

Diversity and inclusion are not exceptions but rather rules that had been overlooked until today. Considering there are many types of people, cultures, races, religions, and gender identities in the real world, featuring them in the narrative is not a favor but rather a representation of the existing world. By incorporating diversity into the narrative, you simply make the world of your story more authentic and closer to reality. Additionally, you bring your work closer to audiences that, until today, had been forgotten. It's important to keep in mind that nothing should be included in the story solely for social reasons but also to add something valuable to the narrative purpose.

Feedback, and being continuously open to it, is crucial for improved storytelling. It can come in any form, dependant on your storytelling scenario. Be open to the engagement metrics, comments, and reviews. It may give you the chance to change your story there and then, or improve upon the next one.

Asking for feedback and doing research are my go-to methods for storytelling. It's always important to verify the information you've read by crosschecking sources and making sure that your story doesn't include bias. I usually read out/send over a piece of work to a friend or loved one, and ask them "Does this sound biased from any perspective? Would this be offensive to anyone?" I amend the piece based on their feedback. Also, don't ignore gut feelings. If something in a story sounds bad to you or you're just not sure, it's better to be safe than sorry and omit it. Our reputation follows us everywhere, and the last thing you need is storytelling working against you.

Usar un arquetipo literario sin caer en chichés ni tópicos es un arte. No te dejes llevar por algo fácil y generalista que no dé profundidad a tu personaje. Trata de concretar algunos detalles en su forma de hablar, de moverse o de reaccionar en la historia, para crear un protagonista único, con personalidad, que no sea adivinable bajo los estereotipos. De esa manera no solo lo harás memorable, sinó que respetarás las diferentes culturas, orígenes e identidades que puedan verse identificadas bajo un estereotipo.

One thing I've learnt over the past years is that jokes can be taken personally. If you don't know a person, it's better to err on the safe side and keep the humour limited. If you're telling a joke as part of your story, make sure it's about you and no one else to limit offending others. Of course, you can't control everything, but being sensible about it helps enormously.

Here's the most common mistake brands make in storytelling. They make themselves the hero. Instead, make it about the customer. Write a story with enough room for readers to insert themselves into the plot. Think about... • In what ways is your brand a wise guide on the journey? (Position yourself as the Gandalf, not the Frodo.) • In what ways is your hero relatable? (Nike is not relatable, but a pro athlete who put in over 10000 hours to win Olympic gold is.) • In what ways is your story about their goal? (Moving towards the goal, achieving the goal, or enjoying getting to the goal.) If you start from where your customers are, you can help them get to where they want to go (using your brand - and your story - on the journey.)

Oftmals machen sich Schreiber zu viele Gedanken davon, was andere über die Geschichte denken. Und dann passen sie ihre Geschichte zu den Meinungen anderen an. Erzähle Deine Geschichte so, wie du es willst. Schreibe das, was du selbst gerne lesen möchtest. Dein Publikum wird sich aufbauen, entsprechend zu Deiner Geschichte. Nicht anders herum.

Just remember that all communication is an opportunity storytelling. The moment you view it through that lens you can really open yourself up to enhancing the impacts you can have every day through your life. Storytelling is not just for that big moment.... it is for the every moment. Stories. Change. Lives.

Creating multi-dimensional characters is key. Instead of relying on one-dimensional stereotypes, characters should be given depth, with complex motivations, strengths, and flaws. They should reflect real human experiences and emotions, making them relatable and believable.