Reducing stigma through a storytelling platform
TOOLKIT Digital Design, Design Research, Program Evaluation, Program Management, Client Relationship Management
TEAM Open Labs members and partner organization helped collect data on impact
MY ROLE Owned the process from end-to-end including creation of assets
Background
The Open Labs mission is achieved when we create openness, what we define as the opposite of stigma and shame. One of the ways we accomplish this is by engaging a community of people with mental health conditions to partner with organizations building products and services for them. Together, they launch an ‘experiment’ to increase openness via the product or service.
Illustrative Open Labs’ model
Our challenge was to redesign a public speaking platform to help people with mental health conditions tell their stories
A potential partner, a public speaking and writing platform, wanted to expand their target market to people with mental health conditions. We evaluated the partnership to ensure it could follow the Open Labs experiment model.
Prototyping the experience without technology
Before investing in a technology build, I gathered Open Labs’ member feedback via interviews, use of the existing storytelling software, and prototype events to test key aspects of storytelling.
Open Labs’ member feedback on the storytelling prototype
The openness metric also increased significantly through the prototyped storytelling process.
Now, it was time to look at improving the storytelling platform itself.
Results of the storytelling experiment in the Open Labs Annual Report
Prototyping the platform
After gaining inspiration from other storytelling platforms and testing several concepts, I created a solution to enable storytelling and the Open Labs process and program evaluation.
KEY FEATURES
Roadmap: Storytellers wanted validation that the effort was achievable. Did we have a realistic plan to accomplish our goal of creating openness? The roadmap creates transparency, tracks progress of the overall effort and individual contribution, and shows there is a path to success.
Personal connection to the goal: Storytellers wanted to know that their efforts mattered. Karma and referral features showed how they were tracking toward their personal contributions.
Relatable Examples: Participants could read the stories of others, which reduced fear of the unknown and served as a source of inspiration.
Human Connection: Sharing on your own for the first time can be scary, but dialogue creates connection. Instead of a single person 'announcing' their condition, partners share through the “Your Team” feature.
Final thoughts
If I were to do this project today, I would incorporate more of what the literature shows about behavior change into the platform itself. For example, the prototype covers personal connection to the goal and roadmap, but does not ask storytellers to make an implementation plan. From research on voter turnout, we know that making an explicit action plan can increase the likelihood of the desired outcome.