Four roles in a single story

I recently rewatched Chimamanda Adichie’s TED talk on “The danger of a single story”, and found it to still ring true and relevant. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it.
Here is a brief summary of Adichie's talk: We tell one story of a person or people repeatedly until “that is what they become”.

The issue with this is that we “rob people of their dignity” and ignore the several other facets of this person or group of people so that it becomes impossible to think of them as anything else. It’s a clear expression of power used to “dispossess and malign” rather than to “empower and humanize”.

It occurred to me that there are four specific roles we play in a single story - storyteller, lead character, bystander and audience.
At any point, we may occupy one of these roles, whether in a story about ourselves or in a story about others. Each of these roles come with responsibilities that I highlight below. I use a single story about a person to illustrate this, however, these roles and responsibilities also apply to single stories about groups of people.

• ​Storyteller: In this role, we are the crafters and disseminators of the single story. First and foremost, we must discover our why in telling the story. In the deepest corner of our quiet space, ask: What is my real intent of telling this story? The true answer to this question says it all. In this role, we bear the responsibility to discover and share the many stories that represent our lead character. Who is this person? What are they really capable of? What do I know of them? What do I not know of them? How will what I am saying be interpreted? How does it represent who this person truly is?
• Lead character: Here, we are the subject of the story. It may seem to be the least powerful role, but there is power in this role. We can stand tall and speak up. Proactively say what is true about yourself. We bear the responsibility to ask: Who am I? What do I want to say about myself? What do I show about myself? When do I exert the power of silence vs when do I speak out courageously? It's like the popular African proverb says "Until the lion learns to write, tales of hunting will glorify the hunter". We have the responsibility to tell our story. The "how" depends on the context.
• Bystander: In this role, we hear a single story and know of several other stories about the subject. Therefore, we stand at a crossroads - debunk myths and share the many stories we know OR turn the other way, doing nothing OR join in agreement with the single story, helping to reinforce and spread it. We bear the responsibility to share what we already know about this person. We would help educate storytellers and the audience and stand up for the lead character. By the way, in the workplace, this is what sponsors do so well, they speak up for others not in the room. This responsibility is anchored on these questions: What do we truly know about this person? What would we want others to do if in our place? What is the consequence of this single story?
• Audience: Finally, we may play the role of the audience. In this role, we likely do not know any stories about the subject, and are hearing this single story. We bear the responsibility to verify and validate the truth about this person, particularly since we may take decisions based on single stories and half truths. We are solely responsible for our decisions - whether tangible or intangible - money, resources, positions, dignity, credibility, brand etc. We should ask: What do I know of the lead character? What else can I find out? What is the intent behind the story? What decision am I taking? What is the impact of it?

Regardless of the role we are in, we have a responsibility to act consciously as it relates to the dignity of ourselves and others! Start by reflecting on what role(s) you play in single stories, what actions (or inactions) you take, and what the impact of those actions are. In your reflection, observe without judgement, then act consciously towards your goal. I'll be rooting for you as I embark on the same journey!