How to record oral history

The Four Golden Rules

Before setting off to interview anybody you need to ask yourself, 'What do I want to find out?' Do some research and some thinking and draw up a list of questions. Give that list to your interviewee beforehand to give them time to prepare.
Try to frame most of your questions in a short, uncomplicated way, in an 'open' rather than 'closed' manner. Closed questions are those that start with 'Did you?' Open questions normally start with a W - What, When, Where, Why, etc.? And also, of course, one H - How?
Whatever you want to find out, when you start recording give your name and the date and the name of the person you are talking to so that future generations will know who is talking to whom and when.
You might be interested in a particular topic, but if you are interested in family history you will probably want to take people stage by stage through their life history, e.g. beginning with their family background, grandparents, parents and brothers and sisters, their childhood home, childhood games and leisure, politics and religion, schooling, teenage life and early romance, moving on to their working life and finally later family life.

Interviewees are often worried that they have not got enough to tell you and don't want to waste your time. You need to demonstrate to them that you are really interested in their story. The best way to do this is by maintaining eye contact with them. Other body language helps to register interest too, such as nodding and facial expressions, including smiles, surprise, concern etc.
Vary rarely, your questions will trigger a painful memory and the interviewee might get emotional and distressed. Act as you would do if that situation occurred in a normal everyday life - be sensitive, express concern and sympathy, ask if they are OK to go on, suggest that the tape recorder is temporarily turned off and that you take a break.

Listen and don't interrupt. Let people tell their story. As you listen you will pick up all sorts of clues from people's replies that will need following up. This is why if you only ask the questions on your list you'll have done something very wrong!

Don't forget why you are interviewing somebody. He or she was an eyewitness to the topic you are researching. Of course, some people's memories are more vivid than others, and the passage of time does sometimes mean that people will make mistakes, but you should always conduct an interview demonstrating to the interviewee that you have respect for them and their memories.

For further information on Oral History interviewing see the Oral History Society website: www.ohs.org.uk/advice/