Plan to immediately copy all interview recordings.

Make copies of interviews and store them in a different location from the original. This is in case of ire or other disasters.

Plan how you will review and analyze your interviews.

Depending on your working format, the oral history teams or whole group should plan to meet after each interview to look at how the interview went, which questions were answered, what new questions or knowledge gaps came up and what changes you would make for next interview. Use this opportunity to encourage the group to think critically about their work.

Schedule the first interview at a convenient time for the storyteller.

Prepare the equipment for the interview.

• Test the equipment before you go to the interview.
• Make sure you have extra batteries – for both the recorder and the microphone, more tape or disks than you plan to use, extension cords and all the necessary cables and adapter.

“Live as if you are to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”

Mahatma Gandhi