Points to think of when choosing interviewers and preparing for the interview

• The more research your group does, the more they may realize how much they don’t know. Allow enough time for research and to develop background knowledge. The research phase is a valuable time to increase awareness and literacy skills; don’t rush ahead to the interview phase of the project. The group members will need time to gain enough knowledge to develop meaningful questions, respond intelligently during an interview and to understand the storyteller.
• People might feel more comfortable and supported conducting interviews in pairs; one person could look after the recording equipment and make notes during the interview; the other person could act as the interviewer. If you are operating in oral history teams, the whole team could go along for the interview. Ask first, does the storyteller feel comfortable with a small group of listeners? Decide on roles ahead of time.
• It may be more effective and more comfortable for the storyteller if the same person acts as the interviewer each session. It takes time to build a relationship between the storyteller and interviewer. But if more than one interviewer shares the task, you need a plan so you won’t interrupt each other or repeat questions.
• Be aware that the storyteller or the interviewer might get tired. Depending on energy levels, an interview may be as short as 45 minutes, with the ideal being between one and a half hours and two hours. Sometimes everyone is so involved in the story that they want to continue, but it’s best to gently wrap up the interview after two hours maximum and reschedule for another day. At the beginning of the next interview, you can replay the last few minutes of the previous interview so the storyteller remembers where he left off.
• Take a notepad to an interview – to write down points you would like clarified or expanded, spellings of names and places and so on. Instead of interrupting the storyteller, you can ask for clarification during a pause or at the end of the interview. If you go to an interview as an oral history team, you may have two or more note-takers. This could be useful in comparing ideas and reviewing or critiquing your interview.
• The interviewer should let the storyteller set his or her own pace.
• You can use prompts such as documents, maps, tools, clothing, timelines or photographs to inspire the storyteller to remember the past.
• Feelings, attitudes and values give meaning to past activities and events and make an interview interesting. The interviewer needs to encourage the storyteller to go beyond facts.
• Some experiences ‘defy words’ – words sometimes cannot adequately explain a traumatic or amazing experience from the past.
• The interviewer should try to understand the person’s story from their point of view – to really listen!
• Pay attention to what is missing in a story. What gaps are there – and why? Maybe the interviewee inds some aspects of the story too painful to talk about.
• You may get conlicting information from different sources. Sometimes memory fails people; sometimes two people are looking at the event from different perspectives. If your project involves getting correct factual information, you may want to check other resources and then go back to the interviewees for clarification.