Oral History Interviews - DOs AND DON’Ts

some DOs ______

1. Ask questions that require more than a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. You want descriptive responses.

  • Keep the questions brief and ask them one at a time.
  • If you and the narrator are comfortable with each other, you can ask deeper questions, like “Why did you do that?” or “How did that make you feel?”
  • Emotions, impressions, and motivations are important parts of oral history because they are not always found in documents and other historical records.

2. Listening is as important as asking questions. Try to stay engaged. Be curious, honest, and open. Look at the narrator, not at the recorder or out the window.

  • Listen for hints that point to additional questions or stories. Try to imagine a scene in detail. Pretend you are there so that you can ask questions about it.

3. If the narrator brings pictures, documents, or artifacts, be sure to ask about them: “How did you come to own this?” “Why are these [objects] important?“ “Tell me about this picture.”

4. Recognize that there is some information that you are not going to get.

  • Many people born before the end of World War II, for example, guard their own privacy—and respect the privacy of others—in ways we barely understand! In the world of social media, privacy is often ignored or taken for granted.
  • People in other generations or from other cultures may be private as well. (Maybe you are, too!)

5. Opening up is difficult. Be sure to thank the narrator for taking the time to talk with you.

a few DON’Ts______

1. Don’t worry if there are periods of silence during the interview. You want the narrator to remember and then tell a story. This can take time.

2. Don’t be afraid to let someone go off on a tangent. As Lorraine McConaghy (the Museum of History and Industry’s Public Historian) says, “When the fish are biting, don’t move the boat.” And, it’s fine if you don’t ask all of your prepared questions.

3. Don’t interrupt. Let the narrator finish a story before asking questions, returning to a topic, or moving on. You can jot down follow-up questions or note topics and ask about them later.

4. Don’t be afraid to ask questions for clarification. You are not expected to know everything and filling in gaps might help a listener later.