Yesterday, Kristi and I interviewed a 78 year old woman. We also met with a challenge. Our client requested we capture her life story – in just two hours. Could we do it, we wondered? With a bit of advance planning, reasonable expectations, and an eye on the clock, the answer was “yes”. True, the results of the interview won’t yield a book-length memoir. But the transcription and audio file will accurately capture the highlights of her life – in her own voice and words. More importantly, it will be treasured by her children and grandchildren.
You don’t have to be a professional personal historian to create an oral history. Here are 7 tips to help you make the most of a streamlined interview experience.
1. If feasible, talk with the interviewee prior to your meeting. Tell them you’d like to cover their life story in broad brushstrokes, and invite them to think about the key milestones in their life. The woman we interviewed jotted down a few notes prior to our visit which was helpful in keeping us all on track.
2. Use a blank family tree chart to collect names and key information for the interviewee’s siblings, parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. Can you recall each of your great grandparents’ full names? Bet you can’t. So while you have the opportunity, gather this information from your interviewee. It will put their life story into context, and might bring fresh stories to the fore. It will also serve as a reference during their interview.
3. Set expectations that the life story overview portion should take about 60 minutes so there is time for follow-up questions. Then make sure a watch or clock is within view, and gently keep yourselves on track.
4. Start with a broad overview or timeline. Begin with the interviewee’s first memory, work through childhood and school age years, college/military experience, young adulthood, middle age and retirement years. Consider this the “bones” of the story, and at this point, don’t delve into minute detail. Make mental (or written) notes of events that were of special significance so that you can go back and discuss them in greater length in the second hour.
Our client spent just under an hour reviewing the highlights of her 78 years. Yes, it was a lot to fit into an hour, but with our broad goal in mind, it worked successfully.
5. Then pick a few areas that were particularly relevant or resonant to the interviewee and “dig a little deeper”. Flesh out the details of notable events with “who, what, where and why” questions. Probe for sensory data, like what they saw, heard, touched, smelled or tasted. If appropriate, ask what feelings were present. Try to collect 3-5 stories to add “meat” to their story. For instance, we asked our client to tell us more specifically about how she and her husband first met each other.
6. Spend a few minutes asking about cultural relics from the “good old days”. Ask them how they listened to music (LP’s? 8-track tapes?), how they were transported when they were young (streetcar? big family car?), how they communicated (the family rotary dial telephone?), etc. These bits of information enhance their personal history, and will be interesting and amusing for readers.
7. Solicit their words of wisdom. Don’t let the interview draw to a close without asking the interviewee for their words of wisdom. Our client immediately responded with: “Respect other people,” then added 4 other pieces of sage advice.
A limited amount of time isn’t an obstacle to capturing someone’s story – it’s a challenge! And an achievable one, at that.
- Jennifer Sauers