Module 2:
Creating excellent interviews
The most important aspect of an oral history project is the oral history interview itself. There is a lot to think about when it comes to an interview, including interview equipment, where to do the interview, what questions to ask, how to listen carefully and respectfully, how long to interview for and what to do after the interview. All these questions and more will be explored below.
Interview process
Once you have a plan for your oral history project, you can start interviewing! The following breakdown is a guide to the interview process, step-by-step.
Contact interviewee to introduce yourself and outline the project
This initial conversation is an opportunity to start building trust and rapport with your interviewee. Make sure to have a notebook handy, as they may give you information that will be useful for preparing your interview questions. You may conduct this chat over the phone or via a video conferencing platform, though in some cases your interviewee may find it more reassuring to meet in person for a preliminary discussion about the interview.
This conversation also gives you a chance to assess your interviewee’s needs. What will help make them comfortable? Do they seem nervous and will you need to factor in extra time for a chat over a cup of tea, before you start recording? Do they have any special needs, such as mobility issues, or problems with hearing? Can you hear any disruptive noises (such as a barking dog) in the background when you speak to them on the phone? Do they live alone or with family? Does their house seem like it will be a good place for the interview, or is another location preferred?
You may wish to include a photograph of your interviewee with their interview and transcript. Consider if this is appropriate for your project and if so, talk to your interviewee about this. They may prefer to provide an existing photograph, or they may agree to be photographed.
Schedule a suitable time and place for the interview
Most people are most comfortable in their own home, but sometimes this is not the best location for an interview. If that is the case, consider other options such as the recording spaces available for hire at local public libraries.
Send a confirmation letter or email
Contact your interviewee in writing to confirm the date and time of your interview. Some interviewees may also appreciate a phone call the day before to confirm the details.
Download an example introductory letter here.
Include an information statement about your project that your interviewee can understand (translated into their preferred language, if appropriate) and a rights agreement form if you have one. (Further information can be found on the Ethics, legalities and rights page.)
Conduct background research and prepare an interview guide
If there is particular information that you are hoping to record in your interview, make sure to do your research on the topic beforehand and come to the interview prepared.
An interview guide is a document you prepare in advance that includes all the important information you need for your interview, such as a list of questions or discussion topics, names and dates of key people and events, and often the wording that you might like to start your interview with (which includes key details such as interviewee name, date and project name). While it’s helpful to prepare a list of questions or topics to talk to your interviewee about, it’s important to be flexible. Your interviewee might want to start by talking about something different to what you expected, or they might talk about subjects in a different order.
You can find many guides online to devising interviews guides and writing good questions. Some good examples are the Smithsonian Folklife and Oral History Interviewing Guide and this New Zealand History Oral History Guide.
A few tips are:
- Ask ‘roomy’ or open-ended questions, rather than yes/no questions. For example, ‘Tell me about your memories of school’, rather than ‘Did you like school?’
- Try not to ask leading questions that could prompt a specific answer. For example, instead of ‘Was that exciting/difficult?’, ask ‘How did you feel about that?’
- Try not to avoid difficult or emotional questions, but be guided by your interviewee.
- Be aware of the timing that you have agreed on with your interviewee and guide the interview accordingly.
- Allow space before the end for the interviewee to share anything they feel was not covered in the interview but that they wish to put on the record. For example, ‘We have about 10 minutes left, is there anything you’d like to share with me, that we haven’t covered in today’s interview?’
- You may find significant objects or photographs to be useful in prompting your interviewee’s memories. If possible, take a photograph of these prompts to include with your interview material, or verbally describe what you are looking at on the recording.
At the beginning of your interview guide, you may want to include a short script for introducing the interview when you start recording. This ensures that anyone listening to the recording in the future knows what it is. Your introduction might be something like this:
This is an interview with [interviewee name]
for the [name of project] oral history project.
This interview is taking place on [full date]
and is being conducted at [location, or remotely via Zoom].
My name, the oral historian, is [interviewer name].
Thank you for agreeing to talk about your experiences with me.
This verbal stamp is an extra way of making your interview accessible, especially in the event that the file name or catalogue information is incorrect. Note that because of privacy concerns, you should not include your interviewee’s home address on the recording.
Prepare for the interview
Create a checklist of things you need to bring to the interview, so you don’t forget anything on the day.
For example:
- Audio recorder
- External microphones and microphone stands (if applicable)
- Headphones
- Tripod
- Back-up batteries and memory cards
- Extension cord and double adaptor
- Interview guide
- Rights agreement form and information statement
- Notebook and pen
- Water for interviewer and interviewee
- Box of tissues
- A camera or your phone for taking photographs (with prior consent)
Practice setting up your recording equipment a few times before you do your first interview. If you have time, it is definitely worth conducting a practice interview with a family member or friend, so you feel confident about using the equipment and creating a good quality recording.
Conduct the interview
Once you arrive at the location of your interview and meet with your interviewee, don’t start recording right away. Have a chat first, perhaps while you are setting up the space and recording equipment.
Try to set up your equipment so that the microphone is as close to the interviewee as possible, with the microphone at mouth level. You may want to use headphones to listen to the recording volume, and to check for any disruptive sounds in the background. Ensure that both you and your interviewee are comfortable in the space, and that your interviewee is ready to start recording.
Once you hit record and start the interview, check your recording equipment regularly to make sure it is working and continuing to record at an appropriate level. Make sure you position yourself so that you can reassure your interviewee you are still listening and engaged, with non-verbal cues such as eye contact, smiling and nodding (as appropriate).
While using your list of topics or questions as a guide, actively listen to your interviewee and follow their lead. Be prepared for silences – it can be effective to stop yourself from filling them immediately and instead give your interviewee space to think. Hit the pause button and take a break if you or your interviewee needs to, and check in with them if you think they may need to take a break for any reason. If they become emotional, it may be appropriate to ask if they would like to pause the interview.
Remember that this is an interview with the purpose of recording your interviewee’s story and memories, it is not a conversation. Keep your own voice out as much as possible and communicate non-verbally (smile and nod) with your interviewee, rather than giving them verbal reassurance, which will make the audio more difficult to edit and also means that you risk speaking over the top of the interviewee and muffling their words. It can be helpful to explain this before you start recording, so your interviewee knows why you aren’t laughing out loud or ‘mmmm-ing’ in agreement with them.
Post interview
After you have completed your interview, save your audio files carefully and label them clearly and consistently, including metadata if possible (such as the interviewee’s name, the date, and the project name). This will make your files much easier to identify and manage later.
You may wish to prepare a written transcript and send this to the interviewee for them to review. Ideally, you would also provide a copy of the audio recording in an accessible digital format via a method of transfer appropriate to the interviewee (a digital file on a USB for example) for them to listen to and keep.
Incorporate into the transcript any changes that the interviewee has requested, and provide them with a copy of the final version of the transcript that will be archived. In some cases, you may need to work closely with the interviewee to make changes to the transcript that they are happy with.
You can find more information about this on the Documenting interviews page.
Recording environment
It is important for you to get a clear recording without too much background noise. Noises such as a barking dog, a busy roadway, a ticking clock, or construction can make your interview difficult to hear. Not only this, but in some instances too much background noise can make your interview unusable for future outputs (such as radio documentary programs) or unacceptable to certain collecting institutions.
Discuss this with your interviewee in advance and consider the location of your interview carefully.
If you are recording outside, you may want to use a cover on your microphone to minimise the effects of wind on the recording.
When you are conducting the interview, listen to the audio recorder through headphones if possible so you can hear background noises that may disrupt the recording, and any changes to the audio environment, such as a fridge turning on, traffic noise, other people or pets in the vicinity, or the sound of an interviewee’s movements. You can only account for these noise distractions if you are aware of them, and if the adjustment does not make the interviewee uncomfortable. You can then adjust the room to improve the recording (for example, turn off a noisy air conditioner, or remove a pet), or wait for the noise to cease.
Recording equipment
There are many different audio recorders available, which can create very high-quality audio recordings. If you are buying equipment for your oral history project, choose the best quality that you can afford within your budget. You could check to see if your local library, council or oral history association has any oral history recording kits available to borrow or hire. If you are working with others, think about pooling your resources and sharing a kit to reduce costs.
A few features to look for are:
- Use a digital recorder and record onto an SD card if possible.
- Choose a machine that uses batteries and also plugs into mains power. This means that you have back-up power if one of these options fails.
- Choose a machine that you can use with headphones, so you can listen closely to the audio as it is recording and ensure it is good quality.
- Record in Waveform (.WAV) format if possible. This creates a bigger file but is higher quality than MP3.
Also think about your own familiarity with technology. You don’t want to buy a recorder that is overly complicated and that you may find difficult to use.
Here are some websites to help you narrow down the options:
Read the manual for your recorder and make sure you have it set to the optimal settings in advance of your interviews. Some tips on recording settings are:
- Ideally you want your sound level to sit between -12db and -6db, pushing up to around 0 when the interviewee laughs or becomes animated.
- Record at a minimum of 16-bit/44.1KHz.
- Record in Waveform (.WAV) rather than MP3.
- Consider the storage that you will need for your digital files.
For example:- 16-bit/44.1 KHz/Stereo/.wav requires 635.04 megabytes of storage per hour of recording time.
- 24-bit/96 KHz/Stereo/.wav requires 2 gigabytes per hour.
Even if you do not plan to use the audio of your interviews for any particular purpose in the short term, that doesn’t mean that you or someone else may not want to use the audio in the future. If your interview is being archived, it is worth recording at the best quality that you can, in the hope that it will be useable in the future if it is needed.
However, don’t let any limitations with your equipment stop you from interviewing. Recording an oral history interview, even if it isn’t the best quality, is better than not recording one at all!
Other recording options
Recording audio versus video
There are several factors to weigh up when considering whether to record your oral history interviews on video, or as audio only.
| Audio | Video | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Cheaper | More expensive |
| Resources | Manageable with one interviewer | Easier with more than one person |
| Archiving | Smaller file sizes | Bigger file sizes |
| End-user experience | Deeper listening | More information – gestures, facial expressions |
| Outputs | Great for radio, podcasts, websites | Better for multimedia, documentaries, online projects |
| Accessibility | Need for transcripts and other aids | Need for transcripts and other aids |
| Interviewee experience | Less self-conscious | Camera may make interviewee feel more self-conscious |
Recording remotely
Ideally, oral history interviews are recorded in person. But if you can’t be in the same room as your interviewee, you can still record an interview using an online video conferencing platform, such as Zoom. Be aware that this will not result in a high-quality recording, though this may not be a problem depending on what you are hoping to achieve with your oral history project. If you rely on a video conferencing platform to record your interviews, make sure you practice beforehand and know where and how the recording is being saved. This may be on your computer or in the cloud.
In order to record at the highest possible audio quality, you may want to organise for your interviewee to have an audio recorder on their end. They can then record themselves while you are interviewing them via the computer, and send you the digital file from the audio recorder afterwards. This will require you to 1) provide detailed instructions to your interviewee about how to use the recorder, and 2) do some post-production work to edit the audio recording, once you have it.
The UK Oral History Society has a detailed page on its website about everything to consider when recording interviews remotely.
