In a culture where seniors are often isolated, learning from our elders seems to have become a less important notion. Yet, societies can truly benefit by the passage of knowledge and experience from older to newer generations, and our elders have a wealth of stories to share.
You could help preserve those stories by connecting with some of the elderly members of your family or apartment community to create an oral history project of your own.
How to start
Sometimes, if we’re lucky, we’ve heard stories from the elders in our lives that we’ll never forget. If those individuals are willing, now is the time to preserve their life experiences by recording the stories in their own voices. Or, if you have heard about an elder who has lived through a certain historical event or lived an especially interesting life, that person could be an excellent interview for an oral history project, if they are interested in sharing their tales.
It will be useful to begin your project with a specific theme in mind: a particular story or a specific period in your subject’s life. You don’t want to take up an inordinate amount of your interviewee’s time, so going in with a specific goal will help focus your time. Also, consider doing background research on the time period or historical event your subject will be talking about so you will be informed enough to ask meaningful questions as the story reveals new layers.
Gathering the equipment
It is a good idea to invest according to the final plans you have for your history project. Will it be for a Web site, family archives or possibly for broadcast? You don’t need a high-tech arsenal to complete your interviews, but you can reasonably move beyond mere pen and paper, too.
Digital voice recorders can be purchased at reasonable prices – $30, or so, and up. You can, of course, use a micro or conventional cassette recorder, but digital files are the modern standard and are easily transferred for transcription and for posting electronically. Be sure to start with fresh batteries and bring extras, as well as additional cassettes if you’ll be using them. If possible, use an external microphone for the best sound quality.
Another option available to you might be digital video. Some handheld products allow for extended recording of sound and video, and some smartphones will also record high-definition video, as well.
Don’t dismiss the pen and pad entirely. You’ll want to have those materials on hand to write down all sorts of details that the recorder won’t know about: what your subject is wearing, what she looks like, facial expressions, a description of her home, questions you think of and want to remember to ask, and any other thoughts the experience brings to mind for you.
Make sure that you come to your scheduled interview on time, with your recording equipment tested and ready. You should familiarize yourself with the equipment before you arrive at your subject’s home so that you are comfortable using it. (The focus of your time should be on your subject, of course, not the technology.)
Conducting the interview
The best way to conduct a comfortable interview is to make your subject familiar with what you’ll be talking about (and why) before you arrive. You should share these details in an earlier conversation in person, by phone or via e-mail. Specifically ask your subject if he or she is comfortable with a recording device for the interview.
Ask one question at a time, and allow time for the interviewee to answer. Don’t be afraid either of silence or of going off course by following up on a new idea that your subject’s storytelling opens up. Be patient and unhurried with your interviewee, and the oral history will likely pour out of your subject and onto the recording in a way that you both will enjoy.
Be sure to be gracious and thankful to your interviewee for his time and involvement. You’ll also want to leave the possibility open for follow-up conversations to confirm details or get more information later. And, of course, your subject may have more stories to tell.
The final outcome
What you do with the oral history project you help create will depend largely on what you set out to achieve in the first place. Perhaps this is a student project, or a way to preserve a bit of family history? In any case, transcribe or upload the stories as soon as possible so that you can begin to piece together the threads of the story you want to preserve, while memories of the conversation are still fresh in your mind. From there, you can post clips, create a printed version of your subject’s story, or compose an interactive scrapbook, for instance.
Again, make sure you have permission from your subject and that they understand and agree to the ways with which you will share their story with others. (And if possible, prepare a copy to share with your subject, as well.)
Whatever medium you choose to preserve your oral history project, you will be a part of the process of passing on knowledge from generation to generation. Relish the chance to be the curator of a person’s story that would not otherwise be around for future generations to learn from and enjoy.
