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Oral history interviews must be conducted by trained interviewers. Before conducting interviews, make sure you have received proper training in things such as how to formulate questions, development of follow-up questions, and ethical considerations. If you are leading the project, make sure all your interviewers have received the necessary training.
Go into the interview with a plan. Determine the topics you want to discuss and the information you want to obtain. Prepare a general outline of questions to help guide yourself and make sure you cover all important points. Be sure to research the topics you will cover in the interview. Being informed on these topics will allow you to formulate good follow-up questions in order to obtain more meaningful information about the issues that are most important to you. This can lead to much greater results. Additionally, it is important to conduct research on who your narrator is and what is their background. This can help you come up with more relevant questions and can also help you generate rapport during the interview.
As you conduct interviews, you may want to revise some aspects of your interview outline based on the information you are obtaining from your narrators. This may be useful if narrators are bringing up and elaborating on topics that you had not anticipated when you were constructing your outline.
Identify potential narrators for your oral history project. Prepare a statement where you explain to potential narrators what the project is about and why you wish to include them as participants. Be ready to answer questions that potential participants may have, such as what specific topics will be covered in the interview and if they can refrain from answering specific questions they may be uncomfortable with (They can!). It is important that narrators be informed about how the recording of the interview may be eventually disseminated and accessed by others.
Obtain access to recording equipment that is adequate to conduct your oral history interview. Also, obtain whatever additional equipment you may need, such as lights or a scanner to digitize documents. Learn how to use the equipment correctly so that you do not run into issues during the interview and obtain the best results possible in terms of quality. Avoid having to experiment with the equipment on the day of the interview.
Find a location where you and your narrator both feel comfortable. Think about all factors that may affect this, from chairs and furniture to the privacy of the space. Avoid places that are noisy, have bad acoustics, or that may present distractions or interruptions. If possible, conduct tests to make sure that you are able to generate high-quality recordings in the place you choose with the equipment that you have available. Have a plan for how you want to set everything up the day of the interview.
Something to keep in mind is that certain locations may have the unintended effect of reproducing trauma that your narrator may have experienced. Do everything you can to avoid this.
Have an idea as to how long the oral history interview will take. Having an outline and a clear idea of what you want to obtain should help tremendously. Try to maintain control of the interview, and if necessary, steer the narrator back to the topics that you want to cover.
Go over the interview outline and become familiar with it. Practice how you will formulate questions so they are clear to your narrator. Think of questions that may need clarification and think about how you will do this. Also, anticipate topics of the interview where follow-up questions may be needed. Know what you are looking for in order to obtain it obtain from the interview!