Article

Interviewing

Oral history is a collaborative enterprise. Good interviews rest on mutual trust, empathy, and respect. People’s stories are among the most precious resources entrusted to our stewardship. Planning, preparation, and practice will result in good interviews.

Two people sit at a kitchen table during an oral history interview, with a microphone, beverage glass, and NPS brochure on the table.
Oral history interview

NPS

Planning and Preparation

Plan the research project

  • What do you want to find out through oral history interviews?

  • What does background research in written primary and secondary sources suggest needs to be researched through interviews?

  • Do other archives contain oral history interviews that are similar to those you plan to conduct?

  • What do your potential interviewees think is important for you to investigate?

  • What is the primary goal of your project?

  • Write a short mission statement that describes the purpose of the project, the kinds of narrators to be interviewed, and how the interviews are to be used.

Compose an interview guide

  • What topics do you plan to explore?

  • See sample interview guides.

Find, select, and contact narrators

  • How many people and what cross-section of people need to be interviewed?

  • Who are the most important people to be interviewed?

  • What are the constraints imposed by budget and personnel?

Conduct a pre-interview

  • Explain to narrators why you are conducting interviews and how they will be used.

  • Gather basic biographical information.

  • Explore the topics that they are particularly well suited to discuss.

  • Explain that you will ask them to sign a legal release form giving permission for use of interviews.

Practice using the recording equipment

Plan carefully but prepare to improvise as new opportunities and challenges arise

Interviewing

Setting up for the interview

  • Arrive on time and allow a few minutes to visit before and after the interview. Build the trust and rapport that are foundations of good interviews.

  • Choose a location for the interview that is comfortable for the narrator and one where you can position the recorder so you can easily view recording levels while maintaining eye contact with the narrator. Take stock of the sonic environment and, if necessary, ask to turn off the radio, TV, or other source of noise.

  • Take time to get acquainted and build rapport with the narrator.

Assessment: Before the Interview

Interviewing Techniques

Good interviewing is about temperament as well as technique. Important attributes of an interviewer are empathy, eagerness to learn, and the capacity for respectful listening. Good interviews emerge from trust and respect.

  • Remember that you’re there to listen; you are not the subject of the interview. This is the narrator’s story; give them the chance to tell it.

  • Begin the interview recording with a simple statement that includes the names of interviewer and narrator, the date, the location of the interview, and the project name. Request the narrator’s verbal consent to conduct and record the interview.

  • Start with routine, nonthreatening questions such as basic biographical information: When were you born? Where were you born? Delay more sensitive topics until later.

  • Phrase open-ended questions that invite elaboration: For example:

    • What shaped your decision to join the National Park Service?

    • What was your first job like?

  • Ask one question at a time.

  • Ask questions that begin with who, what, when, how, and why. What happened? Why do you think events unfolded as they did? How did you make the decision to take the new job?

  • Be curious. Ask the narrator to explain things to you, to define words and phrases you’re not familiar with, and to describe physical objects.

  • Build rapport by showing interest and respect and displaying empathy. Smile and nod your head. Encourage the narrator with your eyes and body language.

  • Listen carefully so that you can follow the narrator’s thought processes and you can ask follow-up questions. Follow-up questions encourage more information and deeper reflections and help narrators remember in greater depth.

  • Probe with questions such as, “Can you explain?” or “Can you describe the situation in more detail?” or “Can you give me an example of that?”

  • Use the two-sentence format as an interviewing technique. The first sentence explains why you’re asking the question and/or shifting topics, and the second sentence is the question itself. For example:

    • Making career choices affects entire families, not just the National Park Service employee. How did your family react when you told them you had the opportunity to take a job at a park in a different part of the country?

A diagram shows the two-question interview technique: explain why you're asking, then the question itself, and an example
Two-question interview technique.

NPS

  • Avoid leading questions that suggest “appropriate” answers. For example:

    • Instead of asking, “Did you disagree with the policies of the new superintendent?” ask “What did you think of the new superintendent’s policies?

  • Save tougher questions for the second half of the interview. Phrase sensitive questions delicately. For example:

    • “Some people remember that there was disagreement about the preservation program. What did you think about it?”

  • Become comfortable with silences. People need time to contemplate questions and formulate answers.

  • Pay attention to body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice. Is the narrator tired, upset, or eager to say more about a topic?

  • Ask one question at a time. Word questions in clear language.

  • Use cues to memory such as artifacts, photographs, and maps.

  • After the interview, record field notes and send thank you letter.

  • Interviewing is an art; interviewers develop their own style. It’s like a dance during which you’ve got to move with your partner. Interviewing skills will develop with practice and self-reflection.

Interpersonal Relationships and Interviewing

  • Interviews are complex social interactions and relationships. We must come to terms with our own biases and assumptions. We also can foster our own capacity for empathy and respect for the richness of people and their stories.

  • Differences in race, gender, age, class, and ethnicity can affect interview dynamics. Differences can create barriers and they can also create opportunities to build bridges across the diversity.

Two people are seated at a table in front of an audio recorder. One woman hands a paper and pen to the other.
As the interview concludes, have the interviewee complete and sign the legal release form.

NPS

Ending the Interview

  • As the interview winds down, ask summary questions: What else would you like to talk about? Is there anything I failed to ask you about that you think I should know about this subject?

  • Limit interviews to about 90 minutes. Asking questions, listening actively, and remembering thoughtfully are tiring.

  • Schedule a second interview if the narrator has more to say.

  • Have the interviewee complete and sign the legal release form.

After the Interview

  • Record brief field notes that capture immediate thoughts about the interview, the setting, and the interview dynamics.

  • Send a written thank you note to the narrator

  • Make a copy of the interview recording for use during transcription or indexing.

  • Listen to the recording and evaluate the interview and your interactions with the narrator.

Case Studies




Resources for Interviewing: Websites and Publications


Assessment: After the Interview

Part of a series of articles titled Oral History Project Process.

Last updated: January 10, 2024