Since the basic idea of this toolkit has to do with recording the stories of our families, friends or community, the questions you ask should aim at getting a conversation going in the right direction. Here are a few questions to get you started:
- What is your full name?
- Where did you grow up?
- What was it like growing up in ____?
- When was the last time you were there? What do you most remember about ____?
- If you were not born in the U.S., when did you arrive? How long ago? Why did you decide to emigrate to the U.S.? How did you feel when you arrived to the U.S.?
- What is your profession?
In a nutshell, you should ask questions that allow you to get to know the person you are interviewing.
Every interview that you do will be unique. The following tips are designed to guide you as you plan and conduct interviews:
- Ask evocative questions. Nothing can kill an interview faster than a long series of questions that require only yes or no as answers.
- Face up to the fact that there will be some information that you will not get. You may be the wrong sex or age. An informant may simply not trust you with sensitive data. If you feel you must have the missing material you may be able to solicit the help of another relative or friend as an interviewer.
- Be aware that role switching will occur. For example, when interviewing family, rather than being just a son or daughter you are becoming an interrogator. Both you and your informant may feel uneasy in these new roles. A low key approach in a natural setting should help relieve some of the discomfort.
- Show interest. Encourage your informants as much as possible. Interject remarks whenever appropriate. Take an active part in the conversation without dominating it. Learn to be a good listener as well as a good questioner.
- Know what questions you want to ask, but don’t be afraid to let your informant go off on a tangent. He or she might just touch on subjects of interest that you never thought to ask about.
- Never turn off the tape recorder unless asked to. Not only does it break the conversation, such action suggests that you think some of your informant’s material is not worth recording.
- Use props whenever possible. Documents, letters, photo albums, scrapbooks, home movies and other family heirlooms can all be profitably used to stimulate memories.
- Be sensitive to the needs of your informants. Schedule your sessions at a convenient time. Older people tire easily; cut the interview off at the first sign of fatigue. Don’t slight people who show interest in your project. Interview them, even if you have reason to believe their material will be of minimal value. Each interview should be a pleasant and rewarding experience for all parties involved.
- If possible, prepare some sort of written report for your family or community as a tangible result of their participation. Remember to save all of your tapes, notes and any other documentation that you have accumulated (and you will!). Label everything with names, dates and places. Ideally, all tapes should be indexed and transcribed. You will be more conscientious about documentation if you place yourself in the position of your great-grandchild who, many decades in the future, will be using your project as a source for his reconstruction.
In Conclusion: Please do not be discouraged by all the do’s and don’t’s that have been outlined thus far. Once you have begun collection your own family’s folklore you will realize that the guidelines are based on common sense and lots of practice. Vary them to suit your own family circumstances. Improve them with our blessing and encouragement. And above all, enjoy yourself, your family and your folklore.
****Source — Folklife Program Office of American & Folklife Studies Smithsonian Institution