Education Workshops
Humility and Empathy
Introduction and Overview
An oral history interview is an intense and personal search to learn something about the history of human striving and endurance. Most human history has been handed down and recorded using oral traditions rather than written records. Written records often privilege the voices and perspectives of elites and "leaders" in society. Rarely do written records incorporate the views of youth or the aged (especially in the United States). Oral history is a wonderful way to bring the perspectives of working-class people of all colors and nationalities to the attention of the public. Oral history can also serve to help individuals, families, neighborhoods, and communities preserve their history for the benefit of their descendants or living neighbors. Oral history can also be used as a tool in the struggles of oppressed people to enhance their level of self-determination and self-respect in society.
As an oral historian, you need to recognize that you have ideas about the way the world works that may be radically different than those ideas held by the person(s) you want to interview. For example, you might find yourself interviewing somebody who is a fierce partisan of the Christian Coalition or the Democratic Party and thus disagree with the aims and values of these organizations. Be aware of your own biases as you think about your project. Try not to let your preconceived notions about the people you want to interview stop you from communicating with them in an effective manner.
The main rule is: be flexible! While you must follow
ethical guidelines in doing oral history, there are no firm rules for conducting
an interview, and there is no "ideal" interview. Each person
that you interview will be unique. Each interview you conduct will
be unique. This handout is designed as a guideline and should not be considered
the final word.
The objective of doing an oral history interview is to record the greatest
amount of personally significant and historically accurate information
as possible. In this handout, we will cover five steps in doing an oral
history:
1) Getting started and setting up an interview;
2) interview preparation;
3) recording the interview;
4) utilizing good interview techniques; and
5) the "final" product.
Setting Up the Interview
A) Think about who you want to interview and why. Who will benefit from your project? What kinds of questions will you ask? You need to think through your motivations because one of the first questions your interviewees will ask is, "why do you want to interview me?" or "what are you getting out of doing this?" Another important issue to think about is what kind of final shape your oral history project will take. Are you planning to write an article or to create an oral history archive at a community or non-profit center?
Valerie Yow notes: the practitioner of oral history has an obligation
to tell the narrator [person being interviewed] honestly what the goals
of the project are, stages of the research the researcher expects them
to unfold, and the uses to which the recorded information will be put.
B) Once you decide who you want to interview, you will
need to decide on a strategy to make your first contact. If you know
the person(s), fine. If not, you will need some help. One of the most
important issues at this point is to establish legitimacy in the community
that you want to do interview work in. You need to build trust with the
people you are trying to interview. If they do not trust you, you will
go nowhere. If you are an "outsider" and you want to interview
a particular group of people, say farm workers, you need to find out
the kinds of institutions that farm workers utilize, respect, and trust
in that particular community. Churches are often good places to start.
So are, in most cases, community organizations. For example, if you wanted
to interview female farm workers in the Benson, North Carolina area,
you would do well to contact the North Carolina Farm Workers Project.
Introduce yourself and your project idea. If possible, ask the organization
or church if they would be willing to serve as a contact or reference
for you as you begin to contact individual farm workers. Some agencies,
such as senior citizen drop-in centers, may ask you to stop by and introduce
yourself during the time when elders are actually in residence.
C) Try to make first contact with the person(s) you
want to interview by letter or telephone, if possible. It is a bit more
difficult to establish trust with an individual by showing up unannounced
at their doorstep. I have set up some of my interviews by going to church
services or community centers and giving brief talks about my project.
Again, this helps build trust. So too, does a promise to provide copies
of the resulting interview recordings to the individuals you want to
interview. They may want to listen to the interview, or just as often,
have a copy to hand down to children or grandchildren.
D) During that first discussion or letter, give the person(s) an overview of what you hope to accomplish by interviewing them. Be honest about your motivations. Give the interviewee a general idea of the questions you will be asking so that they will feel prepared for the interview session. Make certain to tell the person that you will be recording the interview because you want to be certain to accurately record their ideas and thoughts rather than rely on your rough notes. In addition, explain that the interview becomes the property of both interviewee and interviewer and that you must obtain permission from the interviewee before you are allowed to use any excerpt of the interview in a public manner. If the person is still hesitant to be interviewed, assure them that they have the right to decline to answer any of the questions you might ask.
E) Try to schedule the first interview session as soon after the initial contact as possible. You should schedule the interview at a time and place that is convenient for the interviewee—if this time and place isn't as convenient for you, you will have to adjust your schedule accordingly! Ask for directions and repeat them back to the interviewee to make certain you know where you are going.
Preparing for the Interview
A) Before doing the interview, you should (if possible) get some information about the interviewee's background and general life experience; this can be done during your initial discussion with them. Of course, it may not be possible to learn a great deal about the person in advance, however, if you are interviewing a farm worker, you will want to have a good background in the history of farm worker life and culture. Use your Community Stories readings, and do some outside research if necessary. The purpose of this is to be able to frame intelligent questions to ask during the interview. For example, if you are interviewing a farm worker who has migrated recently from Guatemala, you should brush up on your Guatemalan history. This does not mean that you have to know everything about Guatemala; it only means that you will be able to better understand the life history your interviewee is trying to tell you during the interview. In addition, this knowledge will alert the person you are interviewing that you care enough about their history to take some extra time to research it. If you are interviewing folks who have lived in a particular neighborhood in Durham for the last sixty years, you can use Durham city directories, maps, and newspapers to get a better idea of what changes the neighborhood has gone through over the decades.
B) Create a list of at least ten sample interview questions. Develop some "open-ended" questions such as: What was your community like growing up? Could you describe the process you went through in deciding to move to this area to work? What have been some of the challenges you have faced in coming to the United States? An open-ended question gives the interviewee space to answer a question at length on their own terms. In contrast, close-ended questions are designed to get one-line responses: What year were you born? How many people lived in your household growing up? Do you like working here?
Sometimes, when you need to get basic information regarding names and
dates, close-ended questions are appropriate. However, if you ask too many
close-ended questions, you will begin to get a string of one-line responses
("yes" or "no") during the interview. Think about how
you might structure your questions in such a way that your interviewee
will feel comfortable with talking more expansively. For example, instead
of asking: "Do you like working here?" Try: "How
does working here compare with your other work experiences?"
Remember: an oral history interview is not a job interview.
Recording the Interview
How can we be certain after the interview that we have really captured the essence of what the interviewee was trying to tell us? Hand-written notes are good, but not nearly as accurate or dependable as a recorded interview. People are very hesitant to allow their voices to be recorded. I have found, however, that I have been able to convince most of the people that I have tried to interview that an audio recording will be a more faithful rendition of their thoughts and life history than my hastily-scribbled written notes.
A) Select a good recorder that is easy to transport and easy to set up. If using a tap recorder, use high quality audio cassette tapes. (I use TDK "normal" tapes and have always found them to be dependable.)
B) Digital recorders are capable of capturing high quality audio and video. They are more durable than traditional tape recorders and make archiving and transcribing interviews easier and efficient. Digital equipment preserves irreplaceable interviews that may be in danger of loss due to their storage on increasingly outdated media. Proper memory cards are essential to digital recorders.
C) Practice using your equipment before your interview.
Do a mock interview with a friend. Become familiar with the specific workings
of the machine, including the steps necessary to record and to stop the
tape. Record yourself talking and make some mental notes on how close the
recorder's microphone needs to be placed to the interviewee's voice box
for the sound to register on tape. (Interestingly enough, much of the sound
that comes out of our "mouth" is actually generated through our
throat. This is why lapel microphones, which are aimed directly at the
speaker's throat, are so effective.)
D) Try to arrange the physical setting of the interview
so that the interviewee is comfortable and so that outside noises and
interruptions are minimized.
E) Achieve and maintain good recording quality.
At the beginning of the interview:
- Set the volume control at the best recording level.
- Allow some
time to wind onto the tape to form a "leader" before beginning
to record.
(You can actually do this before you arrive to do the interview.) - Be certain the "record" button is turned on!
During the interview:
- Check that the vu meter needle or recording indicator light is working properly.
- Confirm that the tape is turning.
- Make sure that neither you nor the interviewee are tapping on or touching the microphone.
- Listen for external noises that will affect the recording quality.
- Watch for the end of the sides of tape and, if possible, turn the cassette over during a natural break in interview before the end of the tape.
- If you are using digital equipment, make sure that your memory storage cards are high-capacity, maximum megabyte or gigabyte, to hold the entire interview; bring an extra memory card for backup if possible.
Preserve Your Recordings!
- Label recordings before leaving the interview.
- Do not: leave recordings sitting in the sun, expose recordings to either very cold or very hot weather, store recordings in your car.
- Keep recordings away from magnets.
- Make a copy
of the recording as soon as possible and store it in a different location.
Utilizing Good Interviewing Techniques
The success of an interview depends to a great degree on the amount of trust and understanding the interviewer is able to create with the interviewee. Courtesy and empathy are a part of this process. As you start to do oral history interviews, you will begin to understand the importance of doing background research. You will also begin to pick up on other "intangible" gestures and personality traits that make for a good interview.
A)When you arrive to begin the interview, set up your
equipment as soon as possible. Your interviewee's time should not be taken
lightly. As you are setting up, give another general overview of the types
of things you are interested in as well as some questions you might ask.
At this point, discuss the interview release form and Deed
of Gift and the various restrictions the interviewee might want
to put on the interview (more on this below).
B) If the person begins talking about their life
history before you are able to start the recording, so much the better;
this means that you have already "broken the ice," so to speak.
If this is the case, you might be able to start the interview by saying "Mrs. _____,
you were telling about the reasons your family left Florida for North
Carolina. Can you tell me about this again now that we are recording?"
C) Start the interview by asking an open-ended question
that the interviewee will be able to answer easily, at length. An open-ended
question could be: "Could you tell me about what your community
was like when you were growing up?"
1. Do not interrupt the interviewee during this first part of their testimony, even if relevant information to your interests is being passed over. Make notes of questions that arise out of the interviewee's narrative.
2. Demonstrate a strong interest in what the interviewee is saying. Obtain respectful eye contact. Convey interest by facial expressions and the kinds of gestures you normally use when you are interested in what somebody is telling you.
3. Be alert for topics that should be expanded upon later, or hints given by the interviewee of a desire to be asked to discuss in depth points merely alluded to.
4. Listen carefully and pay attention that your subsequent questions do not deal with information already adequately covered by the interviewee.
5. Be mentally structuring new questions that should be covered. Make notes on your scratch pad so that you will not miss valuable information.
6. If the interviewee pauses, do not ask a new question until you are certain that s\he is not simply reflecting.
D) As the interview proceeds, follow the same general pattern of asking open-ended questions. Be intensely involved in the interview, but avoid offering your peculiar value judgments. The more you offer your own opinions, the more chances you run in offending the interviewee and shutting down the interview entirely. You are trying to find out what this person thinks. You already know your own opinions!
1. After the interviewee has overcome initial shyness, you may want to ask questions that clarify specific points they made earlier. This is where the "close-ended" questions become more effective. Try to place the interview within an historical context by seeking information regarding "who, what, when, where and how.” That is, dates, places and examples to build on the interviewee's statements. For example: "Mrs. Hernandez, you said earlier that 'times were so rough when we were in Michoacan.' When were you in Michoacan, Mrs. Hernandez, and when you said 'we had rough times' were you referring only to your family or did you mean that everyone in the state was having a rough time?"
2. If the interviewee first suggests it, encourage them to bring out a family photo album or heirloom that helps them to remember more clearly.
3. Always keep the issue of confidentiality in mind. If the person relates information that could potentially harm their job or immigration status, it is your duty to warn them that in oral history, there is no such thing as "lawyer-client privilege" and that tapes can be subpoenaed by courts. It is appropriate to erase parts of a tape that contains sensitive information before turning it over to a library or archive.
4. If there is an apparent contradiction in the interviewee's narrative, do not hesitate to point out the contradictions by approaching them simply as something that needs clarification.
5. If you have questions that you feel are of a sensitive nature, wait until you have established trust with the interviewee before you ask them. Remind the interviewee that any part of their testimony may be deemed "confidential" if they wish.
6. If the interviewee, when asked about a certain event, requests that you turn off the recorder, do so.
7. Always thank the person(s) you are interviewing for their time and efforts. Being interviewed is mentally and spiritually demanding. Interviewees may become deeply moved as they recount certain parts of their lives; they may even openly weep. It is your responsibility to show as much empathy as you can during these moments of spiritual anguish.
8. Be flexible!
Thinking About the "Final" Product
Many scholars and writers conduct oral histories solely for the purpose
of writing books or articles. All of us who do oral history should ask
ourselves one question: what are the costs of not preserving
this history, this heritage and this culture for future generations? Is
there a local library, archive, or repository that can store your interviews?
How do the people you have interviewed feel about the preservation question?
Along these lines, you will want to consider using forms that record family
and basic biographical information. Ask the person(s) you interview to
fill out this information or have them dictate it to you. Always ask the
interviewee if they would like a copy of the recordings resulting from
the interview, as well as a copy of the transcript when it becomes available.
The "legalities and ethics" of oral history are rather specific.
In light of this, I am providing here a copy of Valerie Yow's chapter "Legalities
and Ethics" taken from her book Recording Oral History: A Practicing
Guide for Social Scientists. Read this chapter carefully before you
begin your project to avoid the legal dilemmas that Yow discusses.
