Guides

How to conduct an oral history interview

An oral history interview is a structured conversation designed to be listened to a hundred years from now.

Oral history is one of the oldest forms of preservation, and one of the most durable. A careful interview, recorded and transcribed, turns a single afternoon into a permanent family or community record. Here is the method historians and archivists use — simplified for a family project you can actually finish.

Before the interview

1. Choose a narrator. Prioritize the oldest voice in the family.
2. Learn a little first. Skim any photos, letters, or dates you have. You don't need to be an expert — you need one hook to open with.
3. Write 15–20 questions. Grouped by theme, not by year. Chronological questions get chronological answers; thematic questions get stories.
4. Warn the narrator. Tell them the topics ahead of time. Surprise is not honesty; comfort is.
5. Get consent. A written release — even a plain paragraph naming who owns and can share the recording — protects everyone.

Setting up the recording

• Choose a quiet room. Kitchens hum; living rooms echo. A closed bedroom is best.
• Turn off notifications. Everything.
• Put the phone or recorder between you, closer to the narrator.
• Do a 30-second test recording and listen back. Adjust if you hear background noise.
• Bring water. Long conversations are dry work.

During the interview

• Start with the easy question: Where were you born, and what was the house like?
• Ask open questions ("what was that like?") more than closed ones ("did you like it?").
• Let silence do work. Ten seconds of quiet often produces the best answer.
• Don't correct dates in the moment. Note them and check later.
• Follow the emotional thread, not the outline. The outline is a safety net, not a script.
• End on a gentle question: What do you want your grandchildren to know about you?

After the interview

1. Back up the audio to two locations within 24 hours.
2. Transcribe it. Automated tools do the first pass; a person edits for accuracy.
3. Write a short summary — who, when, where, and five topics covered — for future readers.
4. Share a copy with the narrator. This is both a courtesy and, often, the moment they say "and one more thing…"
5. Preserve it in print as well as digital. Paper is still the most reliable long-term medium.

A faster path

Your One Story is essentially an oral history platform for families. It runs the interview, transcribes the audio, and shapes the answers into printable chapters — the manual method above, automated end to end. You still bring the questions and the person; we handle the record.

Frequently asked questions