Oral History:
A Brief Overview
Warm Up Activity
I can remember when…
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What we will do in this session:
1.) What is oral history and why is
it important?
2.) Listening to an oral history
3.) Practicing oral history
4.) Sharing what we learned from
each other
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Why Oral History?
“The real record of history is found in the
lives of the ordinary people who lived
it. Collecting, preserving and sharing
oral histories not only transmits
knowledge from one generation to the
next, it enhances our understanding of
the past by illuminating personal
experience.”
--Texas Historical Commission
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Interviewing Tips
Oral history is a technique.
It can be taught.
It can be learned.
You can get better at doing it.
It can be enjoyable and rewarding!
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Find a partner and ask him/her
about his/her favorite birthday.
Try interviewing the WRONG way:
• Ask questions that require only a “yes” or “no”
answer
• Don’t listen to the interviewee
• Interrupt or argue with the interviewee
• Look disinterested
• Don’t ask any follow-up questions
• Ask more than one question at a time
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A good interviewer…
• Shows respect for the interviewee
• Listens well
– stays quiet while the interviewee speaks
– takes notes
• Helps the interviewee remember more
– researches the topic in advance
– asks open-ended questions
– asks follow-up questions to get more
details
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Work from a list of topics, rather
than specific questions.
Example: My neighborhood:
» Origin of its name
» Description
» Beginnings
» Changes over time
» Businesses
» Get togethers (when, where, why)
» Racial/ethnic/economic makeup
» Holidays
» Safety
» Effects of historical events, natural disasters
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To start an interview:
•
•
•
•
This is (your name)
Today is (month/day/year)
I am interviewing (full name)
This interview is taking place at
(address or description of place)
• This interview is part of the (title or
description) project
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Follow-up Questions
• Ask for definitions
– What does _____ mean?
– Describe a ___________
• Ask for details
– What else? Who else? How often?
– What happened next?
• Best follow-up question of all time:
– Tell me more about ____
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Summary
• What else would you like to talk about that
we haven’t covered?
• Is there anything I failed to ask that you
think I should know about this subject?
• End with a “Thank you!”
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Oral History Quilt
What did you learn about someone
else that interested you?
Get a small piece of paper and
write down one thing he/she told
you. Glue onto the paper quilt.
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RIGHTS RESERVED.
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