Dan Curtis ~ Professional Personal Historian

Conducting a good life story interview is a mix of research, talent, training and a little luck.  But you can improve your odds. I’ve been interviewing people for over twenty-five years and I still follow this four point pre-interview plan.

1. Review your previous interview. Always sit down after an interview and listen to it. Make a list of possible follow-up questions and look at where there’s room for improvement. Maybe you’re using a lot of  “Uh, huhs” or interrupting frequently. Whatever it is, make a note to change your “bad” interview habits.
2. Prepare your questions. It’s helpful to have a road map of where you want to take the interview. Making up your questions beforehand will give you confidence. You don’t need to slavishly follow your list of questions during the interview but knowing you have them is reassuring.
3. Check your equipment. You don’t want to arrive for your interview and discover your audio recorder or microphone battery is dead. As a rule, always carry an extra supply of batteries for emergencies. If you’re using a video camera make certain that your camera battery is fully charged and that you have sufficient video tapes. Have  extra lamps for any lights you may use.  Don’t forget to record a test segment on your audio recorder or camcorder to make sure they’re working.
4. Avoid rushing. It’s useful not to arrive for your interview in a “frazzle”.  Make sure you know the route to your subject’s home and how long it will take you to get there. This is particularly important for your first visit. I find MapQuest great for showing the best way to get from point A to point  B. Leave plenty of time to make your trip. Also, the day of the interview, make sure that you don’t fill up your calendar with multiple appointments or tasks to do before or after the scheduled interview. You don’t want to be exhausted before you arrive. And you don’t want to be looking at your watch during the interview, afraid that you might be late for your next appointment.

Photo by Louis du Mont