Recording an Oral History for the Voices of the Jazz Era Ballroom Project
Beforehand
- Read the contributor agreement with everyone involved. This is very important. You will not be able to submit your materials without verifying that all participants have read and understood this agreement. THE BEGINNING OF ALL ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEWS FOR THIS PROJECT MUST INCLUDE ALL PARTICIPANTS STATING THAT THEY HAVE READ AND UNDERSTAND THE CONTRIBUTION AGREEMENT, AND THAT THEY CONSENT TO IT.
- Set a time for the interview when nobody will be rushed, and schedule regular breaks (at least a break an hour).
- Arrange to use a quiet space free from distractions.
- Make sure your interviewee is comfortable. Elderly interviewees may require better seating and support. It is also nice to have water to sip on.
- Do a pre-interview with your interviewee. You can explain the project and get a sense of what experiences they might remember. You can also show them some materials from the website so they can get a sense of what to expect and what they are contributing to.
- Make sure your equipment is set to record in a format that we will accept, then check and test all it. We suggest you also read our tips pages for audio and video recording for additional help.
- Write out some questions and topics to help structure the interview. The conversation can and probably will progress beyond these, but it is nice to have notes to fall back on. Also be sure to have something to write on during the interview, in case you need to take down thoughts or reminders while recording. Take a look at our example questions and example oral histories for ideas.
Ways to Get Things Started
- Start with a story you know. If you have already heard a good story from your interviewee it will be a comfortable place to start, and you can ask more questions along the way to get more information.
- Drag out the photo album. Human memory is largely associative, so being able to see faces and places associated with memories from the time period in question can be a great lead-in, and can get you some good stories to ask about at the beginning of the interview.
- Consider interviewing a small group of people together, say both of your grandmothers, or your grandfather and his best friend. They will be able to respond to each other, compare memories and fill in each other’s gaps in memory.
- Consider starting at the beginning by asking if they have any memories of learning to dance.
- Remember that this project is interested in anything having to do with the social experience of dance and music in the 1920’s-1950’s. Take a look at the example oral histories, or our example questions page for more ideas.
The Interview
- A good interview is more like a good conversation than a Q & A session. Many people are shy, or they may think they do not have anything of value to offer. Make sure that you tell your interviewee that whatever they tell you is fine, and that it’s okay if they do not remember something you ask about. Be very encouraging.
- Be aware of the “who, what, when and where” of a story. When you upload your interview you will be asked to tag it for a variety of things including the birth year of the interviewee, the time periods, places, ballrooms, musicians and performers, as well as types of dance mentioned. So be sure to ask about these things when relevant.
- Be sure that you are really listening to the interviewee. You may have expectations of what you want to hear, but people remember differently. Be open to letting a story unfold in ways you may not have anticipated and talking about topics that the interviewee introduces.
- Avoid ‘yes or no’ questions unless it is for clarification. You want to form questions that allow people to talk. A good form of question to ask, for instance is “What was it like to _____?”
- Ask follow up questions that will help a story unfold. So if someone is talking about how much they enjoyed a particular dance hall, ask them to describe it, what they did there, or to walk you through a trip to that dance hall. Always encourage more information.
- Help your interviewee remember points that they might struggle with. For instance if they say “You know, that dance in the 20’s that was popular, with the knees...” You might offer “Do you mean the Charleston?” If you have an answer or guess that can help fill in memory gaps it will make the interviewee feel more comfortable and prevent deadspace.
- * Do not be afraid to ask sensitive questions, for instance about issues of race and class disparity, or unpleasant memories, but save these for later in the interview when you have built a good rapport. Be very sensitive to how the interviewee feels about these questions. It is often best to contextualize these queries in non-personal terms, for instance “So you grew up in Detroit at a time when it was very segregated, do you remember seeing much evidence of that in the ballrooms?” as opposed to, “how did you feel about segregation then?”
- Wrap up with some lighter conversation and do not abruptly end an interview, especially on a low note.
After the Interview
- Thank your interviewee. And be sure to offer to show them their contributions or share the website with them if they are interested.
- Be sure that the interviewee still feels comfortable with sharing their interview publicly.
- Back up your interview. If you are using the recording to create a transcript, see our tips on transcription page to get your document ready for upload to the archive.
- Go to the contribute page of the website and follow the directions. Be sure to tag your story as thoroughly as possible when prompted.
- If you discussed any particular photographs in the interview, or if there are photographs belonging to the interviewee showing places, people and things discussed, ask permission to scan and upload a copy of these to the site along with the oral history. See our tips on scanning and uploading images page for more information.