Interview Ideas | springfieldtrek2016

Tips for Interviewing

Before the interview

Find a quiet location where both you and the person being interviewed feel comfortable and where you could have a spiritual conversation.
Make a list of questions to ask. Questions can start a conversation, and specific questions can draw out stories. You don't need to ask all the questions on your list and you can always add more as the interview progresses. Ask leading, open-ended questions and gently guide the conversation toward the information you are seeking and make sure you are not doing all the talking.
Set aside plenty of time and give interviewee some advance notice about what you want to know so that they have time to think back and remember. Tell them you would like to know a little about them and especially about a difficult trial or time period that they were able to overcome.
Be sure you get permission to record you interview.

During the interview

Record it. Bring a pencil and paper and take notes. Bring a recording device so you can listen to the conversation later (if you have a smart phone, you can use the free FamilySearch Memories app to make audio recordings as you listen). Try to place the equipment where it won't be a distraction but where it picks up the voices.
Let them talk. One memory often triggers another. People's memories operate in a strange way. There's a gap sometimes, especially for older folks, between the time the question is asked and when the answer pops up in their brain.
Be sensitive to personal matters and emotions. Be patient and wait for them to continue instead of jumping in with more questions.

After the interview

Thank the person for the interview
Review your notes immediately. The notes you took may not have been very complete, and you want to make them more understandable when you read them later. Write a summary as soon as possible while everything is still fresh in your mind.
Make a backup copy of your notes and digital files
Follow up. You may want to schedule another interview. You'll be amazed if you return in a week or ten days and ask your questions again, how many memories and answers to your questions may have surfaced.

A few sample questions

Tell me what you know about your birth including where and when. (Be sure you get full names and maybe nick names, birth dates and places.
What can you tell me about your family, parents, siblings etc.?
What was it like growing up at the time you did? What kinds of things were happening?
Who were some of your close friends? What kinds of things did you do together?
Where did you grow up? What other places did you live?
What are some of your favorite holiday memories?
What memories do you have of your grandparents ( include names, places, dates if possible)?
What was one of the hardest, most difficult situation that you have had to face do and/or overcome - trials you have had to face?
What did you do to help you overcome or get through that time?
What lessons did you learn and what can you teach me?
Can you share with me one of the most wonderful and rewarding experiences that you have enjoyed?

Add stories and any other information to Family Tree in order to preserve them for others.

Go to https://familysearch.org/ and sign in (you can get a free Family Search account if you don't already have one).
Click Tree, and click the name of the person you interviewed or add that person in the appropriate place if he or she is not there.
On the summery card, click Memories
Add the story and/or the information you acquire
- If you wrote the stories/info down, click stories, and add the stories
- If you used a smart phone to record the story use the smart phone to upload the audio file(s). You can include up to 15 minutes in an audio file, and you can add as many files as you need.