1) Remember that an interview is not a dialogue. The whole point of the interview is to get the narrator to tell his or her story. Limit your own remarks to a few pleasantries to break the ice, then brief questions to guide her along.

2) Ask questions that require more of an answer than “yes” or “no.” Start with “why,” “how,” “where,” “what kind of…”

3) Ask one question at a time. If you ask several questions at once, the narrator is likely to answer only the first or last one.

4) Ask brief questions.

5) Start with questions that are not controversial; save the delicate questions, if there are any, until you have become better acquainted. A good place to begin is with the narrator’s youth and background.

6) Don’t let periods of silence fluster you. Give your narrator a chance to think of what she wants to add before you hurry her along with the next question. Sit quietly and write a few words in your notes.

7) Don’t worry if your questions are not as beautifully phrased as you would like them to be. A few fumbled questions will help put your narrator at ease as she realizes that you are not perfect and she need not worry if she isn’t either.

8) Don’t interrupt a good story because you have thought of a question, or because your narrator is straying from the planned outline. If the information is pertinent, let her continue, but write down your question on your notepad so you will remember to ask it later.

9) If your narrator does stray into subjects that are not pertinent try to pull her back as gently and as quickly as possible.

10) It is often hard for a narrator to describe people. An easy way to begin is to ask her to describe the person’s appearance. From there, the narrator is more likely to move into character description.

11) Interviewing is one time when a negative approach can be more effective than a positive one. Ask about the negative aspects of a situation. For example, in asking about a person, do not begin with a glowing description. Whether the narrator defends or condemns the person, you will get a more lively answer if you begin with a negative question.

12) Try to establish at every important point in the story where the narrator was or what her role was in this event, in order to indicate how much is eye-witness information and how much based on reports of others. Ask these questions carefully, so that you do not appear to be doubting the accuracy of the narrator’s account.

13) Do not challenge accounts you think may be inaccurate. Instead, try to develop as much information as possible that can be used by later researchers in establishing what probably happened. Your narrator may be telling you accurately what she saw or experienced.

14) If you feel the need to point out that there is a different account of what she is describing, do so tactfully. This is not a challenge to her account, but rather an opportunity for her to bring up further evidence to refute the opposing view, or to explain how that view was established, or to adjust what she has already said. Some good information can come from juxtaposing differing accounts.

15) Try to avoid “off the record” information – the times when your narrator asks you to turn off the tape recorder while she tells you a good story. Ask her to let you record the whole story and promise that later you will erase that portion if she asks you after further consideration. You may have to erase it later, or she may refuse to tell you the story, but once you allow “off the record” stories, she may continue to do so, and you could end up with little valuable recorded information.

16) Don’t switch the recorder off and on. It is much better to waste a little tape on irrelevant material than to call attention to the tape recorder by a constant on-off operation. Only turn off the recorder if the telephone rings or your session is otherwise interrupted.

17) Try to interview the narrator alone. The presence of other people almost always lessens the effectiveness of the interview.

18) End the interview at a reasonable time. An hour and a half is probably the maximum. Setting a time limit will prevent the narrator from getting too tired. If necessary, plead that you are tired.

19) Don’t use an interview to showcase your own knowledge or other abilities.