An older person's hands holding a faded photograph of an old terraced street at a kitchen table, with a small audio recorder and a cup of tea nearby
AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.
doodlememoir

A FAMILY MEMOIR, IN THEIR OWN VOICE

Press record,
then listen.

2–3 SESSIONS for a full life story

  • Ask open questions
  • Let them talk
  • Keep the file safe
  • Their story, kept well

The best family memoir may be one you record, not write.

Oral historians have practical, tested advice for capturing a life story well: open questions, a quiet room, a good microphone, a signed form and a safe home for the file afterwards.

Updated

Try a question

THE SHORT ANSWER

Prepare a little,
listen a lot.

Oral history guidance comes back to three things:
good questions, good sound and a safe archive.

QUESTIONS

Open, plain, unhurried

The Oral History Society advises plain words that avoid suggesting the answers, and giving the person plenty of time to tell you what they think matters.

Try a question

SOUND

Quiet room, close microphone

Pick a room away from a busy road, switch off radios, televisions and phones, and keep a clip-on microphone about nine inches from the speaker's mouth.

Set up the room

KEEPING IT

Form, summary, backup

Keep a signed form with the recording at all times, write a content summary of the main topics and people, and make sure the audio file is stored and backed up.

Consent and copyright

A QUICK QUESTION CHECK

What kind of question
are you asking?

Pick a type of question to see what oral history guidance says about it. The bar shows how much room it gives the person to tell their own story.

Question check

Choose a question type
A yes-or-no questionClosed

Gets a single word back. The Oral History Society recommends open questions, which require more than a yes or no answer.

A question that hints at the answerLeading

Avoid it. The guidance says to use plain words and avoid suggesting the answers, so the story stays theirs.

Where did you move to next?Precise

Useful for pinning down facts and keeping the interview on track. The guidance says it is your job to guide it so it does not drift.

Can you describe the house you lived in?Open

Invites a memory in their own words. Other examples from the guidance: What sort of person was she? How did you feel about that?

Source: Oral History Society, Getting started and Family oral history guidance. Example questions are quoted from the Society's guidance.

Based on the Oral History Society's guidance for beginners and for family historians.

TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING

Plan for time,
plan for sound.

One figure on how long a life story takes,
one on where the microphone should go.

2–3 sessions

Sessions to record a full life story

The Oral History Society says it can sometimes take two or three sessions to record a full life story. It also advises: don't over-prepare, and don't use a script.

TIME · ORAL HISTORY SOCIETY

≈ 9 inches

Clip-on microphone to mouth

Put a clip-on microphone about nine inches from the person's mouth. With a hand-held microphone, the closer the better, but not resting on the recorder or a hard surface.

SOUND · ORAL HISTORY SOCIETY

On equipment, the Society's family history guidance suggests the best recorder your budget allows, warning that a recorder costing £20 is unlikely to make audible recordings.

FOUR STEPS BEFORE YOU PRESS RECORD

A calm room,
a clear purpose.

An open box of old black-and-white family photographs and letters beside a small external hard drive on a desk
AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

These steps come from the Oral History Society's guidance for beginners and family historians. None of them needs a studio.

  1. Talk it through first

    Before recording, explain the purpose, how the recording will be stored and how you will use it, and agree how to handle anything they want kept private.

  2. Start from questions you wish you had asked

    The guidance offers a brainstorming prompt: what would I ask person X about the family if s/he were still alive?

  3. Quiet the room

    Choose a room not on a busy road and switch off radios, televisions and all mobile phones. Rooms with soft furnishings are good places to record.

  4. Nod rather than say 'mm'

    Keep good eye contact. Nodding and smiling is much better than the ers, ums and reallys that end up on the recording.

CONSENT AND COPYRIGHT

Two copyrights,
one signed form.

A small handheld audio recorder on a wooden table between a notebook and a cup of tea in a cosy, soft-furnished living room
AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

The University of Leicester's East Midlands Oral History Archive explains that a recording carries two copyrights: one in the interviewee's spoken words and one in the recording itself. A signed form sets out how the recording may be used and any restrictions; it notes the Oral History Society recommends restrictions last no more than 30 years.

For family recordings, the Society strongly recommends the form is filled in by both interviewer and interviewee after the recording is complete, kept with the audio files, and that any access restrictions the interviewee asks for are honoured.

Questions

Questions people ask

How long does it take to record a life story?

The Oral History Society says it can sometimes take two or three sessions to record a full life story.

What kind of questions work best?

Open questions that need more than a yes or no answer, in plain words that do not suggest the answer. Examples from the guidance include: Can you describe the house you lived in? What sort of person was she?

Do I need special equipment?

Buy the best recorder your budget allows. The Society warns that a recorder costing £20 is unlikely to make audible recordings, and suggests a clip-on microphone about nine inches from the mouth.

Do I need a consent form for a family member?

The Society strongly recommends a form filled in by both of you after the recording, kept with the audio files at all times. It covers how the recording may be used and any restrictions.

Should I transcribe the whole interview?

Not necessarily. The Society suggests a content summary of the main topics and people; a verbatim transcript is optional but takes a lot of time.

Sources

Where the facts come from

  1. Oral History Society: Getting started
  2. Oral History Society: Interviewing
  3. Oral History Society: Family oral history
  4. University of Leicester, East Midlands Oral History Archive: Data protection, copyright and ethics (PDF)
  5. British Library: Oral history collection guide

ABOUT THIS NAME

Interested in leasing doodlememoir.com?

doodlememoir.com is part of the DoodleSale portfolio. It isn't in an auction right now, but you can ask about leasing it.

Ask about this name