Interviewing relatives or family members could be one of the most difficult part of your family research. Especially if you have done enough digging in the internet and end up with just several clues about your family history. The interview process may not only be difficult for genealogists but could be twice as difficult on the side of the subjects as well. Most amateur researchers quit the interview and simply resolve to easier tasks. An actual interview is a very useful way to trace your history. A few set of practical and simple question may unlock your past generation. You can try the steps below or you can develop your own strategy. Whatever you feel suitable for your family research is fine as long as you stick with the steps.
Ask yourself what is the purpose of your interview before arranging an appointment with your subject/subjects. What kind of information do you want to know and plan a strategy on how to control the conversation. You must also make a list of information you must get before the interview ends. You have to know if you are only gathering family history information for the sake of making your family tree or because you really want to know details about your past generation. If you are just planning to make a family tree, then all you need are facts. However, if you are trying to document a family research, then you need a more in-depth interview.
Preparing your questions in advance is also a good strategy. Having a prepared bunch of questions can help you verify genuine information essential for your genealogy research. You can also keep the subject on track in case they get carried away telling invalid stories during the interview process. You can easily steer them back from where you left without getting caught in his stories. However, you might be prepared to leave your list if your subjects offering you information on another topic you hadn’t considered.
You must be aware on the kinds of questions you are about to ask in your interviews. Experienced historians start off with questions involving “who, when, where, how and why”. You must also put some spice in your questions, ignore the boring ones like “when is your birthday?” People will probably grew tired answering those kinds of questions since they are pretty dull. Ask questions like “what was your most valuable gift on your birthday?” or “what was your wedding like?” These kinds of questions will make your subjects more responsive and can help them remember important details for your family research. Description questions will help your interview subjects open up their lives and tell you everything you need to know about their family history. All these questions will require a thoughtful response that will be tons of information for your family tree project.
Make an easygoing approach and keep an upbeat phase. Once you and your subject get the hang of each other, you can loosen up a bit and turn the interview into a natural conversation. The more nervous the two of you are with the process as a whole, the less valuable information you are likely to get. Start by letting them know that these are their memories, and you do not or never will own them. Remind that they will have the right to look at any information you compile, and that they will have the right to make changes to their part of information as deem necessary. Tell your subject that they are free to choose whether they will answer the question or not. If the question is too personal for them to make a response then rephrase and or skip to the next question. Not everyone will want to discuss every single detail of their lives.
Take note of the duration of the interview as well as the venue. Any good interview has a strict limit and should be done in a place comfortable for you both. A limit of one to two hours is the best for most people. If your subject is an old person, you may want to further limit your time. The time limit may also have to be adjusted for those with medical problems. Talking for an extensive amount of time about personal background and history can be a bit taxing to the brain, and it is important to give your subjects time to think and recuperate before you start again.
Lastly, try not to interrupt when your subject is in the middle of a discussion. Listen with all ears and maintain eye contact with your subject. Oral information gathering is important for genealogy research to know your past generation. As some may have disregard this process from their genealogy research but if you know how to run a good interview, it can be the best source of raw information.
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