National Day of Listening
The first National Day of Listening is coming the day after Thanksgiving. This event promotes the recording of someone's recollections. That someone might be a family member or an acquaintance. The National Day of Listening. It is an outgrowth of StoryCorps' effort to promote the preservation of memories.
StoryCorps travels across the United States conducting interviews with everyday people. The group has recorded over 40,000 sessions since 2003. A StoryCorps bus spent the past week in Tulsa gathering stories from Oklahomans.
The National Day of Listening promotes spending one day during the year for preserving a single hour of memories. This is the first year for celebrating a day devoted to this effort.
The agenda on that day is for a person to pick a quiet corner for the interview. Select a location that is free of background noise that might mar the recording session. Hopefully, it will be possible to avoid the loud clock or noisy kitchen appliance as well as television.
When the moment of recording is at hand, start with your name and the name of the person being interviewed. Then record the date and place of the recording so that future listeners will know something about the people participating.
Begin with an open-ended question. These questions do not have a "yes" or "no" answer. One might begin by asking the interviewee to "Tell me about the time that (blank)." Fill in the blank with a topic you are interested in. On the other hand, perhaps there is a story you have heard before, but now want retold for preservation.
There are times to ask direct questions. I often do so during interviews I conduct. I will ask for clarification if a vague point is made during an interview. For example, it is common to refer to a grandparent as "grandmother" or "grandfather." Clarification is needed here because each person has two of each. Therefore, clarifying which grandparent is important for understanding the message in the interview.
I am asked sometimes if an interview should be conducted in chronological order beginning with birth. My answer is that it depends on the agenda of the interviewer. Some interviews might best begin at the beginning in order to lay the groundwork for future questions.
Don't be surprised if an interview question prompts a memory about a different subject. If this happens, let the speaker tell their story. Then gently redirect the discussion back to the original topic.
There are brief interviewing instructions online. A search for the "National Day of Listening" will lead to their website.
There are additional links under the "Participate" sublink. The "Do It Yourself" link provides fuller guidelines for conducting an interview. The "Question Generator" has many ideas for interview questions.
By the way, if you only have a chance to interview someone on Thanksgiving Day, or any other day of the year, do so. I can assure you that you will later be thankful you did.
The Three Rivers Museum on the corner of Elgin and Third Streets in Muskogee would like to receive copies of your interviews. The museum wants to be the depository for you. History will not be complete without your stories.
StoryCorps travels across the United States conducting interviews with everyday people. The group has recorded over 40,000 sessions since 2003. A StoryCorps bus spent the past week in Tulsa gathering stories from Oklahomans.
The National Day of Listening promotes spending one day during the year for preserving a single hour of memories. This is the first year for celebrating a day devoted to this effort.
The agenda on that day is for a person to pick a quiet corner for the interview. Select a location that is free of background noise that might mar the recording session. Hopefully, it will be possible to avoid the loud clock or noisy kitchen appliance as well as television.
When the moment of recording is at hand, start with your name and the name of the person being interviewed. Then record the date and place of the recording so that future listeners will know something about the people participating.
Begin with an open-ended question. These questions do not have a "yes" or "no" answer. One might begin by asking the interviewee to "Tell me about the time that (blank)
There are times to ask direct questions. I often do so during interviews I conduct. I will ask for clarification if a vague point is made during an interview. For example, it is common to refer to a grandparent as "grandmother" or "grandfather." Clarification is needed here because each person has two of each. Therefore, clarifying which grandparent is important for understanding the message in the interview.
I am asked sometimes if an interview should be conducted in chronological order beginning with birth. My answer is that it depends on the agenda of the interviewer. Some interviews might best begin at the beginning in order to lay the groundwork for future questions.
Don't be surprised if an interview question prompts a memory about a different subject. If this happens, let the speaker tell their story. Then gently redirect the discussion back to the original topic.
There are brief interviewing instructions online. A search for the "National Day of Listening" will lead to their website.
There are additional links under the "Participate" sublink. The "Do It Yourself" link provides fuller guidelines for conducting an interview. The "Question Generator" has many ideas for interview questions.
By the way, if you only have a chance to interview someone on Thanksgiving Day, or any other day of the year, do so. I can assure you that you will later be thankful you did.
The Three Rivers Museum on the corner of Elgin and Third Streets in Muskogee would like to receive copies of your interviews. The museum wants to be the depository for you. History will not be complete without your stories.
Labels: National Day of Listening
posted by Wally Waits at
6:26 PM
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