Capturing Stories

Five top tips for capturing a story

• Find a calm space

  Ideally without too much background noise which might distract you or the person telling their story, and might make it difficult to hear when you are listening back to a recording. But even more important than a quiet space is one where you both feel safe and comfortable.

• Let the person you’re talking to know what to expect

  • Tell them what’s going to happen during the interview in advance.
  • It’s important that the person sharing their story gives their permission for you to record their story, and that they know what you plan to do with it.

• Make yourselves comfortable and safe

  • It’s important the person sharing their story feels safe and supported. Think about offering them a cup of tea or a glass of water.
  • Sometimes people might share things that are quite personal or emotional for you or for them. It’s important that you and the person sharing their story both know you can stop or take a break at any point if you need to.

• Be a good listener

  Try to ask your questions and then listen without interrupting.  Use your body language to encourage them to keep talking, such as nodding your head or smiling, (without using your voice if possible), and don’t be afraid of pauses! You can also repeat back what you’ve heard to show or check you’ve understood.

• Thank them!

  At the end make sure you thank them for their time and for sharing their experiences with you.

What questions to ask?

It can be good to start with open questions, based on things we all have in common. For example:

• What was it like growing up? Who was important in your life? What was your favourite toy or game? What events shaped who you are? Can you share a happy memory? What was your favourite food? What’s your favourite cultural tradition? What was your home like? What music did you listen to? What were your hopes? What were your fears? Tell me about your family / friends?
• Follow-up questions can be very useful. For example:
  • Can you tell me more about that...?
  • Could you tell me about what that word means?
• It’s often good to have more questions prepared than you think you’ll need, so you can pick and choose as you go which seem the best ones to ask
• If you know someone has experienced something difficult in their life, it’s best not to ask them directly about it, as they may not wish to discuss it. If they choose to bring it up that is their choice – as long as you feel ok to listen to it too

• Now try creating your own list of questions

What recording devices can I use?

• Video cameras with a microphone

• Video or audio recording apps on a phone, tablet or laptop

• Digitalaudio recorderswill provide higherquality, eg Zoom(H1n) or Tascam(DR-05X)

• If you don’t have access to a recording device you (or someone else) can make notes

Technical advice

• Practise using your device before the interview and ensure it’s fully charged

• If your device is a phone, put it on silent or aeroplane mode so you are not disturbed

• Ideallyuse more thanone device so youhave a back-up

• Save the track / video, and back it up so you don’t lose it