The best question is the one that opens the story, not the one that closes it with a yes or a no.
Oral history is not simply recording sound. It is a practice with rules, the first of which is that the narrator is a partner, not a source.
Before the meeting
Know the general context before you ask — not to correct the narrator but to understand what is being said. Ask permission explicitly, and make clear where the material will be published and who will hear it.
During the meeting
Begin with open questions: “How did your day used to start?” is better than “Did you wake early?” Let silence work — the most valuable details come after a pause. And do not interrupt to correct a date. A contradiction in an account is information in itself, not an error to be fixed.
After the meeting
Write your notes the same day: the place, who was present, and what was left unsaid. That marginal note is often more important than the recording.
Republishing Anthro
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