Activity 2: Developing Interview Questions When brainstorming interview questions, keep in mind the podcast’s intro, or statement of intent. Your episode should tie into the podcast’s overall theme to ensure a cohesive finished product. It is important to develop questions that are clear, concise, and open-ended. Developing open-ended questions will prompt your speaker to share stories and details that they might not otherwise recall. If your question can be answered in one word, or with a yes or no, reformulate it so that it prompts a fuller answer. A great interview question leads to even more questions. You are probably familiar with the 5Ws: who, what, when, where, why (and how). When it comes to developing strong interview questions, the “why” and “how” will help you encourage your interviewee to expand and analyze a fact or an event in a way either of you might not have thought to do and can reveal a deeper answer to the kind of information you are interested in learning from them. As a starting exercise, try creating questions related to your interview topic that begin with “Why/how was…”, “Why/ how did…”, and “Why/how might…”. After you have asked some questions, try to provide space for the speaker to share stories they might have thought of during the course of the interview. These questions could start with a prompt to share, for example, “Do you remember a time when…” or “What was it like when…”. • When preparing interview questions, split your questions into chronological segments, which will allow for the interviewee to recall the events as they transpired. • Avoid closed-ended questions that can end with a simple yes or no answer. If you receive a short answer, follow up with questions to get the speaker to expand on their answer. • When asking your questions, make sure to leave enough time for the interviewee to answer before asking your next question. Leaving silence between their answer and your next question may feel awkward, but this can encourage the speaker to share more with you on the subject. • Try to keep the interview to two hours or under as both you and the interviewee can get tired and begin to lose concentration. • Ask a friend or family member to practise your interview questions with you. Read your questions in advance to ensure that the interview flows well, and so you can practise pronouncing any difficult terminology. Interview Tips How to Make an Oral History Podcast A Memory Project Resource Kit 8
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