What makes a good life story recording - a few thoughts and ideas.

Man making a sound recording using a phonograph.

After many years of working in organisations and charities, I discovered what I am good at - Life story recording. The whole process of capturing a life story is endlessly inspiring. Having received many many kind words and testimonials and google reviews from storytellers and their families telling me that they are delighted with the result, I thought I would pause and reflect on five elements that for me, make a good life story recording.

Skills and experience
Kit
Professionally curiosity and timing
The storyteller has to be willing
Sympathetic editing

I also want to consider when these words should actually all be ignored.

Skills and experience

Years of experience plus excellent training in oral history with the Oral History Society has equipped me with the skills I need to make a valuable life story recording.

I know how to listen, really listen, how and when to ask a question, what question to ask, when to steer the storyteller back to the story, when to change the subject, how to encourage the storyteller to reflect or to consider their stories, when to use a prompt, what prompt, when to take a pause, how to encourage a nervous storyteller, how to manage a storyteller who gets sidetracked, how to help a storyteller reflect or go deeper into a story, how to mine for details. I use all these skills to help me record my stories.

That is not to say, I haven't made numerous mistakes along the way. I felt that devastating feeling when I realised I had wiped a piece of audio. There have been questions that I regretted asking, and others that I have regretted not asking, but I have learnt. Oh, the joys of experience.

For a good recording though, first comes the preparation, for both myself and the storyteller. We both need to know or agree on what topics to cover, where, when and for how long we will speak, the storyteller needs to know what to expect, as well as what will happen after the recording. Most of all we both need to feel comfortable with the process.

2. Kit

For me, the most important element of a life story recording is the content. Capturing the stories, the voice, the emotions, the nuance, the accent, and the laughter is the single most important element. Saying that the sound should be good, as poor sound quality makes the content so much harder for the audience to enjoy.

Simple, unobtrusive high-quality recording equipment which is simple to use, is for me ideal. Once set up both storyteller and listener can almost forget the equipment and concentrate on the content.

3. Professionally curiosity

I am endlessly fascinated by people and how they see the world. When I am interviewing someone I get to prompt and ask questions, to find out more, and I feel lucky to be able to do that, to ask questions that you can't normally ask. I find this easy, as I am genuinely curious and only ask questions to which I would like to hear an answer. If you are not interested this is going to be difficult.

I enjoy every single life story recording I do. Finding out what makes people tick, the cards they have been handed in life, their motivations, their ambitions, challenges, worries and triumphs is a huge privilege and I know that while I might like to hear the stories, I am doing this for the families. I want their families to be able to hear these stories too.

When anyone asks about my favourite or most interesting interview, I find that a difficult question to answer. Yes, some people do live bigger lives or have achieved great things, or overcome huge challenges but does that make their story more interesting, maybe a little, but those are not the only stories worth cherishing. When I record a life story, however quiet a life has been lived, I try to see the world from my storyteller's perspective, to hear what life has been about for them and that in itself is magical.

Having said this, there is one more important attribute, humour and knowing when to lighten the mood or share a joke. In one of my first-ever interviews, my storyteller shared a traumatic experience, her daughter was in the room, and she sensibly suggested we needed a cup of tea, my storyteller then told a funny story. Was it the funniest story in the world? No, but I can still recall the three of us helplessly laughing together and the release that laughter brought after speaking of trauma. Now this is not always suitable, or possible, but having a giggle and enjoying the experience is super important. As a side note, I am still proud of that recording, of capturing a mother and daughter's unbridled laughter.

4. The storyteller has to be willing

The best storyteller is the one who is open to the process, and who is willing to share stories, it is great if you are a naturally good storyteller but it is no problem if not. A skilled interviewer will lead the storyteller through the process and will be able to coax out the story.

I will give a gold star to any storyteller willing to reflect and answer questions rather than repeat the story they have always told themselves. We all have a way of telling our stories but sometimes looking at it from a different angle can be really insightful. A monologue is not ideal and can become, dare I say it, dull. The storyteller has to be receptive and listen to the questions.

A storyteller sharing his life story whilst being recorded.

Capturing anecdotes and stories that the family has heard many times before is brilliant but helping the storyteller dig deeper into their memories, recalling more details and looking at things from a different perspective can be even more insightful and can help capture more of that person.

Preparation here is key, the storyteller will probably want to know why they are being recorded and how much control they have over the process, fair enough I think.

5. Sympathetic editing

You want to hear the storyteller's thoughts and words, but when we do a life story recording the story will rarely follow a straight line, it is likely that if I ask you about growing up, and you tell me about your siblings for example and we may go off on a tangent and hear about where they live now, when I ask about your first job you might remember an important teacher at your primary school, which might then lead us off in a total other direction. It can get complicated and troublesome for the listener. I usually create a curated version of the stories and memories. I remove repetitions and make sure the story flows and is accessible to the intended audience.

The final edited recording on a USB stick in a Story Keepers presentation box.

The aim at the start of the process is for the storyteller to feel comfortable and relaxed so they can share their stories, but we then have to be careful to respect the trust. Edit sensitively and within the spirit of the recording. I recorded the story of a lovely lady for her daughter, they were close to each other, but when it came to the editing, did the daughter need to know that her mother had never cared for her wedding dress? I think not. To the grandmother who shared a few details of a rather tricky family feud, that can also stay between the two of us.

Sometimes this is hard, sometimes there are stories told that I really want the family to know but if the storyteller wants to keep them locked away, so bit it.

Why all this doesn't always matter

While we should all strive to do our best, if you are considering recording someone's story yourself, maybe a relative, a parent, or a friend, but you are not sure if you are up to the job, let me tell you this, you are.

Whatever content you record, and whatever the quality of the recording, anything you do will be 100% better than nothing. Even if you are not sure of quite the right questions, haven't got a lot of time and even if your recording equipment is just a phone, it is all so much better than nothing. If you do your best and enjoy the process, I am sure it will be wonderful and you will capture moments of gold; a little bit of laughter, a voice that you love or just a daft story, it will be your daft story to cherish and preserve and that is enough.