While there are many people who would rather listen to a continuous detail about the story of the little girl who was their grandmother, getting effective details from your mother or grandmother may involve some amount of work prior to the interview. It is a good idea to create a list of questions that you want to ask. Go through some of the photographs, old letters and newspaper clippings before you start to talk to anyone in your family with regards to specific details. This will help you create questions that are relevant and these questions will be able to shake the memory a little bit harder.

It is a good idea to schedule a time for the interview and never to keep the informant waiting. Make yourself comfortable and allow the informant to be comfortable too. Sometimes you may want to use a tape recorder but do tell the informant about it prior to starting. Even if you have the tape recorded on it is a good idea to take notes so that you have the vital information with you. It would be devastating if the tape recorder malfunctioned for some reason and you were left with nothing at all.

If you conduct the interview well you may have the informant taking out his or her own album and telling you a lot more than you expected. It is also never a good idea to read the questions from the paper. While you may have prepared the questions beforehand, you should always try to know what you want to ask.