If you are contemplating recording an oral history, either for someone else or for yourself, here are a few keys to keep in mind:

Decide on a topic ahead of time. You can't cover an entire lifetime in one sitting. Pick just one part of the person's life (high school, early marriage, military service, employment, raising children) and focus on that topic.

Compile a list of questions. Simply asking a long list of questions usually doesn't result in a good interview. But if you have a list ahead of time you will have a way to get the ball rolling. And if the interview begins to drag, you can ask a question or two from your list to get the energy level back up.

Make sure you have enough batteries for your equipment, whether you're using a tape recorder or a digital recorder. And enough tape or memory to do the whole job. Also, test your equipment ahead of time to make sure it's in good working order.

Conduct the interview in quiet, comfortable surroundings. Hard chairs and incessant background noise can make your efforts impossible. And don't try to spend too much time all at once. If you think the interview will take longer than 30 or 40 minutes, try to break it up so both of you can rest and rejuvenate.

Schedule a follwup interview. As you review the interview you will probably find subjects you want to explore further. If possible, take the time to go back and ask about those things.

Edit your interview and make a transcription. As fascinating as voice recordings are, most of them can use some editing to take out unwanted intrusive noises and "retakes" of questions or answers that were partially garbled. And a printed transcript will help preserve the content of the interview, even if the recording itself is later lost or degraded.

Resources:

My Grandmother's Voice

Oral History Association