The silent contributor

Have you ever thought about how you hold a conversation with other people - a partner, a friend, your family, or a complete stranger? 

Think about the different ways in which you interact with those people.

• What sort of language do you use?
• Is your body slumped, upright?  Are your legs crossed or open?
• Do you wait for the other person to finish speaking before you begin?

Oral history teaches you to interact in different ways, including mimicking postures, silently encouraging conversation, and most important of all - being quiet.  When I go back and listen to interviews I have performed, the most devastating thing I do is to cut off the contributor before their thought is finished. 

The power of quiet is amazing.  Stories blossom out of silence.  Final thoughts are laid on comments that expand into entirely new conversations.  "Why?" is a powerful question in these instances.

Don't be afraid of quiet, but do be aware that quiet can be uncomfortable for some.  Some people never shut up and it may be hard to get a word in edgewise!  Others may unconsciously beg for you to go to your next question, though I try to leave mine unscheduled on purpose.  Most importantly, it is necessary to watch your interviewee and test out a couple of techniques to see which one makes them most comfortable - preferably before the recording goes live.

The best thing you can do in most instances is to delay starting - or even the appearance of starting - your next question until you're certain the contributor is finished with their thought.  Some people respond to physical cues while others need audio cues to know when you are going on to the next topic or question. 

Learn to keep your mouth shut and be genuinely interested in the interview you are receiving.  This requires a certain awareness of oneself and a willingness to shut off that inner monologue so that you can concentrate on the contributor, not yourself.

I once spent two hours in an interview trying to blow my nose as silently as possible.  The cedar had hit in Austin hard last fall, and my sinuses were trying to forcibly extract themselves from my nostrils in protest.  As lovely as it would have been to hear my constant nose-blowing on the archival footage for the project, I instead kept my attention on the interviewee and breathed through my mouth as long as I could stand while maintaining solid eye contact.  That ended up being one of my favorite interviews.