Download the app and sign up for the free membership. Then record a story or two of your own. This will confirm that your smartphone/device is compatible with our system..
Use a lot of key tag words to identify the recorded story.
Top 8 Interviewing Tips
1. Be prepared. Make sure you have all your equipment and your questons or prompts. Practice with the equipment until you’re sure how to operate it.
2. One question at a time. Don’t bunch several questions together in one long question. Short, open-ended questions asked one at a time work best.
3. Use props. Photos and family mementos are great to elicit stories and bring back memories. Bring the props out one by one.
4. Don’t tire out your subject. Saving Memories Forever suggests that the response for each question should take about 5-10 minutes and that the entire interview should last no longer than 45 minutes. The interview should stop when you first see that your subject is getting tired.
5. Use the grandkids. Sometimes it is can be difficult to get older family members to answer questions. Consider using the grandchildren to ask the questions. No grandparent can resist telling his/her story to an interested child.
6. Fly solo (mostly). Plan on doing the interview in a one-on-one format. Sometimes having others around can be inhibiting. Sometimes, though, it’s worth interviewing several people at a time as multiple interview subjects can give some great insight into relationships.
7. Give interviewee time to collect thoughts. Whenever you can, give the person you’re interviewing some time to collect his/her thoughts. They might even want to jot down a few points that they want to include. It’s worth it as the richest stories contain small details that sometimes take awhile torecall.
8. Relax. The recording doesn’t have to be perfect. In fact, it shouldn’t be perfect. Your family will find your laughter and joy at making the recording more important than the fact you got a word wrong or said “ummm” three times.