Following Digressions Instead of Steering Past Them
Launch library · evergreen read
An interviewer with a fixed list of questions can be tempted to redirect a speaker who wanders off topic, back towards the planned line of enquiry that was prepared in advance. This instinct, though understandable, often cuts off exactly the material that makes an oral history distinctive rather than merely factual and predictable.
Digressions frequently reveal what a speaker actually finds significant, as opposed to what the interviewer assumed would matter going into the conversation. A tangent about a neighbour or a minor incident can end up carrying more emotional weight than the planned question it briefly interrupted, if it is allowed to run its full course.
Skilled interviewers learn to hold their prepared questions loosely, treating them as a safety net rather than a rigid script to follow exactly. Following a digression to its natural end, then gently returning to the original thread, usually produces a richer interview than strict adherence to a predetermined structure.