Tips of the Trade: Capturing Audio Life Stories

Download material list for Tips of the Trade by clicking here.

This workshop will provide an overview and tips of the trade for capturing an audio recording of family and friend’s life histories and stories in a casual, at-home environment.

Each student will be given to keep an audio recorder that will allow them to not only practice their skills in class but provide them with a recorder at-the-ready when the opportunity to “capture” a story surfaces in their lives. 

The first part of this workshop will be delivered via roundtable lecture and discussion, addressing tips of the trade, such as:

• identifying what type of information is desired

• establishing content expectations and interview formats

• setting the stage for the interview

• guiding the storyteller’s focus

The second half of the workshop will be even more interactive.  Each participant will have a chance to get familiar with their individual recorder and have the opportunity to get used to hearing their own recorded voice.  Participants will then break into small groups to practice story-capturing techniques.  A final group discussion sharing practice exercise experiences will set the stage for each participant to further pursue their “Capturing” goals. 

Susan King first discovered the power of the recorded voice when she was in her mid-30s.  Her mother had passed on 10 years earlier, and Susan suddenly heard her mother’s voice on the radio reminding people to always “tell those individuals important in our lives that we love them.”  That original recording had been made for radio spots almost 15 years earlier yet had never been broadcast.  The impact of hearing her mother’s voice and message stayed with King for years as she lived out her career with Pacific Bell in San Francisco. 

Upon retirement and throughout her second career with the American Red Cross in Grass Valley, King created a side business known as “Tales on Tape,” assisting others to capture their life histories, family stories, and memorable occasions via audio recordings transferred to CDs. 

Over the next 25 years, using the interactive skills she honed throughout her prior careers, King evolved her own style of interviewing and capturing the stories of others and continues this endeavor to this day. 

Susan King currently lives here on the Mendonoma Coast and continues to provide the services of “Tales on Tape” whenever the opportunity presents itself.