Oral history training
As an experienced oral historian, I offer bespoke oral history training for museum teams, volunteers, community organisations and anyone interested in embarking on an oral history project. My training covers an introduction to what oral history is and why it’s important, how to plan your project, prepare for your interview and interview etiquette, as well as covering ethics, documentation and archiving.
The sessions can run over half a day or a whole day, and can also include time to workshop what you’d like the interviews to cover, supporting with writing discussion guides and mapping ideas of who to approach. I can adapt the sessions to meet the project’s needs and make time for activities to help put what we cover into practice.
The training can be delivered in-person or online and I can accommodate groups of all sizes. Get in touch if you’d like to discuss your project idea and to get some advice about how I can shape a training session that will work for you.
“I enjoyed that Jen went into every aspect of oral history interviews: from finding candidates and pre-interview prep to managing files. It’s great to be aware of the process overall.”
Previous clients include:
Staff and volunteers at organisations including the Science Museum, London Transport Museum, Islington Museum and London Museum
Community volunteers at the British Museum, Thames Festival Trust, Tamil Information Centre, Museum of Croydon and the Muslin Trust
External practitioners who are undertaking independent oral history projects
“Jen’s training was thorough, relaxed and interesting. The group exercise was helpful. All of the session was helpful really! It was good to know that you don’t necessarily need to be knowledgeable about the subject to interview someone.”
“Thanks again for the training. It really was a great starting point for our interviews. I definitely feel a lot more confident with how to approach the interviews and may practice on some of my relatives!”
Updated: 3 June 2026