100 Questions / 43
How can narrators and interviewers reach a common understanding?Machine Translation edited by Mandana Karimi
2026-08-19
We asked several researchers and activists in the field of oral history to express their views on oral history questions. The names of each participant are listed at the beginning of their answers, and the text of all answers will be published on this portal by the end of the week. The goal of this project is to open new doors to an issue and promote scientific discussions in the field of oral history.
In this project, a question is asked every Saturday, and we ask experts to present their views in the form of a short text (about 100 words) by the end of the week. All answers will be published together so that the audience can compare and analyze the views.
The content is the opinions of the senders and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Oral History website. Although the answers are supposed to be about 100 words, in order to be polite and not to leave the discussion incomplete, in some cases, more than this number of answers are also accepted.
This time, we asked the experts to send their answers by Sunday night so that all the answers can be published on Tuesday.
From the intertwining of these answers, using artificial intelligence, we have arrived at theories about oral history that will be published in the near future.
Question 43:
How can the narrator and the interviewer reach a common understanding?
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Answer to Question 43:
Gholamreza Azari Khaksatar
A common understanding means that the narrator and the interviewer have the same awareness and understanding of the goals, nature, and program of oral history and take steps towards achieving a common goal. How this common understanding is formed is an important and thoughtful issue in the oral history interview process. Achieving a shared understanding has positive consequences for the quality of oral history interviews. When the narrator and the interviewer have a clear understanding of what the interview is about and what it is about, the conversation flows more coherently and is guided in the right direction. In many cases, this understanding is formed through gradual dialogue and the asking of successive questions and evolves throughout the interview. However, the lack of a shared understanding does not necessarily mean that the interview is fruitless. Even in such circumstances, the recording of narratives can be an important part of the oral history process in itself.
Hassan Beheshtipour
In oral history, shared understanding does not mean complete agreement between the narrator and the interviewer, but rather a convergence of their horizons of understanding of a historical experience, a process that Gadamer called “the fusion of horizons. “This understanding is formed during a conversation that is based on trust, scientific preparation, questioning, active listening, continuous feedback, attention to historical context, use of documents, honesty in the face of disagreement, and transparency in finalizing the narrative. In such a process, the narrator remains the owner of his experience and memory, and the interviewer plays the role of a researcher who, through method, makes the narrative clearer and more understandable. The result of this interaction is a narrative that is formed in the context of a scientific and human dialogue and, for this very reason, is a reliable source for understanding history. Such a text is not simply a narrative belonging to the narrator or a text created by the interviewer's mind.
Mohammad Mehdi Abdollahzadeh
The necessary condition for achieving the goals in oral history is the understanding of both parties to the interview, and the role of the interviewer in this process is more fundamental. Because he must plan and implement a purposeful dialogue. The interviewer's attitude towards the interviewee should be positive. He should consider him a respected person with an acceptable personality and valuable experiences that are worth spending money on to obtain his memories. For greater understanding, the interviewer should introduce himself briefly and usefully in the first session. He should tell the narrator about his goals and duties and the data obtained from the interview and ask the narrator to introduce himself to some extent. The interviewer should use open-ended questions to ask. His language should be at the level of the narrator's language and, while listening carefully to the answers and approving and encouraging him appropriately, he should assist the narrator in recalling his memories. After completing the answers, if necessary, ask the narrator for clarification about ambiguities.
Abolfazl Hassanabadi
One of the main foundations of success in an oral history interview that has a direct impact on its outcome is reaching a common understanding in oral history between the interviewer and the interviewee. This understanding paves the way for further interaction between these two main components of oral history. Of course, from a theoretical perspective, shared understanding in oral history is not a fixed state or complete agreement, but rather an interactive, gradual, and formative process in which the interviewer and the interviewee, through active dialogue, try to reach a close understanding of the topic of the interview by clarifying concepts and paying attention to the historical context.
Hamid Qazvini
Before the interview, the interviewer should know the other party well and be familiar with his thoughts and mental space. In the next step, he should clearly define the topic of the interview and the issues related to it in a simple and understandable manner and listen to the other party's explanations to ensure that he has reached a level of understanding of the issues in question that is appropriate for the interview. At this stage, attention should be paid to the interviewee's assumptions, experiences, cultural, social, and political backgrounds and the explanations he provides, and he should be asked to express his memories while maintaining the same backgrounds within the defined frameworks.
Seyyed Mohammad Sadeq Feyz
Achieving a common understanding is inevitably two-way; both the narrator and the interviewer must seek interaction. There must be trust between them and the necessary basis for mutual understanding must be provided. Of course, this is one of the preparations for holding any interview sessions so that the narrator's negative mentalities are removed from the interviewer and the interviewer clearly understands that the narrator is honest in his speech and is not concealing. In this case, the interviewer can encourage the narrator to express himself more and more fully with questions that show understanding and accuracy in what he says.
Gholamreza Azizi
First, it should be remembered that generally, “oral history interviews are not conducted to achieve a common understanding between the narrator and the interviewer.” This is because the narrator, as an eyewitness, is a first-hand source for the interviewer (taking into account all the assumptions regarding the narrator’s correct perception of the event, its accurate memorization and correct reflection, or vice versa) in places where documents related to the subject are scarce, incomplete, and insufficient, or the interviewer seeks to find out the what and why of events that are not documented in other sources. Leaving this aside, it seems that the main conditions for the narrator and the interviewer to reach a common understanding of the past are: ideological alignment, the same interpretation of documents and evidence, avoidance of any political prejudice, etc., and finally, analysis leading to acceptance or rejection of existing information or acknowledgement of the lack of information.
Abolfat’h Mo’men
Pre-interview meetings between the narrator and the historian have a great impact on achieving a common understanding. In these pre-sessions, the two parties exchange information about the scope of the subject and its importance. By presenting key information and demonstrating his knowledge of the subject, the historian assures the narrator that he is dealing with a knowledgeable person and that he can trust him and his information in conducting the interview. By evaluating the narrator from the perspective of historical data, the interviewer gains a greater understanding of his personality and position in that event and can better guide the interview. Also, by identifying the characteristics of the interviewee, he achieves points of common understanding and common ground, and a sense of mutual understanding is created. In these meetings, the time and place of the interview and the manner of using the text are determined, and ambiguities are resolved. The historian’s presentation of evidence related to the event, such as photographs and documents, reinforces this alignment.
Artificial Intelligence
The narrator and interviewer reach a common understanding through active listening, clear questions, and real-time feedback. The narrator speaks honestly and in sufficient detail, and the interviewer asks questions without prejudice and provides a summary of what was said. Follow-up questions to clarify and repeatedly confirm mutual understanding reduce misunderstandings. Respect for differences of opinion, patience, and flexibility build an atmosphere of trust. Finally, a joint summary of the content of the conversation ensures that both parties have reached a common meaning and that the message has been conveyed correctly. (DeepSeek)
The narrator and interviewer can reach a common understanding through clear, precise, and two-way conversation. The interviewer should listen carefully, ask clear and unambiguous questions, and, if necessary, probe the narrator's meaning with follow-up questions. The narrator should also express his experiences and views honestly and in detail, and provide further explanation if he feels that he has not been understood. Retelling and summarizing each other's statements also help ensure correct understanding. Ultimately, mutual respect, avoiding prejudice, and paying attention to the context and meaning of the words will lead to a closer and more shared understanding of the subject. (ChatGPT)
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