Prepping for My Audio Story

This week's readings had some key ideas that I feel I should be thinking about while prepping to do my Audio Story. First, I'll start with some of the notes I got from each of the readings:

Emily Botein, "Salt is Flavor and Other Tips Learned While Cooking":

• Keep some little bits of ammunition to help you get moments of surprise. This can be when your guest becomes the most animated and gives you the conversation he hasn't rehearsed in his head.
• Salt is Flavor: sometimes, a little is enough. Let the tape speak for itself.
• Silence, or a pause, "sounds the way people speak. Meaning, sometimes they don't... Pauses break up the rhythm and add complexity. Pauses help us to listen better" (181).
• "Good Tape" is in the ears of the individual.

Jay Allison, "Afterword: Listen":

• What stories do I have to tell? What voice will I use to tell them?
• "Stories define each of us. They have the power to divide or connect us as individuals and communities" (184).
• Create an "illusion of companionship" between your subjects and your listeners.
• Listen. And, if you will, speak up! (195)

So what does all this mean to me and my new quest? Well, I think it makes some of the differences between an audio interview and an audio story clearer, sort of. I think that one major difference is that the audio story will be more of a chance for listeners to really connect with the voices they hear. They need to be transported into the story itself, at the time and place it happens, to really feel affected by it. The interview, conversely, was more of a chance to see what would happen as the interview progressed. This story will be more about getting to that deeper issue while talking about the topic at hand.

So, what is my story? My story will be speaking to a larger issue from the point of view of one individual. In this case, I will be working with my dad. He will be talking about his recent experiences as a small business owner and how his work and life is being effected by the current economy. Do I want this to be about our current economy? Of course not. That would be boring. But from my dad's personal point of view, I think I could get a lot of good, really interesting stuff. As long as I keep him from talking in major tangents, that is. Wish me luck on project #2!!!