Professional Training

Are you someone looking to work in the field of oral history? With over 25 years of experience, Life History Services offers professional training to develop and expand your skill set.
Areas of training might include:

Running an oral history business
Internships in numerous aspects of oral history production
Oral history methodology & best practices
Using oral history in quantitative academic work
Oral history curriculum development for teachers

Being interviewed was a moving experience for me largely because of your sensitivity and capacity to sense the directions into which we should head.

Hildegard

Psychotherapist, California

My siblings and I used your services 16 years ago to record my parents’ life histories as a gift for their 60^th anniversary; however, I have found, particularly in the 4 years since my mother’s death that having this recorded hour with her where she blossoms back to life has been a treasure that I value more than words could adequately express. As a ritual that I now hold sacred, I watch the video twice a year.

Margot Keen

Ms. Hecht created an atmosphere of trust and comfort, both of which helped me to relate the rather difficult yet significant experiences of my life.

Hans

Holocaust Survivor, Wisconsin

You conduct the interviews with insight, being inquisitive enough to make it interesting and yet with the discretion to make the person feel comfortable

Ariel Cojuc

Grandmother, Mexico

Anita’s work is something we treasure. I have always believed in leaving a record of our family’s history to my children, grandchildren, and beyond, but I had no idea how captivating and meaningful the process would be. Our project soon became multigenerational, with Anita skillfully interviewing my parents, my wife’s parents, and my children as they grew up. Words are inadequate to express how much I treasure the gift these well-written and recorded family stories will be for my family as the future marches on. Anita is the best.

Scott Cook

Founder & CEO, Intuit

Your gentle questioning and sympathetic manner helped me search and express ideas that had never occurred to me, but lay buried in my subconscious.

Joseph

Cantor-Educator, California

You know how to make your interviewee comfortable and your questions come at the right time—they do not interrupt thought, but keep the conversation flowing; moreover, they lead to substantive answers.

Louis Heilbron

Attorney-Educator, California

It’s been a wonderful experience. One great advantage of an oral history conducted by a pro, like yourself, is you think at the time you know everything you’re going to say and remember. And then in the context of a focused, professional interview, a light goes on and you remember things that had been buried. We’re talking about the obvious, and suddenly, buried, hidden under the obvious, is new stuff. It’s wonderful!”

Kenneth Roy Feinberg

Attorney, Special Master, 911 Victim Compensation Fund

I wanted you to know how meaningful the making of the oral history was for me. You are just a pro.

Fae

Grandmother, California

The preliminary meeting also made me more comfortable so that at the interview itself, I could relax, ignore the camera and just have a pleasant chat, reminiscing with you.

Melvin

Retired Businessman, California