Life Story Interviews
Questions
Many times basic questions like “Tell me about your growing up years?” will be more than enough to get the conversation going, but it’s also a good idea to have a list of prepared questions to make sure you don’t get stuck, and also to make sure any important topics aren’t missed.
Conversation
We typically like to have a family member conduct the interview with the Life Story Subject. This allows there to be a natural raport and the helps the questions be more germain. So pick a person who asks good question and has a good relationship with the subject and treat it like a Sunday Afternoon Chat.
Record
We use professional lighting, audio recording, and video recording tools to create a high quality recording of this interview. Don’t worry, though we use the lightest touch possible when it comes to lighting and tech so it won’t be a big scary process to get going.
Sample Questions
YouTube Channel
Stages of Life
One of the easiest ways to work your way through a Life Story Interview is to ask a person to tell you about each stage of their lives. Childhood, young adult, early career, etc are good ways help your people remember through the stages of their lives as they tell you their stories.
Great Stories
Don’t forget to ask about any interesting or unusual stories. Everyone has amazing experiences across the spectrum of their life. Ask about any famous people or events that they might have met or been present for. And use some open-ended questions to get the best results. “Tell me more about that? is almost always better than “Did you like that?” for instance.