Life Story Interview Questions
Generate 15, 50, or 100 categorized questions for a parent, grandparent, founder, veteran, artist, immigrant, family business owner, or yourself. The questions are open-ended, respectful, and structured into natural life-story categories.
Standard categories
Every generated set is organized around some combination of these categories. The mix changes based on who you're interviewing — a veteran gets different prompts than a teacher.
- Childhood
- Family
- School
- Work
- Love and relationships
- Hard lessons
- Proud moments
- Faith / values
- War / service (where applicable)
- Migration / place
- Parenting
- Career
- Community
- Advice to future generations
- Legacy
Frequently asked
- Should I record the interview?
- Yes — recording is far better than note-taking, both for the story and for the moments around it. Phone voice recorders are fine. Always ask permission before recording.
- What if some questions are too personal?
- Skip them. The list is a menu, not a script. Pursue the questions that the person responds to, and leave the ones that don't land.
- How long does a full life-story interview take?
- Plan for 60–90 minutes per session, across two to four sessions. The first hour usually warms up the conversation; the strongest material tends to arrive in session two or three.
- What do I do with the answers?
- Bring them to the Family Biography Generator. The combination of the interview and the generator produces a far richer biography than either alone.