SubjectÕs Name: InterviewerÕs Name:
Age:
Relationship to Interviewer:
Date of Interview:
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Great questions for anyone
á What was the happiest moment of your life? The saddest?
á Who was the most important person in your life? Can you tell me about him or her?
á Who has been the biggest influence on your life? What lessons did they teach you?
á Who has been the kindest to you in your life?
á What are the most important lessons youÕve learned in life?
á What is your earliest memory?
á Are there any words of wisdom youÕd like to pass along to me?
á What are you proudest of in your life?
á When in life have you felt most alone?
á How has your life been different than what youÕd imagined?
á How would you like to be remembered?
á Do you have any regrets?
á What does your future hold?
á Is there anything that youÕve never told me but want to tell me now?
á Is there something about me that youÕve always wanted to know but have never asked?
Friends
á What is your first memory of me?
á Was there a time when you didnÕt like me?
á What makes us such good friends?
á How would you describe me? How would you describe yourself?
á Where will we be in 10 years? 20 years?
á Do you think weÕll ever lose touch with each other?
á Is there anything that youÕve always wanted to tell me but havenÕt?
Grandparents
á Where did you grow up?
á What was your childhood like?
á Who were your favorite relatives?
á Do you remember any of the stories they used to tell you?
á How did you and grandma/grandpa meet?
á What was my mom/dad like growing up?
á Do you remember any songs that you used to sing to her/him? Can you sing them now?
á Was she/he well-behaved?
á What is the worst thing she/he ever did?
á What were your parents like?
á What were your grandparents like?
á How would you like to be remembered?
á Are you proud of me?
Raising children
á When did you first find out that youÕd be a parent? How did you feel?
á Can you describe the moment when you saw your child for the first time?
á How has being a parent changed you?
á What are your dreams for your children?
á Do you remember when your last child left home for good?
á Do you have any favorite stories about your kids?
Parents
á Do remember what was going through your head when you first saw me?
á How did you choose my name?
á What was I like as a baby? As a young child?
á Do you remember any of the songs you used to sing to me? Can you sing them now?
á What were my siblings like? What were the hardest moments you had when I was growing up?
á If you could do everything again, would you raise me differently?
á What advice would you give me about raising my own kids?
á What are your dreams for me?
á How did you meet mom/dad?
á Are you proud of me?
Growing up
á When and where were you born?
á Where did you grow up?
á What was it like?
á Who were you parents?
á What were your parents like?
á How was your relationship with your parents?
á Did you get into trouble? What was the worst thing you did?
á Do you have any siblings? What were they like growing up?
á What did you look like?
á How would you describe yourself as a child? Were you happy?
á What is your best memory of childhood? Worst?
á Did you have a nickname? HowÕd you get it?
á Who were your best friends? What were they like?
á How would you describe a perfect day when you were young?
á What did you think your life would be like when you were older?
á Do you have any favorite stories from your childhood?
School
á Did you enjoy school?
á What kind of student were you?
á What would you do for fun?
á How would your classmates remember you?
á Are you still friends with anyone from that time in your life?
á What are your best memories of grade school/high school/college/graduate school? Worst memories?
á Was there a teacher or teachers who had a particularly strong influence of your life? Tell me about them.
á Do you have any favorite stories from school?
Love and relationships
á Do you have a love of your life?
á When did you first fall in love?
á Can you tell me about your first kiss?
á What was your first serious relationship?
á Do you believe in love at first sight?
á Do you ever think about previous lovers?
á What lessons have you learned from your relationships?
Marriage
á How did you meet your husband/wife?
á How did you know he/she was "the one"?
á How did you propose?
á What were the best times? The most difficult times?
á Did you ever think of getting divorced?
á Did you ever get divorced? Can you tell me about it?
á What advice do you have for young couples?
á Do you have any favorite stories from your marriage or about your husband/wife?
Working
á What do you do for a living? Tell me about how you got into your line of work.
á Do you like your job?
á What did you think you were going to be when you grew up?
á What did you want to be when you grew up?
á What lessons has your work life taught you?
á If you could do anything now, what would you do? Why?
á Do you plan on retiring? If so, when? How do you feel about it?
á Do you have any favorite stories from your work life?
Religion
á Can you tell me about your religious beliefs/spiritual beliefs? What is your religion?
á Have you experienced any miracles?
á What was the most profound spiritual moment of your life?
á Do you believe in God?
á Do you believe in the after-life? What do you think it will be like?
á When you meet God, what do you want to say to Him?
Serious Illness
á Can you tell me about your illness?
á Do you think about dying? Are you scared?
á How do you imagine your death?
á Do you believe in an after-life?
á Do you regret anything?
á Do you look at your life differently now than before you were diagnosed?
á Do you have any last wishes?
á If you were to give advice to me or my children, or even children to come in our family, what would it be?
á What have you learned from life? The most important things?
á Has this illness changed you? What have you learned?
á How do you want to be remembered?
Family heritage
á What is your ethnic background?
á Where is your momÕs family from? Where is your dadÕs family from?
á Have you ever been there? What was that experience like?
á What traditions have been passed down in your family?
á Who were your favorite relatives?
á Do you remember any of the stories they used to tell you?
á What are the classic family stories? Jokes? Songs?
War
á Were you in the military?
á Did you go to war? What was it like?
á How did war change you?
á During your service, can you recall times when you were afraid?
á What are your strongest memories from your time in the military?
á What lessons did you learn from this time in your life?
From: StoryCorps Questions - http://www.storycorps.net/record-your-story/question-generator/list