Great life story interviews start with great questions. Photo of a senior man being interviewed.

Great interviews start with great questions. We do professional oral history interviewing for families, as part of bigger history projects, and books and have done thousands, so we have learned a thing or two. Here are some question lists and other resources to get you started.

Related: Why oral history is important

It’s a good idea to go into an interview with a few questions prepared, and especially highlight any that you want to make sure you ask. However, often an ice breaker and a well-chosen question here and there will keep the conversation going. It’s a positive sign when not all your questions are used in an interview (they rarely are).

Also, most interviewees appreciate receiving a few questions in advance. When sending, indicate that they are simply food for thought and the interview will not follow a rigid format. If only one interview is done with a subject, ask a variety of questions on different topics. You might check out our top 10 list as a handy reference, listed below. If a series of interviews is envisioned, it’s helpful to focus on themes in each interview.

If you are interested in preserving life stories, our online course contains an excellent segment on oral history. You can complete this fun and engaging self-paced course over a weekend, or spread it out through a month. (Course access remains open for a year). Click here to preview.

Categories of Questions 

  • 10 Universal questions for anyone
  • Childhood, school and hometown
  • Relationship questions
  • Family life as an adult
  • Work and profession
  • Spirituality, religion and values
  • Questions for Veterans

10 universal interview questions

This is a great list for a stand-alone interview and is a handy grab-and-go cheat sheet. Some of the questions are repeated in other categories.

  1. Where were you born?
  2. Tell me about your childhood, what was the best part? Worst?
  3. Who was the most influential person in your life?
  4. What is your profession and why?
  5. What was the happiest time of your life?
  6. Tell about a time when you didn’t know if you would make it.
  7. Who is the love of your life and how did you meet?
  8. What is your passion (or a favorite hobby?)
  9. What is your favorite memory of me?
  10. What do you value most and why?

Get our free printable:

Quick interviewing resources

Before we continue with more questions, we want to make you aware of other resources we have compiled to help you.

Childhood, School and Hometown

  • What is your earliest memory?
  • Who are your parents? Where did they grow up?
  • Where were you born?
  • How many siblings do you have and where do you fall in your family?
  • What were your chores?
  • What is your hometown, and what was it like when you were young?
  • Did you like school?
  • What did you do for fun?
  • How did you celebrate holidays?
  • How did you celebrate holidays? Did your family have some special holiday traditions?
  • What were your favorite meals?
  • What were some memorable trips or outings?
  • Can you think of any funny stories from your youth?
  • What is an object you still have from your childhood and what is the story behind it? 
  • What is a moment from your life that you wish you had a photograph? 

Related: The best affordable microphones we have tried

Family Life as an Adult

  • Are you or have you ever been married?
  • Do you have children?
  • What are traditions you established in your family?
  • What were your favorite trips or outings?
  • Where do you live now and why?
  • Who is your best friend?
  • What was the happiest time in your adult life so far? Why?
  • What was the hardest time? How did you get through it?
  • What were the most important values you wanted to teach your family?
  • How would you want your loved ones to remember you?

Related: Our favorite digital recorder – a review

Relationship Questions

Editor’s note: This category is not limited to marriage or intimate partner. These questions can also apply to a great friend or business partner.

  • How did you meet? (Note: This is such a simple question yet it is an effective ice breaker)
  • What are some of your early and best memories together?
  • Do you have a song, “our song?”
  • Did you ever break up?
  • Was there ever a time or times when you didn’t know if your relationship would make it?
  • When and how did you know it was meant to be?
  • What are the challenges in your relationship?
  • How do you work through disagreements or differences?
  • What are some of your best fun memories together?
  • Do any trips or vacations together especially stand out?
  • Can you think of a low point in your life when the other person was there for you?
  • How do you keep your relationship strong?
  • How are you alike, and how are you different?
  • What do you admire most about the other person?
  • What are the other person’s quirks or personality traits that you love?
  • How are you better together than without the other person?
  • Thinking of your relationship, what advice would you give a young person, such as your children?
  • Can you think of long-standing inside jokes, or phrases you tell each other?
  • What are some of the activities that you share, that maybe other people wouldn’t understand or that are unique to your relationship?
  • What are your dreams for the future together?
  • Would you say that this person is the love of your life?

Professional interviewer’s note: starting any interview by asking how two people met is a great way to break the ice!

Related: Become a master business storyteller with these 5 questions

Work and Profession

  • What was your first job?
  • What is your profession or job?
  • Do you like your job?
  • What did you want to be when you grew up?
  • How did you get into this line of work?
  • Have you belonged to any civic or professional organizations?
  • Have you ever been involved in politics or a political cause?
  • What are you proudest of in your career?
  • Who was your greatest mentor?
  • What is your passion and how did you get started with it?

Related article: How to inspire others with your canon of business stories

Spirituality, Religion and Values

  • Have you ever experienced a miracle or an answer to a prayer?
  • Do you believe in God?
  • Do you associate with a religion or spiritual practice?
  • If you attend religious services, where do you attend? Why do you choose worship with that particular congregation or community?
  • What was the most powerful spiritual experience of your life?
  • What are you proudest of in your life?
  • What do you regret?
  • If you could share with your family your most important values, what would you say?
  • What experiences in your life that taught you these values?

Related: Is yours a redemption story?

Questions for Veterans

  • Did you enlist or were you drafted?
  • Why did you choose that branch of the service?
  • When and where did you serve?
  • What were your job duties?
  • If you served during war time, did you see combat?
  • What kinds of friendships and camaraderie did you form while serving, and with whom?
  • How did you stay in touch with family and friends back home?
  • What did you do for recreation?
  • What did you learn from your time in the military?
  • What would you want to share with future generations your service, and your feelings about our country?

Related: Here is a comprehensive list of Questions for Veterans (published by the Library of Congress Veteran History Project)

Other resources for you

We do this work for a living and can use our experience to help you get it done! We conduct oral history interviews in person, which can make a great gift. We regularly teach classes in person and online for the DIY personalities and natural writers. We also write life stories and help others write theirs through our writing groups and educational emails. Do you have a question? Let us know! Click here to reach out.

Index of interviewing resources

Free Interviewing Mini tutorial PDF 

To motivate and help you do great interviews, we created a free 7-day interviewing mini course that’s printable and self-paced. Click on the link for a free download. We hope you find it helpful!

How to do oral history interviews course 

By completing this short course, you will feel confident and prepared to conduct life story interviews. Receive thorough, yet easy-to-understand answers to questions such as: What is the power of voice to evoke memories and inspire others? Should you use a digital recorder, or app on your phone, or both? What are best practices for doing interviews by Zoom/Teams/Google Meet? Which microphones are worth the money? What are the most efficient methods for transcribing audio? Why is oral history the easiest, and most powerful way to capture a life story?

Click here to preview or enroll. I’m so happy to say our students have loved it! You can see their thoughts on our courses, printables, and services here.

We hope that these resources help you do engaging and meaningful interviews. We know this work is worth it, and you can do it. Do it now and it will be enough.