MyLore / Interview guide

Practical family history

Questions that open a story—not just a record.

The best family-history questions invite a scene, a decision, or a relationship. Pick a few. Listen closely. Let the conversation choose what comes next.

Do not try to finish a person's life in one sitting. A focused conversation with ten good questions is more valuable than a rushed list of one hundred.

Before recording: explain what you hope to preserve, where the recording will live, who may hear it, and that the person can pause or skip anything.

Start with a place

  1. When you picture the home where you grew up, what room do you see first?
  2. What sounds or smells instantly take you back there?
  3. Who came through the house often, and what did they bring with them?
  4. Where did children go when adults wanted privacy?
  5. What changed in the neighborhood while you lived there?

Find the people behind the names

  1. Who made you feel most understood when you were young?
  2. Who was the family storyteller? Which stories did they repeat?
  3. What family member surprised people once they knew them well?
  4. Who taught you a skill you still use?
  5. Which relationship changed after a difficult event?

Ask about choices and turning points

  1. What decision changed the direction of your life?
  2. What opportunity almost did not happen?
  3. When did you take a risk other people did not understand?
  4. What did the family disagree about at the time?
  5. What do people misunderstand when they tell that story now?

Recover everyday life

  1. What meal meant someone special had made an effort?
  2. What happened on an ordinary Saturday?
  3. What did the family save for, repair, reuse, or go without?
  4. Which phrase, joke, song, or ritual belonged only to your family?
  5. What technology or social change felt most dramatic?

Invite context, not certainty

  1. How old do you think you were? What else was happening that helps place the date?
  2. Who else might remember this differently?
  3. Which part are you certain about, and which part is fuzzy?
  4. Is there a photo, letter, record, place, or person that could add detail?
  5. What question should I ask you next time?

Follow the answer

Useful follow-ups are simple: “What happened next?” “Who was there?” “How did that feel at the time?” “What makes you remember that?” “Was that before or after the move?”

Do not correct a memory mid-story. Record the uncertainty and investigate later. A family archive can preserve both the memory and the evidence around it.

What would make this easier?

MyLore is exploring a guided interview system that remembers prior sessions and helps families find the missing questions without inventing answers.

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