02 Feb How To Onboard My Loved One So They Let Me Capture Their Story

In our experience, we have found our older generation to be quite humble, often thinking they don’t have an interesting story to tell. Many people ask us, “how do I get my mum or dad to want to capture their story?”. 

Firstly, we need to empathise with our loved ones and understand that they have probably gone through a lot more adversity than we have, namely war and poverty. They also have grown up in the generation where society deemed it not ok to share feelings and talk about emotions. 

Once you have acknowledged this, we have found the following three techniques quite helpful when onboarding them to tell their story and have you capture it. 

Technique 1: Really explain why this is important to you

We find adding some emotion as to why capturing their story is so important to you is a way to break down the barriers they may be holding up.

Technique 2: Break the process down 

We sometimes find it’s easier (and more realistic) to capture their story in chunks, so one life chapter at a time, instead of going through their whole life story in one go.

Technique 3: Show them the questions first

We find that if people see the questions you’re going to ask beforehand, they are a little more receptive. Even going through and highlighting the questions they feel comfortable answering, and start there.

It’s funny though, all our clients who have been reluctant to tell their story won’t stop once we start our 1:1 interview with them.  And once it’s over they say “ohh is it finished already?”. 

We hope these techniques help you and if you also need help in how to capture their story, then check out our ‘DIY Story Capture Kit’. It’s a carefully designed guide that will take you through the different life chapters, which include lead and prompt questions, ensuring you capture your loved one’s story properly. 

Warmest Regards, 

My Word ?