This series of question sets for the interview or self-interview process can assist in the development of different kinds of stories, but it is not meant to supplant a more direct scripting process, if that is how you are used to working. Almost all of us can gain, however, from having a source material that grows out our un-self-conscious response to a directed question.

By recording your responses, you may find you have sufficient material to make your voiceover. Cutting and rearranging your responses using digital audio editing may be all that is required.
If you take this route, keep in mind that you must take steps to have a good-quality recording.

You may find it easier to respond to these questions directly into a microphone in the privacy of your own home or office. If the prospect of talking to a recording device is off-putting (and it may be more likely to increase your self-consciousness than relax you), have someone interview you. This could be a friend, a spouse, relative, or co-worker. This process can be both fun and revealing but requires the interviewer commit to a few common-sense ideas.

First, study the questions so that you are not reading from the page, and feel free to ad lib. Being able to sustain eye contact assists the interviewee in relaxing and responding in a natural way.

Second, allow the interviewee to complete thoughts. Unlike a radio or TV interviewer that is concerned with "dead air" in the conversation, give the respondent has all the time desired to think through and restate something that is a bit difficult to articulate. Interruptions can cause people to lose their train of thought or become self-aware and steer away from important, but perhaps emotionally difficult, information. Let the respondent tell you when he or she is finished a question before moving on to the next.

Third, when appropriate, use your own intuition to probe further to get a more specific response. Often people’s initial thought about the question only retrieves the broadest outline of memory. Feel free to request specifics or details that would clarify or expand upon a general response.

Fourth, if the story is about information that is specifically painful or traumatic in the person’s life, assess carefully how far you allow the respondent to delve into these memories. In many situations where the interviewer is not a spouse or close loved one, you may cross into territory that is much better approached in the context of a purposely therapeutic environment with experienced guides or professionally trained advisors. We have come perilously close in interviews to taking people into an emotional state from which they cannot return at the session. This is embarrassing for the respondent and emotionally inconsiderate, as they may not have the therapeutic support to cope with these issues in the hours and days after the interview. Don’t feel you need to hunt for emotionally charged material to make the interview effective. If it comes naturally and comfortably, so be it.

Finally, along with ensuring privacy in the interview, make sure both interviewer and interviewee are comfortable; comfortable chairs, water at hand, and the microphone positioned so not to disrupt ease of movement. (A lavalier, or pin-on microphone, is the best.)

Here are a few example question sets for some of the kinds of personal stories we have described. Adapting any one of the question sets by integrating sets, or developing a separate set is encouraged.

• What is or had been your relationship to this person?
• How would you describe this person (physical appearance, character, etc)?
• Is there an event/incident that best captures their character?
• What about them do you most enjoy?
• What about them drives you crazy?
• What lesson did they give you they you feel is important?
• If you had something to say to them, that they may have never heard you say, what would it be?

• What was the event (time, place, incident, or series of incidents)?
• What was your relationship to the event?
• With what other people did you experience this event?
• Was there a defining moment in the event?
• How did you feel during this event (fear, exhilaration, sharpened awareness, joy)?
• Why did you learn from this event?
• How did this event change your life?

• How would you describe the place?
• With whom did you share this place?
• What general experiences do you relate to this place?
• Was there a defining experience at the place?
• What lessons about yourself do you draw from your relationship to this place?
• If you have returned to this place, how has it changed?

• What is your profession or ongoing interest?
• What experiences, interests, knowledge in your previous life prepared you for this activity?
• Was there an initial event that most affected your decision to pursue this interest?
• Who influenced or assisted you in shaping your career, interest, or skill in this area?
• How has your profession or interest affected your life as a whole (family, friends, where you live)?
• What has been the highlight of your vocational/avocational life?