I don't have any interesting stories.
Say:"I disagree." I've been curious about that summer in 1972 (or wherever you spent your twenties, or what your father was like) my whole life and never asked. That's on me. I'm asking now.
Almost everyone does at first. Here's what to say. Five common kinds of pushback, and the response that works.
The resistance isn't really about the recording. It's about being seen. These responses don't argue with the resistance. They name it, then step around it.
I don't have any interesting stories.
Say:"I disagree." I've been curious about that summer in 1972 (or wherever you spent your twenties, or what your father was like) my whole life and never asked. That's on me. I'm asking now.
I don't like being recorded.
Say:You don't have to look at anything. We're just going to talk. I'll have it running in the background. Most people forget it's on within five minutes.
I wouldn't know where to start.
Say:I'll start you. Just tell me about the house you grew up in. Or the first job you ever had. Or that one road trip. Give them the first sentence of their own story.
Nobody will care about this.
Say:I care. And I want my kids to know who you are. Not just that you existed, but what you were actually like. This is how that happens.
I'll do it later.
Say:I know. Let's just do twenty minutes right now and see how it feels. If you hate it we stop. Nobody has ever stopped at twenty minutes.
Download the question list, send it ahead, and book the first session. Twenty minutes is all you need to find out it'll be longer.