How to record your family's stories

Step 1 — Choose the storyteller (and the deputy)

Start with the person whose stories you'd miss most. Then pick a second — siblings and cousins remember different versions, and the disagreements are often the best material.

Step 2 — Gather the prompts

Don't start with "tell me about your life" — it's too big. Use small doors instead: the street they grew up on, their first payslip, the kitchen at Christmas. Our list of questions to ask your parents is built for this.

Step 3 — Pick your recording method

A voice-notes folder. Free, instant, done. Weakness: the recordings end up on one person's phone and are rarely heard again.

Video calls. For distant relatives. Record with consent, and save to a folder the whole family can reach.

A family interview day. One afternoon, all the siblings, one list of questions. Chaotic, warm, productive.

A voice companion built for it. The reason we built Odalie: a simple tablet your parent just talks to, while the family adds photos and details from their phones — so the archive is heard in everyday conversation, not just stored. If you'd rather compare ready-made options first, see our honest look at StoryWorth alternatives.

Step 4 — Record well (five rules)

1. Short sessions. Forty focused minutes beats three exhausted hours.
2. One question, then silence. People fill quiet with the good details.
3. Follow tangents. The question list is a map, not a route.
4. Note the names. People, streets, schools — they're the easiest details to lose.
5. Say what you're doing. Always record with knowledge and consent, and tell them why it matters. It usually makes people more generous, not less.

And the ground rules that come with that: a relative can skip any question, stop the recording at any point, and choose who the recordings are shared with. Consent isn't a one-time signature — check in as you go.

Step 5 — Organise as you go

After each session: name the files, note the date and who's speaking, write a three-line summary. One hour of tidying now saves the archive from becoming a drawer of mystery files later.

Step 6 — Make the stories part of life

The most common failure isn't losing the recordings — it's never listening to them. Set a family rhythm: one story shared at every birthday, a "story of the week" in the family chat, or a companion in the kitchen where the stories simply come up in conversation.

Start this weekend

Two questions from the list. One phone. One relative. That's the whole setup. The archive your family will have in a year is decided by whether you ask — not by which tool you use.