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For libraries, teachers and genealogy societies

Free printable family interview questions

One-page question sheets for interviewing a parent or grandparent, and a one-page guide to doing the interview in 30 minutes. Free to print, photocopy and hand out.

No sign-up and no email. Each sheet prints on one page of Letter or A4, in large type.

One page, nothing to sign up for. You can also save it as a PDF from the print window.

By Adriana, founder of Heirleaf · Updated October 30, 2026

Yes, you can photocopy them

You may print, photocopy and hand out these sheets in classes, library programs, take-home kits and genealogy society meetings, and link to them from your guides. There's no need to ask us first. Please keep the line at the bottom that says where they come from, and don't sell them.

The question sheets

Open a sheet and press Print this list near the top. It prints 15 questions on one page. Three of them are also in Spanish, for families who'd rather talk in Spanish.

How to do a family interview in 30 minutes

For a student, a grandchild or anyone doing it for the first time. All you need is a phone.

Before · 5 minutes

  1. Pick three questions, not twenty. Choose ones about something they can picture: a kitchen, a street, a first job, one particular day. Circle them on a question sheet.
  2. Get the phone ready. Open the voice recorder (Voice Memos on an iPhone, Recorder on most Android phones), turn on Do Not Disturb so a call doesn't cut it off, and record ten seconds as a test.
  3. Ask before you record. “Is it all right if I record this, so I don’t have to take notes?” Then start by saying the date and both your names.

During · 20 minutes

  1. Ask, then wait. When they stop talking, count to five in your head before you speak. People often add the best part after a pause.
  2. Ask one more about the same thing. “What happened next?” “Who else was there?” “What did it look like?” One follow-up is worth more than the next question on the list.
  3. Let the story wander. If they drift to something else, follow them. You don’t need to get through all three questions.

After · 5 minutes

  1. Ask if there’s anything to add, then say thank you. “Is there anything I didn’t ask that you’d like to tell me?”
  2. Save it and label it. Name the file with who, where and the date, keep a copy in a second place, and write one line about what you talked about. Ask before you share the recording outside the family.

One page, without the website around it.

An idea for Thanksgiving week

StoryCorps runs the Great Thanksgiving Listen, which invites people to record a conversation with an elder over the holiday. If your class or library is taking part, or just wants something for that week, here is a simple plan:

  1. The week before, hand out the Thanksgiving sheet and the 30-minute guide.
  2. Each person circles three questions and decides who they'll ask.
  3. Over the holiday, they do the interview and record it on a phone.
  4. Afterwards, everyone shares one thing they didn't know before. The recording stays with the family.

To add an interview to the StoryCorps archive, use their app or website and their rules: you have to be 13 or older, and under 18 with a parent's consent. Heirleaf has no connection to StoryCorps.

Who makes these

Heirleaf is a small company. We turn a parent's or grandparent's answers into a book, in their own words, so most of our work is writing questions that get a story instead of “fine”. These sheets are the part we give away.

If you have a question, or need a sheet with more room to write, write to me at hello@heirleaf.com.

— Adriana, founder of Heirleaf

If a family wants the answers kept as a book, that's what we sell: here's how it works. The sheets don't depend on it.