A life story doesn’t have to begin with a birth date and follow a straight line. Sometimes it begins with a song. Or the smell of a particular meal. Or a photograph of a street that looks different now.

When a family tells Mina a little about someone’s life, those details give a conversation a place to start. The aim is to make room for what the person wants to share.

Start with what matters to them now.

The most useful details are often ordinary: what they enjoy cooking, the work they were proud of, the places they call home, the music they return to. A favourite subject can be just as helpful as a long biography.

In Mina’s Life Story, family members can type or dictate these details. Dictation creates information to review, so you can check names, dates and meaning before saving it. You can also explain topics they prefer to leave alone.

Ask about an experience, one question at a time.

Try a question with an easy starting point and plenty of room around it:

  • “What did you like to cook when everyone came over?”
  • “What was your first day at work like?”
  • “Was there a place you loved going on Sundays?”
  • “Which song would you put on for a celebration?”

Follow the detail that catches their interest. If the answer is brief, let it be brief. A photograph, a piece of music or simply a different subject may be more welcome that day.

Leave room for their version.

Families sometimes remember the same event differently. Mina keeps track of where saved information came from, including which family member supplied it. New details from a resident’s conversation are handled separately when they conflict with family information, so a passing remark doesn’t silently overwrite an existing account.

You don’t need to settle every detail to have a good conversation. You can record that something is uncertain, return to it later or choose not to save it.

Remember the occasions, too.

Birthdays, anniversaries and celebrations deserve their own place. Add who an occasion belongs to, when it happens and whether it repeats. A tradition might bring back a recipe, a song or a person they’d like to send a message to.

As their interests and routines change, the family can update Mina. The picture of someone’s life should have room to grow, just as the conversations do.