Course topics
Below is a list of courses that will be available in Life Story School’s Do-It-Yourself class. Each bulleted item is a lesson.
The content is being developed and will be released at a rate of two lessons per week.
If there is a particular class you’d like to see produced first, please let us know at hello@lifestory.school.
Also let us know if there is a topic that’s not on this list which you feel needs to be addressed.
Each lesson includes a video and handout pertaining to the topic. Questions can be answered in the weekly online community meetings.
Structuring a story
- Why should I tell my life story, or that of someone else?
- Which is better – audio, video or written format?
- Should I tell my own story or be interviewed by someone else?
- Do I need to back up my life story, and how do I do that?
- What role so photographs play in remembering and telling my life story?
- What is the difference between libel and slander, and how to avoid both?
- How should I handle updates when something in my story changes?
- Should I organize my life story in chronological order or by theme?
- What if I can’t recall all the facts?
- Should I release my story to the public or privately to selected individuals?
- Should I publish my life story on platforms like Amazon?
- When should I get professional help to tell or finish my life story?
- Umm, I can’t speak or write good. What should I do?
- Should my story be funny, sad or a combination?
- How should I share tough topics?
- Things to keep in mind when capturing audio.
- Things to keep in mind when capturing video.
- Be careful about oversharing, especially if there are legal implications.
- Should I release my life story now, or wait until after I’m gone?
- What if I forget to mention someone special or important?
- How can I encourage someone else to share his or her life story?
- How can I use descriptive words to make my story sound even better?
Miscellaneous
- Why should I talk about what I consider to be an ideal day?
- Why is it important that I write out my desired obituary
- Can I make money with my story, and should I even try?
Foundational aspects
- What foundational aspects of my story should I include?
- How should I address medical information, especially genetic conditions?
- First things first – Recall the first time you did certain things.
- How should you describe your personality traits?
- Describe the places you have lived.
- Describe places you have visited.
Unique information
- How should you talk about faith and the role it played in your life?
- Should I talk about my core values and black sheep values?
- Should I talk about my natural talents or is that boasting?
- Do I need to talk about all the skills I learned or just key skills?
- What is the best way to describe magical moments I experienced?
- Should I talk about my deepest regrets or will that cause a shadow over my story?
- How should I describe the greatest joys in my life?
- Will anyone care if I talk about my favorite and not-so-favorite things?
- Should I talk about various modes of transportation i used?
- How can I talk about wounds that hurt me without offending others?
- Should I confess my secrets or expose those of other people?
- What is the best way to address my personal opinions?
- Should I talk about my political leanings?
- Should I talk about my financial experiences?
- Why should I describe the charities I liked to support?
- How do I want others to remember me, and what don’t I especially want them to forget?
- How should I describe a red thread theme that wove its way through my life?
- Should I describe unfinished business, such as those items still on my bucket list of things to do?
School experiences
- What elements should I talk about in my elementary school years?
- How should I talk about my middle school years?
- Should I talk about stupid things I did during my high school years?
- How can I make talking about my college years more meaningful?
- Do I need to talk about all the professional training I received?
Careers
- Would people care about my childhood ambitions?
- How should I describe my first jobs?
- When talking about my military experiences, should I purposely leave anything out?
- What should I describe about my primary career?
- I had many careers, do I need to talk about them all?
- How should I talk about retirement when I still have a lot of years left to live?
Relationships
- Why is it important to talk about my family of origin, or the one I was born into?
- How should I talk about step families?
- What should I do about special situations, like adoption or foster families.
- What’s the difference between a “family of origin” and a “found family,” and how should I describe them?
- How should I talk about my childhood friends even if I can’t remember names?
- Why is it important for me to talk about my friends in adulthood?
- Why should I talk about the mentors in my life?
- Should I talk about my pets?
Advice
- Is it important that I talk about valuable lessons I learned in life?
- Why should I talk about lessons I had to learn over and over again?