Start with food, not a question. Tea, a snack, or cook something together. Open with 「食咗飯未呀?」 — "have you eaten yet?"
Set the phone down, hit record, then forget it. The best stories come once nobody is watching the phone.
Don't read the big Chinese line out loud — that one is for them to read. The highlighted line is how you'd say it.
Follow the story wherever it goes. If they wander into a memory, let them — that is the treasure.
Say back every dish and place name so the recording catches it clearly.
Interviewing over a phone call? Keep the call on ONE phone (speakerphone is fine) and record with a different phone or tablet running this app. A phone that is on a call fights its own microphone — recordings come out distorted or one-sided.
If your iPhone and region offer Apple call recording: the Phone app announces it to both sides. After the call, find the saved recording in Notes, then use Share → Save to Files and bring it in here with 📥 Import a recording.
Hard topics are theirs to open — never push. Questions marked "their door" are gentle openers only.
Keep it short and warm — 30–45 minutes. Ending early is a win. There's always next time.