Although Alex Shalman is talking about questions for controlling communication (to make yourself stand out and your conversation partner feel important), the questions he suggests in his Lifehack.org article would work equally well to elicit stories:
- What do you do when you’re not doing this?
- What is important to you?
- How is it that you are so passionate about this topic?
- How could I accomplish what you have accomplished?
- Do you remember how you felt when that happened?
- Can you elaborate a little bit on this topic?
- Do you remember what was going on in your mind at that time?