Talk
Speak with a thoughtful AI guide. In the private test, it asks a follow-up based on your previous answer. Read or listen to each question, then record when ready.
Private testTalk Story · by TalkStory Forge
The World's Wisdom Was Passed Down One Story at a Time.
Let's keep talking story.
For generations, people have shared experiences, history, culture, and wisdom through conversation.
TalkStory Forge brings that tradition into the digital age.
Try the guided previewDiscover the experienceSignup mockup · Private interview testing only
OUR STARTING POINT
Born in Hawaiʻi.
Built for humanity.
01 / More than a conversation
Before knowledge was written,
it was shared.
The knowledge comes from people. Technology helps carry it forward.
In Hawaiʻi, “talk story” is a familiar invitation to spend time together: to share experiences, trade memories, and get to know one another.
There needn’t be a stage or a perfect beginning. A small detail can lead to a shared memory. A question can open a door. Listening is part of the story, too.
Talking story means listening, learning, asking questions, and exchanging perspectives. Wisdom grows when people share experiences and listen.
Our AI interviewer helps invited testers share their memories, experiences, and knowledge through thoughtful conversations—preserving their recorded words and helping shape a draft for the people who matter. The broader public experience is still in development.
Technology should strengthen human connection, not replace it. Your voice. Your experiences. Your story.
Read a Hawaiʻi perspective · University of Hawaiʻi ↗Rooted here. Open to the world.
Many cultures.
A human connection.
Hawaiʻi has its own histories and ways of sharing knowledge. Across Polynesia—and throughout the world—communities sustain distinct oral traditions that carry memory, identity, and understanding between generations.
These traditions aren’t interchangeable. The familiar local expression talk story is not a claim that Hawaiʻi invented oral storytelling or that the expression names an ancient educational institution.
Native Hawaiian moʻolelo encompasses stories, histories, and traditions, with meanings and responsibilities grounded in Hawaiian language and culture. Our name is inspired by everyday connection in Hawaiʻi; our platform does not represent all Hawaiian cultural traditions.
Explore moʻolelo · UH Hilo Hawaiian dictionariesWe respect that communities and storytellers decide what knowledge is appropriate to share.
Explore living oral traditions · UNESCO ↗TalkStory Forge is an independent project. These resources are offered for learning, not as endorsements.
02 / A simple path
Talk. Capture.
Create. Share.
The best stories often begin with a simple question. Here is how we’re helping conversations become something meaningful.
Capture
With your consent, original answer recordings and their transcripts are stored privately for the invited interview and producer review.
Private testCreate
Turn the conversation into an AI-written story draft. Correct names, places, and details before approving. Books, biographies, and other finished formats are future work.
Drafts in private testShare
Review and approve a draft for your private download. You decide what to do with that file. Built-in sharing permissions and publishing are planned.
Download now in private test · Sharing plannedWhat you can try today
This page offers a signup and project-planning mockup. No account is created, and it does not start an interview. The working voice test is invitation-only; use the private link your producer sent you.
What are the current interview limits?
The private test allows five minutes of recorded answers, up to eight answers, and up to 90 seconds per answer. Six seconds of quiet after speech ends that answer. A pause stops the microphone and saves speech already recorded; use “Record my answer” to continue. Longer, less interrupted storytelling is a next-phase goal.
Quiet time is monitored in the browser, not streamed continuously to the AI. An answer with no detected speech is not sent for processing. A paused answer containing speech can still finish saving and processing.
Who can see my words and recordings?
The private test requires consent to recording, OpenAI processing, and review by your inviter. The producer can listen to original answers and export the interview. Keep invitation links private: anyone holding a link has its access. Approval enables a private story download; it does not publish anything.
Contact your inviter to request removal of test recordings. Self-service deletion, managed sharing, and public account access are not yet available.
03 / Start with purpose
Before we ask for a story,
we ask what matters.
The planned experience starts by interviewing the producer. Your purpose helps prepare thoughtful, individual conversations for the people you invite.
Find the purpose
Tell the guide what you hope to understand, who the story is for, and what deserves care. Review the story brief together.
Make room for each voice
Invite contributors with different perspectives. Prepare questions around what each person can bring—and what they want to share.
Listen. Follow the thread.
Explore memories, notice gaps, and ask useful follow-ups. Keep assumptions separate from what people actually say.
Shape it together
Review the source material, choose a format, and approve the story and permissions before sharing.
An imagined project
“How did our neighborhood café become a gathering place?”
One purpose. Three different conversations.
- The founderThe first leap, the early doubts, the open door.
- A longtime regularThe people, the rituals, the moments of belonging.
- A member of the teamThe everyday care that keeps the place alive.
04 / People make the story
A place for every voice.
You can wear more than one hat.
Project owner
Starts the project and manages access and, when available, the order.
Producer
Sets the purpose, brings people together, and steers the story.
Storyteller
Contributes experience, sets boundaries, and reviews their words.
Editor & reviewer
Shape the narrative and check facts, context, and permissions—with distinct responsibilities.
Working on your own? You can be both producer and storyteller. The AI guide helps prepare and conduct conversations; people keep the decisions.
05 / Across generations. Across languages.
The words we inherit.
The voices we understand.
A grandparent and grandchild may reach for different words. We want the story to keep its original voice while helping another generation understand it.
Next-phase priorities
English and 日本語 (Japanese)
Our initial priorities for full language support are English and Japanese. The current interface and private test are in English. Japanese voice interviews, automatic language switching, and translation have not been implemented and tested.
- Interview in the storyteller’s preferred language.
- Keep the original recording and original-language transcript.
- Offer optional translated or bilingual written material.
- Let people check names, cultural expressions, and family terms.
These are planned capabilities. Additional languages can follow as each is tested with speakers.
Explore language preferences in the mockup06 / What could your story become?
A voice today.
A world of possibilities.
Start with the people and the purpose. Choose the final form after the interviews reveal what’s there.
A written story or book
Moments and perspectives, woven into a narrative.
An audio story or podcast
The texture of real voices, with a story to follow.
A photo film, trailer or screenplay
A creative direction shaped around your material.
The written draft and private text download are part of the invitation-only test. The finished formats above are future possibilities, not available services. Documentary creation and the use of photos, music, or video would require appropriate source material, rights, and review.
07 / Keep listening
Meet the idea
through other voices.
A few places to explore. Cultural learning begins with the people doing the telling.
WATCH / A LOCAL PERSPECTIVE
What is “Talk Story” and why is it so important?
Pastor Ikaika Higa · Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention. A cultural explanation from a faith-based organization.
Visit the video page ↗EXPLORE / YOUTUBE
Find conversations from Hawaiʻi
Browse videos about talk story, local culture, and oral history. This opens search results, not a popularity-ranked playlist.
Explore on YouTube ↗READ / STORYTELLING & MEDIA
Taking the spoken story to the screen
Honolulu storyteller Jeff Gere reflects on Talk Story Festival performances and television.
Read Jeff’s perspective ↗Your next chapter
Every life has a story
worth hearing.
Try the first few steps. Choose your role and future language preference, explore a producer discovery question, and see how a story brief could take shape.
Interactive signup mockup
No account is created. Your preview stays on this page and clears when you reload. We do not send or save it. No payment or recording is involved.
01 / YOUR STARTING POINTPREVIEW