Ask retirement tribute questions people can actually answer.

Questions about impact

Impact is easier to describe through a before and after than through praise.

• What do you do differently because you worked with them?
• When did they make your work or life easier?
• What confidence did they help you build?
• Who else benefited from something they taught you?

Questions about lessons and craft

These prompts work for mentors, peers, direct reports, clients, and former colleagues.

• What did they teach you that no handbook could?
• Which piece of their advice still turns up in your work?
• What standard did they set without announcing it?
• What mistake did they help you recover from?

Questions about ordinary moments

Small scenes often say more about a person than official milestones.

• Which ordinary moment captures what they were like?
• When did they notice something everyone else missed?
• What is a tiny kindness from them you still remember?
• Which meeting, trip, lunch, or deadline story makes you smile?

Questions about what continues

Legacy does not need to sound grand. It can be a template, phrase, ritual, or way of treating new people.

• What will the team keep doing because they introduced it?
• Which phrase of theirs will people keep repeating?
• What part of the workplace will still feel like them?
• What do you hope they understand about the difference they made?

Improve a broad prompt

Generic: 'What makes Alex amazing?' Specific: 'Tell us about a moment when Alex made difficult work feel easier.' The second question asks for evidence and does not tell the contributor how they are supposed to feel.