I usually ask the EA candidate why do you want to be a mason ?
Answers I get
1. My grandfather was a mason
2. My father was a mason
Somewhere in the family tree there was a mason.
Now, with those 2 said, the candidate never met that family member, or that family member never spoke of freemasonry.
There have been a few who was quite honest on their answer. They either didn't know why or want to be a shriner. I have made the suggestion that we space the time in between degrees so they can make sure this is what they want to be apart of. But I've seen most hit all 3 degrees in less than a month and not come back. But they just had to join.
I have a lot of exposure to me wanting to become Freemasons. I would add three to the above
3. Brotherhood/fraternity/social
4 Charity -getting involved.
5 Self improvement.
For 1 & 2 - another very good question is "Why do you think he was a Mason" then "Why do you want to become a Freemason"... I think continuing the family tradition is great, but they need to understand why that tradition is worthwhile, and I would suggest (or lead to) the idea that perhaps he GG or Father wanted to improve himself and be around good men..
I actually fine 4 the trickiest, but the simple thing is we are not a service club. The core ideas in Freemasonry are self improvement and treating others around you well, and it is in the second part we get involved in charity, but that's not just about cash, its about benevolence. That can be listening to someone who has a problem or just helping your elderly neighbour bring their shopping in or a stranger change a tyre or simply give them a smile. I often tell me interested in 4 - it depends on their lodge, some are heavily involved in it, some are not, and if they get into a lodge which is not, contact me and I will put them in touch with men working on projects..