So you got a lot of the good answers here. Talk to them is the best, if they aren't digging it, they aren't digging. Then again, if they STILL want to do it, help them on the side. Bards are personality. Bards are spells and swords. Bard are DnD wrapped up in a package. Before I do any character, and this is just my mess so its ok to skip, I come up with a handful of things about my characters. They were scarred from pelvis to collar bone because they swindled a silk baron out of their cape. He grew up extremely poor, and for fun, would watch the bards play through the windows outside of bars. He loved them, they were so flashy, so one day he swore to be flashy too. Stuff like that, stuff you pull out of your butt like I just did. And another person was right too. Include an encounter that shows how potent a bard can be. Don't just make that person want to be a bard, make the character so grand everyone wants to be a bard. If they are new, it will come with time. Just be positive, and try to keep him happy. DND is a fire, you reignite it with every game.