# Whose Words Are Next? Participants write down idioms, quotes, and workshop takeaways on individual slips of paper. In front of the room, pairs improvise short character scenes while incorporating blind slips into their dialogue. **Time:** 30 minutes. Source specifies 30 to 40 minutes; 30 minutes fits up to 5 pair scenes plus setup and debrief. **People:** 4 to 20. Whole group audience with rotating pairs performing scenes. ## Choose this exercise **Purpose:** Recall key workshop ideas and practice conversational adaptability by incorporating unscripted prompts into improvised dialogue. **Use it when:** Use at the end of a training day or workshop to review core concepts, lighten the atmosphere, and break late-afternoon fatigue. **Skip it when:** Skip when the closing requires solemn reflection, formal examination, sensitive personal disclosure, or if the group strongly resists theatrical performance. ## Materials and tools - 10 to 15 paper strips per person (slips cut from standard paper, roughly 2 x 8 inches) - One pen or pencil per person - One opaque bag, basket, or bowl to collect and draw slips - Timer or stopwatch for the facilitator ## Before participants arrive 1. Pre-cut paper into horizontal strips (roughly 10 to 15 per person). 2. Place the empty draw bag and writing tools on participant tables. 3. Ensure a clear stage space at the front of the room where two people can stand and perform comfortably. ## Say this to open We will wrap up today with an improv activity called Whose Words Are Next. Before anyone acts, everyone provides the lines. Grab your paper strips. On roughly half your strips, write familiar sayings, famous quotes, or everyday advice. On the other half, write key takeaways or concepts from today. Keep them readable, appropriate, and write complete phrases rather than single words. ## How to run it ### 1. Write prompt slips (5 minutes) Speak the opening script. Participants write individual phrases on paper slips. Remind them to aim for roughly half everyday sayings and half workshop insights. When time is called, collect all slips into the opaque bag and shake thoroughly to shuffle them. ### 2. Demonstrate the mechanic (4 minutes) Invite a co-facilitator or pre-briefed volunteer to demonstrate. Establish a role pair with mild tension, such as manager and intern. Each actor draws two slips face down. Begin conversing in character. After thirty seconds, read a slip aloud: for example, 'Flowers always bloom in spring.' The partner accepts the phrase as logical fact ('Exactly, which is why our spring rollout cannot slip') and keeps talking. The partner then reads their slip. End after ninety seconds to prove slips rescue conversation rather than derail it. ### 3. Run pair scenes (15 minutes) Ask for two volunteers. Hand each actor two slips face down. Ask the audience to name a relationship with natural friction, like landlord and tenant. Start a two-minute timer. Actors converse, reading each slip aloud when conversation stalls or after setting the scene, treating every statement as sensible reality. Cut the scene at two minutes or on a solid laugh. Repeat with four to five volunteer pairs so multiple participants perform while others support as active audience. ### 4. Conduct group debrief (6 minutes) Lead a reflective debrief with the whole room. Ask which workshop takeaways surfaced during the scenes and what made odd statements feel plausible. Take three or four observations from the group. Conclude by linking the improv habit of accepting surprise input to real workplace communication. ## Debrief questions - Which workshop ideas or key takeaways surfaced during the scenes, and what new context did the dialogue give them? - What made it easy or difficult to accept an odd statement as sensible conversation? - How does the improv rule of accepting and building on unscripted input apply to handling surprise questions or conflicts at work? **Finished output:** A shared pool of written participant takeaways and an active verbal review of core workshop themes. ## Remote Run in the main video room. Participants submit phrases by direct chat message to the facilitator. The facilitator compiles them into a numbered private document. When two volunteers perform with cameras on, an actor signals for a line by typing 'line' in chat or raising a hand. The facilitator instantly sends the actor a private line in chat, which the actor reads aloud. ## Hybrid In-person participants write paper slips. Remote participants submit lines via a shared spreadsheet. The facilitator quickly copies remote lines onto paper strips during Step 1 writing time. For scenes, remote participants can volunteer as actors on screen or serve as audience relationship callers, prompt collectors, or timekeepers. ## Access and participation choices - Offer non-performing roles such as relationship caller, prompt collector, or scene timekeeper for both in-person and remote participants who prefer not to act. - Allow participants to decline volunteering without explanation by saying 'Pass'. ## If the session gets stuck **A participant freezes after pulling an odd phrase that seems disconnected from the scene.** Remind the partner to step in and validate the phrase, or encourage the actor to deliver it as a personal core conviction. **An actor draws an inappropriate or confusing phrase.** State that actors may silently swap an unreadable or uncomfortable slip for a fresh one from the bag at any time without penalty. ## Terms used here - Accepting: An improv practice where a speaker treats whatever their partner says as an undeniable, sensible truth inside the scene. ## Sources and adaptation Observed in Thiagi Gameletter (April 2011), where it is attributed to guest author Warwick John Fahy under the title 'Whose Words Are Next?'. Retained the core activity structure, mechanics, timing, and prompt categories from Warwick John Fahy's Closer 'Whose Words Are Next?' published in Thiagi Gameletter (April 2011). UWT structured the activity into clear facilitator steps, capped each scene at two minutes, made slip drawing consistent at two slips per actor, aligned the opening script with the half-and-half prompt ratio, and added clear hybrid and remote signaling procedures. [The Thiagi Group](http://thiagi.net/archive/www/pfp/IE4H/april2011.html) [The Thiagi Group](https://thiagi.net/archive/www/pfp/IE4H/april2011.html) Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/tgl-april-2011/