Pointing Story
A partner reads a news story aloud, omitting each noun. They point to you to fill in the missing word. You improvise nouns that may or may not fit logically.
Worth Reading
See all books →
When I Say This, Do You Mean That?
Enhancing Communication
Cherie Kerr; Julia Sweeney
Improv Show
Virginia Loh-Hagan
The "Yes And" Business Evolution
Improv Skills for Leadership and Life
Tracy Shea-Porter
Whose Improv Is It Anyway?
Beyond Second City
Amy E. Seham
The Improv Mindset
Change Your Brain. Change Your Business.
Gail Montgomery; Bruce T. Montgomery
Embodied Playwriting
Improv and Acting Exercises for Writing
Hillary Haft Bucs; Charissa Menefee
Related Exercises
What If?
One person improvises a story. Their partner periodically interrupts with What if questions that redirect the narrative. Trains divergent thinking and helps explore self-imposed limits.
Last Word Response
Last Word Response is an applied improv listening exercise in which each participant must begin their response with the last word spoken by the previous participant. The constraint enforces genuine end-of-utterance listening by making it physically impossible to begin a response until the previous speaker has completed their sentence. The exercise is used in applied improv to develop active listening skills in workplace and organizational settings.
Here's What I Heard
Here's What I Heard is an applied listening exercise in which one partner speaks briefly about something real -- a current situation, a concern, a recent experience -- and the listener reflects back what they heard in their own words. The speaker then responds to the reflection, noting what the listener captured accurately and what was missed or distorted. The exercise develops active listening, accurate paraphrasing, and the discipline of genuinely receiving another person's communication before responding.
Random Words
Partners each place 10 dissimilar, unrelated words in a random pattern on paper. Each person composes sentences linking the words into a comprehensive story.
Buzzwords, Acronyms, and Jargon
Participants identify and replace workplace jargon with clear language, improving accessibility and understanding in communication.
Alphabet Soup
Alphabet Soup is a verbal exercise in which players contribute to a group story or conversation while each player's contribution must contain a word beginning with the next letter of the alphabet. The game builds verbal flexibility and listening within a shared narrative frame.
How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Pointing Story. Retrieved March 17, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/exercises/pointing-story
The Improv Archive. "Pointing Story." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/exercises/pointing-story.
The Improv Archive. "Pointing Story." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/exercises/pointing-story. Accessed March 17, 2026.
The Improv Archive is a systemically maintained repository. The archive itself acts as the corporate author.