What You Just Said
What You Just Said is a scene exercise in which performers must treat the last thing their partner said as the most important line of the scene and build directly from it. The exercise trains active listening and breaks the habit of waiting for one's turn to speak rather than genuinely responding to offers.
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Related Exercises
Who Where Why Am I
Who Where Why Am I is a scene exercise in which a performer enters a space and must quickly establish their character, location, and purpose through physical behavior before any dialogue begins. The exercise prioritizes physical storytelling and teaches performers to communicate essential scene information through action rather than exposition.
Without Sound
Without Sound is a scene exercise in which performers play an entire scene with no vocal output, communicating exclusively through physicality, facial expression, and gesture. The exercise reveals how much of scene work can be conveyed nonverbally and trains performers to make bold, clear physical choices.
Copy Line
Copy Line is a scene exercise in which one performer repeats back the exact words their partner just said before delivering their own new line. The mandatory echo forces performers to genuinely hear what was said before responding, building the habit of listening-before-speaking and preventing the common improv drift of planning the next line while the partner is still talking.
Surprise Movement
Surprise Movement is an exercise in which performers interrupt their own scenes or monologues with sudden, unexpected physical choices and must justify them within the scene. The exercise breaks habitual movement patterns and teaches players that physical surprises can open new scene directions.
Simple Continuation
Simple Continuation is a scene exercise in which a facilitator starts a scene with a basic premise and the performers must continue it without adding unnecessary complications, practicing the discipline of building on what exists rather than introducing new elements. The exercise teaches restraint and the value of following an idea to its natural conclusion.
Open Offer
Open Offer is a scene exercise in which one player enters the stage and makes a simple physical or verbal offer without a predetermined plan. Their scene partner must accept and build on whatever is presented. The exercise reinforces the principle that scenes begin with offers rather than ideas and teaches performers to trust the process of collaborative discovery.
How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). What You Just Said. Retrieved March 17, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/exercises/what-you-just-said
The Improv Archive. "What You Just Said." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/exercises/what-you-just-said.
The Improv Archive. "What You Just Said." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/exercises/what-you-just-said. Accessed March 17, 2026.
The Improv Archive is a systemically maintained repository. The archive itself acts as the corporate author.