35 improv games for adults at work, plus 50 prompts to start scenes
Warmups, scene games, remote games and games that build work skills, each with steps. Plus 50 prompts for when the room goes quiet.
Improv games, also called improvisational theater games, are short exercises with a simple rule, a prompt and a scene made up on the spot. You don’t need actors. You need a room that agrees to say “yes, and.” At work they train the habits meetings need most: listening, building on someone else’s idea and staying calm when the plan changes.
The five rules of improv
Read these out before the first game.
- Say “yes, and.” Accept what your partner offers, then add something. Blocking an idea stops the scene.
- Listen more than you plan. The best next line comes from what was just said, not the joke you prepared.
- Make your partner look good. Set others up. Scenes work when everyone feels safe to try.
- Be specific. Not a dog, a three-legged beagle named Doug. Details give everyone something to build on.
- There are no mistakes. A slip is a new offer. Treat it as a gift and keep going.
Improv warmups for groups
Improv exercises where everyone plays at once, so nobody is on the spot. Start every session with two or three.
1. Zip zap zop
Stand in a circle. Point at someone and say “zip”; they point at someone else and say “zap,” then “zop,” and round again. Speed up until someone breaks.
6 to 20 players · 5 min
2. Yes, and story
In pairs, plan an imaginary team offsite. Every line must start with “yes, and,” then add one detail. Then try it once with “yes, but” and feel the difference.
Pairs · 5 min
3. One-word story
The group tells a story one word per person, around the circle. Give it a title first, like The Printer That Knew Too Much.
5 to 15 players · 5 min
4. Mirror
Partners face each other. One moves slowly, the other mirrors exactly. Switch leaders, then try it with no leader at all.
Pairs · 5 min
5. Pass the clap
Turn to the person beside you and clap at the same moment, eye contact first. They turn and pass it on. Add a second clap going the other way.
8 to 25 players · 5 min
6. Sound ball
Toss an imaginary ball with a sound attached. The catcher repeats your sound, then throws a new one to someone else.
6 to 20 players · 5 min
7. Word association circle
Say the first word that comes to mind after the person before you. No pauses, no judging, no going back.
5 to 20 players · 3 min
8. Five things
Give a player a category, like five things you'd find in a CEO's desk drawer. They name five fast while the group counts out loud.
Any size · 5 min
9. Yes, let's
Anyone calls out an action, like “let's paint the ceiling.” Everyone shouts “yes, let's!” and acts it out until someone suggests the next one.
6 to 30 players · 5 min
10. Invisible gift
Hand a partner an imaginary box of any size. They open it, name what's inside with delight, and thank you. Then swap.
Pairs · 5 min
Improv scene games
Short scenes for volunteers while the rest of the room watches, laughs and gives suggestions.
11. Freeze
Two players start a scene with big physical moves. Anyone shouts freeze, taps one out, takes their exact pose and starts a new scene.
6 to 20 players · 10 min
12. Questions only
Two players can only speak in questions. Anyone who makes a statement, hesitates or repeats a question swaps out.
4 to 15 players · 10 min
13. Alphabet scene
Each line must start with the next letter of the alphabet, A to Z, while the scene still makes sense.
2 players plus audience · 5 min
14. Three-line scene
Two players get exactly three lines between them to show who they are, where they are and what's going on. Then the next pair.
Pairs in rotation · 10 min
15. Party quirks
One host throws a party. Each guest has a secret quirk written on a card. The host guesses each quirk from how the guest behaves.
4 players plus audience · 10 min
16. Expert panel
Three players sit as one expert and answer audience questions one word at a time, on a made-up topic like competitive napping.
3 players plus audience · 10 min
17. Emotion switch
A simple scene, like returning a sweater. The host calls out a new emotion every 20 seconds and the players switch instantly.
2 players plus audience · 5 min
18. Half-life
Play a scene in 60 seconds. Then replay the same scene in 30, then 15, then 7. The last one is always the funniest.
2 to 4 players · 5 min
19. Slideshow
One player narrates photos from an imaginary trip. Others freeze into each photo when the narrator says next slide.
4 to 6 players · 10 min
20. Park bench
One player sits on a bench. A second arrives with a reason to get the first to leave, without ever asking directly.
Pairs in rotation · 10 min
Improv games for Zoom and Teams
Built for gallery view and a little audio lag. Call on people by name so nobody talks over anyone.
21. Gallery one-word story
Post a speaking order in the chat. Each person adds one word, in order, so the story moves across the gallery.
5 to 15 players · 5 min
22. Pass the object
Mime handing an imaginary object out of your frame to a named person. They catch it, change it into something new, and pass it on.
5 to 20 players · 5 min
23. Fortunately, unfortunately
One person starts a story. The next adds a line starting with unfortunately, the next with fortunately, and so on.
4 to 15 players · 5 min
24. Pitch the thing on your desk
Grab the nearest object and sell it to the group in 30 seconds as a groundbreaking new product. The group asks one question each.
Any size · 10 min
25. Story spine
Tell a story together using fixed openers in order: once upon a time, every day, until one day, because of that, until finally, and ever since then.
6 players per round · 10 min
26. Caption this
Screen-share an odd stock photo. Players unmute one at a time and voice what the people in it are saying.
Any size · 10 min
27. Gallery freeze frame
Call out a scene, like the last five minutes before a deadline. Everyone strikes a pose on camera; the host picks one and asks that person to explain it.
Any size · 5 min
28. Background tour
Give a 30-second museum tour of whatever is behind you, as if every object were a priceless artifact.
Any size · 10 min
Improv games that build work skills
Listening, presenting, handling surprises. Each ends with a one-question debrief.
29. Last word, first word
In pairs, each line must start with the last word your partner just said. It forces real listening. Debrief: what did you miss when you planned ahead?
Pairs · 5 min
30. Gibberish translator
One player gives a presentation in made-up gibberish; a partner translates it for the room. Debrief: how much did tone and gesture carry?
2 players plus audience · 10 min
31. Ad agency
A small group builds an ad campaign for an absurd product, like glow-in-the-dark soup, accepting every idea with “yes, and.” Debrief: which idea only happened because someone built on another?
4 to 6 players · 10 min
32. Conducted story
A conductor points at storytellers in a line, who must pick up mid-sentence when pointed at. Debrief: what helped you jump in smoothly?
4 to 6 players plus a conductor · 10 min
33. Customer complaint flip
One player makes an absurd complaint, like the coffee is too wet. The other must agree with something true in it before offering a fix. Debrief: what did agreeing first change?
Pairs · 10 min
34. Explain it like
Explain your job in one minute to a named audience: a five-year-old, a pirate, a time traveler from 1850. Debrief: what did you drop when you simplified?
Any size · 10 min
35. Status swap
Two players act out a meeting where the junior person speaks with total confidence and the senior person is unsure. Then swap. Debrief: what made someone sound in charge?
2 players plus audience · 10 min
50 improv prompts and scenarios
Use them for any scene game above, or put them in a bowl and draw one per scene.
Office improv scenarios
- The office coffee machine has started giving advice.
- Two coworkers both think they booked the same meeting room.
- A new hire's first day, and they think it's their last.
- The team presents a project nobody actually finished.
- Someone replied all to the whole company by accident.
- A performance review for a houseplant.
- The fire drill that turned into a talent show.
- Two managers negotiate over the last slice of birthday cake.
- An out-of-office reply comes to life and refuses to leave.
- Tech support for someone who has never seen a computer.
Places
- A lighthouse during a power cut.
- The waiting room of a very slow DMV.
- A submarine kitchen.
- Backstage at a school play.
- A ski lift that has stopped.
- The lost and found at an airport.
- A pet store after closing time.
- The last table at a wedding.
- A moon base on moving day.
- A bakery at 4 a.m.
Relationships
- Twins who haven't spoken in a year.
- A personal trainer and a very tired client.
- A tour guide and the only tourist who showed up.
- Two rival food truck owners parked side by side.
- A detective and the suspect who is clearly innocent.
- A grandparent teaching a grandchild to drive.
- Two astronauts who just discovered they forgot something.
- A wedding planner and a couple who disagree on everything.
- A knight and a very small dragon.
- Neighbors who share one ladder.
First lines
- “I told you not to press that button.”
- “Is this seat taken by anyone alive?”
- “We have exactly four minutes.”
- “You brought the map, right?”
- “That's the third time the parrot has said your name.”
- “I think the plant is getting bigger.”
- “Please tell me that's chocolate.”
- “I've never seen a cake that color.”
- “Who invited the magician?”
- “So this is where you've been hiding.”
Objects and suggestions
- A suitcase that won't close.
- A trophy for second place.
- A remote control with one mystery button.
- A very old sandwich.
- A treasure map drawn in crayon.
- A singing birthday card that won't stop.
- A rubber duck wearing a tiny hat.
- A key nobody recognizes.
- An umbrella that only works indoors.
- A jar labeled do not open.
How to run an improv session at work
Thirty to sixty minutes, any room size. The facilitator matters more than the games.
- Say what it is and isn't. Thirty minutes of playing, not performing. Nobody has to be funny and nobody gets judged.
- Start with the whole group. Two or three warmups where everyone plays at once loosen people up before anyone stands alone.
- Ask for volunteers, never pick. Scene games run on volunteers. People who'd rather watch still play by shouting suggestions.
- Keep scenes short. Two to three minutes, then applause. End on a laugh, not when the scene runs out of air.
- Keep it kind. No jokes at a coworker's expense, no politics, nothing you'd mind your manager's manager hearing.
- Close with a debrief. Ask what one habit from today people could use in their next meeting. “Yes, and” usually wins.
Want a pro to run it for your team?
Our hosted virtual improv session is a live hour of improv exercises built around “yes, and,” storytelling and responding to the unexpected. For December, the Christmas Comedy Workshop has your team learn how jokes are built, then write and deliver their own Christmas cracker jokes. Both run on Zoom by default (Teams, Google Meet or Webex on request); book about 2 weeks ahead.
Two hosted sessions, with today’s prices.
More games that get people talking: team meeting games, two truths and a lie and talent show ideas. Planning a bigger event? Get a free quote.
