As described by Lisa Bany.

I remember Martin de Maat (my Columbia College/Second City mentor) pointing out how people are often thinking about what they want to say long before the person they’re talking to has finished speaking, missing the latter part of the conversation. We play this game to practice staying present in the moment, and listening through to the very end.

Player One makes a statement. Player Two starts another sentence with the last word of Player One’s statement. Player Three then starts a sentence with the last word of whatever Player two said, and so on.

This can be played one on one, or with a large group.

Sample of Play:

Gigi: I like peanut butter and jelly.

Dan: Jellyfish are really cool to watch.

Winter: Watch out! There’s a spider!

Colleen: Spiders creep me out…

For a challenge, try to tell a story while playing this game. Sample of story play:

Gigi: Once there was a puppy named Max.

Dan: Max was a claymation puppy.

Winter: Puppies who are claymation wish more than anything to become real.

Colleen: Real puppies could taste bacon, and Max really wanted to taste bacon…

Real-life application tip: I often play this game in my head when having an important conversation. I make sure I pay attention to the last word the other person says, and often repeat the last part of what they said, so they know I heard and understood them completely.