Be Specific
Participants silently exchange imaginary objects in a circle, then trace how objects transformed, illustrating the importance of specific communication.
Structure
Setup
Participants stand in a circle. No materials needed.
Phase 1: The Silent Object Exchange
The first player mimes picking up a specific, defined object - not "something" but something with a precise physical identity: a heavy glass bottle, a small fragile egg, a sharp pencil. They handle it with physical specificity: showing weight, texture, fragility, size through the quality of their movement. They pass it silently to the next person.
The next person receives it based entirely on what they observed: the weight suggested by how it was held, the size suggested by the grip, the delicacy suggested by the care. They handle it for a moment and pass it on.
This continues until the object has gone around the full circle.
Phase 2: Revelation and Comparison
After the circle is complete, the facilitator asks each participant what they were holding. Starting from the original sender, each person names their object. The group traces how the object transformed: a heavy glass bottle became a large jar, then a small pot, then a decorative vase, then something entirely different.
Phase 3: Repeat with Precision
The exercise runs again. This time the original sender names the object aloud before passing it. Each receiver must articulate what specific qualities they noticed (weight, texture, size) before passing. The degree of specificity in description correlates with the degree of fidelity in transmission.
Debrief
The comparison between the vague and specific versions is usually dramatic. Specific language - precise physical description - preserves more of the original meaning through transmission.
How to Teach It
How to Explain It
"Pick something specific. Not 'something.' An object you can describe exactly: shape, weight, texture. Pass it. Don't say what it is. Let the movement say it. We'll find out at the end what everyone was holding."
Why It Matters
Specificity is one of the most frequently cited qualities of strong improv: the difference between "a car" and "a rusted 1987 Chevy pickup with a cracked dashboard and a pine tree air freshener" is the difference between a shadow and a scene. This exercise makes specificity a physical and communicative requirement. When the object transforms in transmission, participants see concretely what vague communication costs: the original meaning is lost not through malice but through insufficient specificity. The exercise builds the habit of specificity across verbal and nonverbal communication simultaneously.
Common Coaching Notes
- Demonstrate the contrast. Pass an object twice: once with vague handling (generic "something"), once with full physical specificity. The difference in what people receive is immediate and visible.
- Name the transformation. In the debrief, don't editorialize - just name: "It started as a heavy glass bottle and ended as a feather. What happened in between?"
- Connect to improv scene work. "When you say 'this is an important document' versus 'this is your grandmother's last letter,' the specificity tells the audience what to feel."
Debrief Questions
- At what point in the circle did the object change most dramatically?
- What would have preserved it better?
- Where in your work does lack of specificity create the same kind of transformation?
In Applied Settings
Organizational Context
Be Specific addresses one of the most pervasive communication failures in organizational life: the gap between what a speaker intends to communicate and what the listener actually receives. This gap is usually not a function of intelligence or intent but of specificity: the more precisely information is expressed - in physical handling, in language, in instruction, in feedback - the more faithfully it is received and acted upon.
Workplace Applications
The exercise is used in communication skills training, feedback and coaching programs, cross-functional team development, and any organizational context where information transfer quality is critical. It is particularly valuable for teams whose work involves precise instruction-giving (project management, technical communication, training design), where the cost of vague communication is visible in downstream rework, misaligned deliverables, or repeated misunderstandings.
Meeting and Team Communication
Facilitators can use the Be Specific exercise to prime a team for precision before a planning session, a briefing, or a feedback workshop. The shared experience of watching an object transform through vague transmission gives the team a common reference point for the conversation: "This is what happens when we're not specific. What does specific look like in our context?"
Debrief for Organizations
The organizational debrief can explore real instances of communication failure through vagueness: "Can you think of a time when a clear instruction became something different by the time it reached implementation? What would have made it more specific?" This moves from the exercise to real organizational problem-solving. Participants often find that the most consequential failures in their organizations are specificity failures dressed up as disagreements or misalignments.
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Related Exercises
Tossing
Tossing is a circle warm-up exercise in which players pass real or imaginary objects around the group with clear physical intention. Each exchange requires specific attention to the give and the receive: the sender must establish the object's weight, size, and nature before releasing it; the receiver must honor those physical qualities in the catch and carry. The exercise trains physical specificity, eye contact, ensemble attention, and the fundamental habit of truly giving something to a partner.
The Thing
The Thing is an object work exercise in which a player is handed an imaginary object whose identity has not been declared in advance. The player must discover what the object is solely through the physical act of handling it -- registering its weight, texture, shape, and behavior in real time. The exercise teaches that specificity of handling creates the object; the object does not exist prior to the player's physical commitment to it.
Associatioin Chain
Association Chain is a circle exercise in which each player says a word inspired by the previous player's word, building a rapid chain of free associations. The exercise trains spontaneous, uncensored responses and reveals the connective leaps that drive improvised scene work. Speed is essential to prevent intellectual filtering.
Character Mirror Circle
Character Mirror Circle is an exercise in which players stand in a circle and one player steps to the center, adopting a character through physicality and voice. The rest of the circle mirrors the character as precisely as possible. The exercise sharpens observational skills and teaches performers to read and reproduce physical character details.
Object Circle
Object Circle is a warm-up exercise in which players pass an imaginary object around a circle, transforming it into something new with each handoff. Each player must clearly establish the new object through mime before passing it on. The exercise develops object work skills and trains the ability to communicate physical reality through gesture alone.
Objects
Objects is an ensemble exercise and short-form game in which players use their bodies to form the physical shape of an audience-suggested object. Players enter one at a time, each adding themselves to the growing sculpture until the group collectively represents the object in physical space. The exercise builds spontaneous physicality, spatial awareness, and the ensemble skill of offering and accepting physical contributions without verbal negotiation.
How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Be Specific. Retrieved March 17, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/exercises/be-specific
The Improv Archive. "Be Specific." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/exercises/be-specific.
The Improv Archive. "Be Specific." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/exercises/be-specific. Accessed March 17, 2026.
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