If Then
If Then is a short paired improvisation warm-up in which one partner starts a sentence with "If..." and the other finishes it at once with "then...". It trains people to listen to the whole offer before responding and to accept an idea they did not choose. It is an improv-style partner exercise of unknown origin and needs no materials.
Facilitation script
- 1
Form pairs, explain the rule and demonstrate three sentences with a volunteer.
2 min - 2
Round one: A starts each sentence with "If", B completes it with "then". Keep the pace up.
1 min - 3
Swap roles and repeat.
1 min - 4
Chain round: each "then" becomes the next "if" and the pair builds one story together.
2 min - 5
Short debrief: what helped you answer quickly, and what does that mean for how we treat each other's ideas in the next hour?
2 min
Tips
Speed matters more than wit, so keep the rounds short and say out loud that the first answer is the right one.
Demonstrate with an ordinary, slightly dull example; a clever demonstration makes people feel they have to be funny.
If you are leading into ideation, name the link in one sentence afterwards: finishing someone else's sentence is the same move as building on someone else's idea.
Common pitfalls
Demonstrating with a very witty example, which sets a standard people try to match and slows every answer down
Letting rounds run longer than a minute or two, so pairs run out of sentence starters and the energy drops before the swap
Skipping the role swap, which leaves half the room having only set up sentences and never practised responding
Allowing partner B to reject or correct the first half ("that would never happen"), which turns an acceptance exercise into a debate
Announcing it as an exercise in if-then planning, which confuses anyone who knows the goal-setting technique of the same name
Variations
Chain version: the second half of each sentence becomes the first half of the next, which turns the exercise into a shared story. Topic version: restrict the "If" halves to the workshop subject, for example "If our onboarding took one day", to move from warm-up into idea generation. Remote: use breakout rooms of two, or run it as a chat chain where each person completes the previous line and posts a new "If". In a group of up to eight, run it around a circle instead of in pairs.
Where it fits
When to use it
Right before a brainstorm, when you want people to accept and extend ideas instead of judging them
At the start of a session where participants will work in pairs and need a quick first contact
When you have five minutes, no materials and a room that cannot be rearranged
After a break, to get everyone speaking within the first minute back
Before role-play or improvised prototyping, to lower the fear of saying something unprepared
When not to use it
People do not know each other's names yet and that is the real need; run Name Game first
The group needs physical movement after sitting for a long time; a standing energiser such as Jump In Jump Out or Shake Down does that better
You want people to plan how they will follow through on a goal; that is if-then planning (implementation intentions), a different technique that only shares the name
The working language is a second language for many participants and speed pressure would embarrass them; use Six Word Story, which gives thinking time
The mood is tense or the topic is serious, and a playful word game would feel out of place; open with a check-in question instead
Related methods
Frequently asked questions
What is If Then?▾
If Then is a quick improvisation exercise for pairs. One person says the first half of a sentence beginning with "If", and the partner finishes it immediately with "then". After a few sentences the partners swap roles. It takes five to ten minutes and needs no materials.
What is the purpose of the If Then warm-up?▾
It practises listening to the end of what someone says and responding without filtering. Because the second speaker cannot choose the topic, the exercise rehearses the habit of accepting an offer and building on it, which is the behaviour a brainstorm depends on.
Is this the same as if-then planning?▾
No. If-then planning, also called implementation intentions, is a goal-setting technique in which a person decides in advance how they will act in a specific situation. The If Then warm-up is an improv game that happens to use the same two words.
How many people can play If Then?▾
Any number that can split into pairs, from two people to a full conference room. With an odd number, one group of three rotates the two speaking roles. In very large rooms, limit the debrief to a few voices so the activity stays inside ten minutes.
Can If Then be run online?▾
Yes. Send people into breakout rooms of two for three or four minutes, or keep everyone in the main room and run a chain in the chat, where each person completes the previous "If" and posts a new one. The chat version is slower but lets everyone read the whole story.
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Try it freeMethod descriptions on Workshop Weaver are original content written by our team, based on established facilitation practices. This method was inspired by work from Improv partner exercise (originator unknown), as described by playmeo.