One character starts with high status, the other starts with low. The status of each character reverses during the course of the scene.
This scene is typically played between two players. One starts with a high status – calm, confident, assertive. The other starts with a low status – a twitchy worrier, submissive, trying hard to please. As the scene progresses, the player with the high status starts to lose status, while the ones with low status gains it. By the end, their statuses are reversed.
This game has a better-than-average chance of producing a satisfying story – everyone is interested in power struggles and changes in social hierarchy. The game originated with Keith Johnstone, whose book Impro goes into great detail about status.
Status Transfer can be played as a private game (ie, one where you don’t tell the audience what you’re doing) – players get some arbitrary suggestion from the audience, but plan that the scene will involve a status transfer.
The same technique can also be used by a a player within a scene. Start a scene at a higher status than another character, then pick something that will cause your status to drop below it. (Lowering status is usually easier than raising it.)