The study reported here examined the nature and effectiveness of compensatory strategies appearing in the conversational discourse of six closed head injured patients. Subject performance on a range of communication measures was compared with their judged abilities on a taxonomy of 32 compensatory strategies. Results indicated that all subjects employed a wide range of strategies but to differential effect. The overall effectiveness of these strategies correlated strongly with performance on the oral language subtest of the Western Aphasia Battery, the Communicative Abilities in Daily Living Test and a pragmatic protocol. The development of compensation following brain injury is viewed as a process of equilibration, determined in part by neurological and subject variables, and in part by ecologic variables. The implications for therapeutic management are discussed.