Topic repetitiveness is a common component of pragmatic impairment and a powerful contributor to social exclusion. Despite this, description, characterization and intervention remain underdeveloped. This article explores the nature of repetitiveness in traumatic brain injury (TBI). A case study of one individual after TBI provides the basis for a conceptualization of topic repetitiveness in terms of two major strands of thinking in pragmatics. Firstly, it is viewed as an emergent response to underlying deficits in non-linguistic abilities. Secondly, it is described in terms of joint management of topic development between the person with TBI and his interlocutor.