Borrowing a voice for one line

An original account of an invented poetry rehearsal.

Each reader in the rehearsal chose a single line from the poem. We practised saying our lines separately, then tried passing from one voice to the next without a pause. The first attempt sounded like a list of announcements. Everyone had decided how their own line should end, but nobody had listened to how the following line began.

The director asked us to attend to the handover. We listened to the last few words before our turn and allowed their pace to influence our own opening. This did not mean copying the previous reader's voice. It meant making a connection so that the audience could hear one developing thought rather than a collection of isolated performances.

In this passage, explain the meaning of “handover”.