Can trust building exercises really help your employees to trust each other?
The short answer is “yes”!
What if your employees don’t trust each other?
Not good for your business, right?
“Trust” is a powerful word and without it, you can’t build a successful team of employees. If you’re a business leader or manager, here are 10 trust building exercises for your employee teams.
10 Trust Building Exercises for Your Employee Teams
If you want to know how you can conduct team building activities, you can read this article for inspiration: How to Facilitate Team Building Activities in Your Workplace?
Alright, let’s get started!
#1. Balloon Balance
The goal of this exercise is to make someone rest on inflated balloons without any external support.
Time: 10-15 minutes
Participants: 5-8 members per group
Materials: A lot of inflated balloons
Instructions
- Initially, divide the participants into teams, and give a lot of inflated balloons to each of them.
- Now, get a volunteer from each team who is ready to try new things and take risks.
- After that, instruct the teammates to float their volunteer with the support of balloons. The volunteer must rest only on the balloons and not on the floor or any other person.
- Then, you can continue this exercise by withdrawing one balloon at a time carefully. This is to support the volunteer with a smaller number of balloons.
Debrief
- As a volunteer, what was going through your mind during this exercise?
- At any point during this exercise, did you realize you must trust your teammates? If so, why?
- How did you collaborate as a group during this activity?
#2. Minefield
Minefield is one of the popular trust building exercises. Here a sighted person guides his blindfolded member to walk through the minefield. This activity can also improve communication and listening skills.
Time: 10-20 minutes
Participants: Exactly 2 members per group
Materials: Various small objects like empty plastic bottles, foam balls, paper cups, etc.
Instructions
- First off, set up the “minefield” by placing empty plastic bottles, foam balls, paper cups, etc. all over the space. Then, divide the participants into different pairs.
- In each pair, cover the eyes of one person using a blindfold. They should not see or talk during the activity. The other person is able to see or talk, but must not enter the minefield or touch their blindfolded partner.
- Now, the blindfolded person should walk through the minefield (without touching the mines) by listening to the verbal instructions of their partner.
- Once the blindfolded person reaches the other side, switch roles and repeat the activity.
Debrief
- How did you navigate through the minefield?
- What difficulties did you have during this exercise?
- Do you think proper communication can build trust among your coworkers? If so, why?
#3. Eye contact
This is another simple, yet powerful exercise for trust building. Eye contact enables employees to trust each other and makes them work towards a common goal.
Time: Around 5 minutes
Participants: Exactly 2 members per group
Materials: None
Instructions
- Start by dividing the participants into pairs.
- Now, instruct each pair to stand facing each other.
- Then, ask each pair to stare into their partner’s eyes for at least 60 seconds. Remember, people must not wear sunglasses in this activity.
Debrief
- In what ways did this activity contribute to building trust and connections among team members?
- Do you think this activity enhances your ability to listen attentively? If so, how?
- How did this exercise help with creating a safe and inclusive environment for teams?
#4. Snakes
In this trust building activity, team members should move together like a snake and pick up several objects.
Time: 15-20 minutes
Participants: 6-10 members per group
Materials: Various soft objects
Instructions
- Initially, divide the participants into small teams. At the same time, place several soft objects all around the room.
- Now, each team should stand in a line (snake) where the first five members should be blindfolded, and the last member (tail end) is able to see.
- The sighted person should guide the “snake” to pick up the objects by providing nonverbal instructions to their teammates in front. On the other hand, the blindfolded person who is standing at the head end should pick the object.
- After completion, they can remove the blindfold and move to the tail end to guide the snake. At the same time, the sighted person should wear a blindfold.
- The activity continues until all the objects are picked up.
Debrief
- How did this exercise contribute to building trust and synergy among team members?
- As a team, how did you overcome the challenges encountered during this activity?
- Do you think this activity helps with communication and problem solving as well and why?
#5. Frostbite
In this trust building exercise, the blindfolded participants should construct a tent by listening to the instructions of their leader who has frostbite.
Time: 15-20 minutes
Participants: 5-6 members per group
Materials: Tarpaulins, ropes, and tent poles or sticks
Instructions
- First off, split the participants into teams.
- Now, choose a leader from each team, and assume they have frostbite so they can’t move.
- The rest of the team members should be blindfolded. At the same time, they should assume that they have snow blindness. Therefore, they can’t see.
- Then, provide the materials to each team, and let the blindfolded members construct a tent by listening to their leader’s instructions.
Debrief
- As a team, what skills were necessary to complete this activity?
- During this exercise, how did you feel when you had to trust your leader?
- As a leader, what did you expect from your teammates during this activity?
#6. Running Free
To conduct this exercise, you need a large open space (preferably an outdoor space). In this exercise, a sighted person leads his blindfolded partner to walk and run.
Time: 5-10 minutes
Participants: 2 members per team
Materials: Blindfolds
Instructions
- Start by dividing the participants into pairs. One member from each pair should be blindfolded and they can’t see.
- Now, ask each pair to hold their hands. Then, the sighted person should guide their blindfolded partner to walk and gradually run fast.
- Once this is done, switch the blindfold and repeat the activity.
Debrief
- As a blindfolded member, were you comfortable with trusting your partner and why?
- What did you enjoy the most – the role as a blindfolded partner or the role as a sighted partner? Please explain.
- What message did this activity give you in terms of trust?
#7. Blind Wine Waiter
This is an interesting trust building activity that requires pretty good effort from every participant. Here the blindfolded members should help their leader (who is unable to move or use their hands) to drink a glass of wine.
Time: 15-20 minutes
Participants: 6 members per team
Materials: A bottle of wine, a corkscrew, a wineglass, and blindfolds
Instructions
- Initially, form teams and ask each team to choose a leader. After that, the leader should sit near the team with their hands and they are not allowed to move or use their hands during the activity.
- Now, ask the remaining team members to wear the blindfold. They should only use their right hand and place their left hand behind their back throughout the activity.
- Then, place a bottle of wine, a corkscrew, and a wineglass in different locations around the room for each team. Place everything safely so that they won’t fall or break easily.
- Actually, the task for the blindfolded members is to find one bottle of wine, one wineglass, and a corkscrew. Then, they need to open the wine bottle and pour their leader a glass of wine.
- Make sure that each team member can complete only one task. Also, the leader should drink the wine without using their hands.
Debrief
- As a leader, what challenges did you face during this activity?
- During this exercise, how did you communicate differently as a team?
- By taking this exercise as an inspiration, how can you relate trust with teamwork?
#8. Hug a Tree
In this exercise, two blindfolded partners should try to find a tree and hug it. In reality, this activity should be conducted in a forested area.
Time: 5-10 minutes
Participants: 2 members per group
Materials: Blindfolds
Instructions
- First off, split the participants into blindfolded pairs.
- Now, instruct them to find a tree and hug it. Then, each pair should lead to a tree through touch and feel.
- Once the pair hugged a tree, they should lead away.
- Finally, remove the blindfolds and ask them to identify the tree they hugged.
Debrief
- What did you think when you were instructed to hug a tree?
- Do you believe you worked well as a group and why?
- Did you correctly identify the tree at last? If yes, how? If not, why?
#9. Blind Polygon
This is an interesting activity because it comes with a lot of surprises. In this activity, the blindfolded team members should form various shapes like a square, triangle, etc. using a rope.
Time: 10-20 minutes
Participants: Any
Materials: Blindfolds and a rope
Instructions
- Initially, ask the team members to wear the blindfolds.
- Now, let them form a circle by stretching out their arms. Then, they need to drop their hands and sit down.
- After that, the facilitator needs to provide a rope to each team. Then, each team must work together to form various shapes, say a perfect square, a triangle, etc. with each person holding onto the rope. However, the team members are not allowed to let go of the rope.
- Once they feel the task is finished, remove the blindfolds to see the results.
Debrief
- During this exercise, did you notice any areas where your team struggled with trust? Please explain.
- How did this exercise improve your communication and collaboration skills?
- In what ways did this activity encourage you to go out of your comfort zone and rely on your teammates?
#10. Trust Lean
This trust building exercise requires good fitness or physical strength. The goal of this activity is to catch a falling person.
Time: 10-15 minutes
Participants: 2 members per team
Materials: None
Instructions
- Firstly, ask the participants to form pairs with individuals of similar height and weight. In each pair, one person should be the catcher and the other one should be the faller.
- Now, instruct the faller to stand upright, keep feet together, put hands across the chest resting on shoulders, and keep the body stiff.
- Then, instruct the catcher to stand behind the faller by putting one leg in front of the other, extending arms, and balancing the body to handle the weight.
- Next, the faller should slowly lean backward and the catcher must catch him. Start with a small fall and then gradually increase the speed.
- Once finished, switch roles and repeat the activity.
Note: It is better to conduct this activity in a grassy and smooth area. If you conduct it inside a room, make sure that the floor is well-protected to avoid injuries.
Debrief
- As a faller, did you become nervous at the start? If so, why?
- As a catcher, what did you do in order to boost your partner’s confidence?
- How did this exercise impact the way you trust others?
Want Some Unique Team Building Exercises?
If you want some unique team building activities (including trust exercises) for your employees, you can get my new e-book:
Or Want Some Unique Leadership Development Activities?
If you want some unique activities to equip your employees with leadership skills, qualities, and mindset, you can get my new e-book:
Final Words
As a leader, you need to make sure that your employees trust each other. The more they trust their colleagues the more they cooperate as a team. Hopefully, the above trust building exercises will help your job easier.