Best trust building activities & exercises for teams

In today’s video I'm going to be sharing with you a few of my favourite team trust-building activities!
0:00 Intro
0:25 Running Free
1:04 Snakes
2:13 Minefield
2:46 Human Spring
3:36 Pipeline
There’s nothing better than trust between workmates. It’s the bedrock of any relationship and helps keep everyone feeling motivated - so without further adieu let’s get into it.
The first activity I have is called Running Free. It’s a simple, but powerful exercise to bring employees together.
To start, go somewhere spacious, preferably outdoors, and have everyone split into pairs. Instruct the partners to hold hands, with one partner wearing a blindfold. The partners then begin walking, then jogging, and then finally sprinting. The sighted partner will lead the way! When you’ve finished, have partners swap blindfolds and play again. It’s surprising how much trust you have to put into the person leading. Expect lots of laughter!
Next up, we’ve got Snakes and it’s a great game to play if you’ve got a large team. Like our first exercise it requires a big area to play.
Start by splitting everyone into groups of 6 or 7 and then have them stand in a line. Then spread items around the area that can be picked up easily - chocolate bars work well!
You’ll then place blindfolds on each player except for the player at the back of the line and have everyone place their hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them. The sighted player will direct their team members to each object without talking.
They’ll give directions by tapping the shoulder of the person in front of them, who will then tap the person in front of them and so on. A left shoulder tap means turn left, a right shoulder tap means turn right and pulling backwards means stop. When the first player reaches an object, they’ll pick it up and then go to the back of the line where they’ll give their blindfold to the sighted player. Play then continues with a new player leading the snake! The game ends when you’ve run out of objects or the original person is back at the end of the line.
Our third trust-building activity is called Minefield and it’s a great one to engage the whole team.
To play, set up an obstacle course using chairs, cones or paper cups. Then ask players to take turns having one person wear a blindfold while the rest of the players instruct that person how to get through the obstacle course using only verbal commands.
The blindfolded player isn’t allowed to talk so they’ll be relying entirely on listening to their teammates and trust in their teammates to get through!
Next up, it’s Human Spring. Here’s how you play.
Split everyone into pairs, ensuring partners are of similar sizes. Then have partners face each other with their hands up, their elbows bent and their palms facing their partner.
Have partners put their palms together leaning forward, bit by bit, until they’re holding each other up. Sounds easy? Well, it’s not over yet!
The real challenge comes when they have to start moving their feet further and further back. With each step backwards, pairs will become more and more reliant on their partner to remain upright. Once everyone has gone as far back as they can, take a look and see which pair has the greatest distance between them and declare that pair the winner!
And finally, the last exercise I want to share with you is called Pipeline, and it’s a great way to cultivate collaboration and communication skills.
Provide each team member with a small half pipe. Paper towel rolls cut in half work great! Then instruct them they'll be getting a ball from point A to point B, without letting it hit the floor. To do this they’ll let the ball roll along their half pipe onto the next person’s and then run to the end of the line to continue the chain!
The game continues until the ball has successfully reached its final destination.
And that’s it! Thank you for watching and I wish you all the best as you continue to build trust with your workmates. Let me know in the comments below if you tried any of these trust-building activities!
And remember, if you enjoyed this video make sure to like and subscribe for more videos just like this one.

[@faisalkhurshid4570]

Wow. i m a Trainer of School Principals & Teachers. In my 17 years of experience, I successfully executed TRUST exercise no. 1. It was fabulous to hear Trainees' wonderful views. Thanks a lot. I've learnt from u.

[@surfofficeretreats]

Hello Faisal, thank you for your comment. Glad to hear we helped a bit ;-)

[@noxolofilip8743]

Trust is earned, doing this with colleagues and giving them the benefit of the doubt will help you build trust and allow you the chance to trust hem. My opinion is give it a try and let them gain your trust.

[@surfofficeretreats]

i agree that trust is earned, thank you for watching and sharing your opinion, noxolo.

[@surfofficeretreats]

Looking for more team-building exercises? Check out our playlist of team activities, exercises, and icebreakers that will help your team connect, communicate, and collaborate better: th-cam.com/play/PLue8IOtCQHs6q5zhaa2YwNrjUszCOUopD.html

[@DAClub-uf3br]

The problem with the blindfolded games are they don't build trust they test it. I would not do any of these with people i don't already trust.

[@surfofficeretreats]

interesting point. thank you for your comment.