Like many types of team building activities, there are various ways to do trust falls. Unfortunately, with trust falls there is only one right way to do them and dozens of possible wrong ways. It’s a bit of a coin toss really.
What is a Trust Fall?
A trust fall is an exercise or activity done for the purpose of building trust amongst teammates. Generally, one person stands up straight, closes their eyes and falls back; relying on the others to catch them before hitting the ground. Many companies do trust fall activities as a way to build connection amongst employees, and sports teams, camps and schools often do trust fall exercises as well.
How to do a Trust Fall
There are various Youtube videos that demonstrate how to do a trust fall exercise safely and effectively. There are even more videos on how NOT to do a trust fall and of trust falls gone wrong. We recommend that you review these videos and make sure you follow the safety practices closely; it’s all fun and games until someone drops someone, and then it’s less fun and mostly hurt.
When to do Trust Falls
Trust falls are often the final event in a series of other team building activities. Since some pre-requisite of trust is needed, you should consider asking icebreaker questions and doing other fun team building games as a way to start building trust before the epic falls.