Laying the Foundation

Team Building

Ice Breakers | Team Contract Guidelines | Trust Activities | Group Challenges | Debriefing Tips | Resources

The objective of trust building exercises are to allow individuals to:

• Speak freely and honestly about their feelings
• Take new risks
• Ensure each individual feels like an essential part of the team

The following activities can be used to build trust and to encourage individuals to develop awareness and empathy skills and experiment with taking emotional risks in a safe environment. Most activities will take 10 -15 minutes (without debriefing) and can work with groups of up to 25.

Tell us who she is…

In pairs, have one person talk about herself, i.e., interests, family, and dreams. The partner should listen for a full four or five minutes. Switch roles. Return to the large group and have each individual introduce their partner. As the introductions are happening pairs should also tell the group what about their partner impressed them most. Once the introductions are complete, the group should discuss how it felt to talk about themselves and then have someone else choose what to say while introducing them to the rest of the group.

Cats and Dogs

Begin by discussing trust in the context of animals. How do you know an animal trusts you? What behaviours do they exhibit? How does an animal know you trust it? How do you know when people trust you? What are the behavioural cues? How do you know when you trust someone? What are some behavioural cues?

Blind Line

Each person puts a bandanna over his or her eyes. Give each person a secretly assigned number. Have the group line up in order without speaking. Whatever way they can do it without talking. Questions to ask include: "How did you feel?" "Were you frustrated?"

Feelin' it

To help individuals become more aware of their own feelings and also to tune into the group vibe, have each person say the first feeling that is with them right at the moment.

Come to Me

Divide the group into pairs. Have one partner wear a blindfold and have the other stand ten feet away. The sighted partners should begin walking towards their sightless partners until that person holds up her hands and says stop. Partners should try entering one another's personal space to varying degrees while always respecting the stop command.

Unfolding the Circle

Form two circles facing each other, one inside the other. The larger circle facing inward and the smaller circle facing outward so that each person is opposite to someone else. Discuss topics with one person listening, and the other talking. Switch roles. Ask the group to consciously practice non-judgemental listening. Each circle should move in the opposite direction when a new topic for discussion is given.

Some suggestions for discussion topics:

• Most memorable experience
• A place in the world I'd like to visit
• The person I most want to impress
• A skill I would like to master

Debrief: Some questions that you may want to ask: "Without using names, were some people easier to talk to than others?" "What made them so?" "Any difference talking first or second?" "Which topic was the most difficult?"

To Trust You...

In pairs have one individuals complete this sentence, while the other person listens: "In order for me to trust you, you should… i.e) look at me when I speak, help me on the hiking trail..." Have each person do this for four or five minutes. Encourage people not to engage in conversation. Let each person struggle with continually completing the sentence. To debrief the experience ask the group: "What things came out?" "What were some answers that were the same for everyone?" "How did it feel struggling for answers?"

I Appreciate...

There are several different types of appreciations. Listed below are those that have been used by groups with great success:

• Each person is asked to name someone in the group who made them feel good at some point during the day.
• Have everyone in the group share a good trait they themselves have.
• Individuals can share something positive about the person to their right or left
• Select a person who has had a hard day. Each person then shares an appreciation with this one person. He should be encouraged not to sabotage the compliments, but simply listen and accept them.