Trust Game – Trust Fall

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In this trust game participants let themselves fall backwards while someone else will catch them. In this exercise trust between the participants is build in a playful manner.

This exercise is a good pick to warm up a group at the start of a day or in a group where trust is an issue.

At the end of the of the exercise all the participants take turns standing in the middle of the circle and let themselves fall in any direction. This lets them fall into the whole group and will build trust with the whole group rather than just one person.

Be sure to always start with very short distances when doing the trust fall. When both the spotter and the faller feel safe the distance at which the faller leans back my be increased a bit. Reassure to the group not to try and push their boundaries when doing the trust fall! Safety and trust is key.

Lastly, it’s important that the trainer reminds the team constantly to remain focused. This to assure the safety throughout the exercise.

You can apply variations to this Trust Game exercise:

When someone is uncomfortable with falling backwards you may let this participant cross his arms and let him fall forward as well. The one that is spotting this person may then catch him in his arms and then put him back up straight on his feet. When the falling person feels comfortable after taking these steps he may turn his back to him and do the exercise as it was meant to be.
When the group doesn’t know each other well instead of pairs of two you can let them form pairs of three. One person will lean backwards and two people will then be the spotters. When trust and safety is established they may form pairs of two again.
To start off the exercise right the trainer asks a volunteer from the group to do the exercise with. The trainer will fall into the volunteer’s arms and show the team how the exercise is done correctly. In this way the team sees how the exercise should be done safely.

Do you know a good Trust Game variation? Type it as a comment below!

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