A Walk Trust is a trust-focused activity

A Trust Walk is a team building activity involving leadership and lots of trust as people navigate each other around obstacles. A leader gives verbal instructions to navigate a blindfolded partner to avoid obstacles.

Find a good location with some obstacles, but nothing dangerous. Some good locations may include the woods or a large field.

Pair up and ask one partner to be the navigator (guide) and the other to be blindfolded.

When the blindfolded partner is ready, slowly spin the person around a few times so that they do not know which direction they are headed. From this point on, the guide should not touch the partnert at all, but rely solely on verbal cues (for example “About five steps ahead, there is a branch. Step over it slowly.”)

The guide is solely responsible for his or her partner’s safety. He or she should be navigated to avoid obstacles.

In this way, participants learn valuable lessons related to teamwork: the guide learns about the challenge and responsibility of caring for another individual’s well being, while the blindfolded partner learns to trust and rely on another person.

Ask participants to reflect and share upon their experiences.

Moment of Reflection

• What do you think is the purpose of this team building activity?
• What was it like to be the guide, responsible for the safety of your teammates?
• Did you have any difficulty trusting your partner while blindfolded? Why or why not?
• Why is trust in your teammates important?
• How did it feel when you and your teammate successfully trusted each other to accomplish something challenging?
• How is the confidence and experience of this activity related to teamwork?

The topics of this publication: interactions, teamwork, trust, foster relationships, leadership, cooperation, adaptability skills, empathy, integration, strategy, collaboration, adaptation