10 Team Building Activities to Build Trust

Creating trust within a team is crucial to its success. Why? We all know from our personal relationships that trust encourages open communication, understanding, and mutual support.

Whether your team is working in-person or remotely, implementing fun team building activities to improve trust can help you strengthen relationships and improve everyone's sense of belonging and empathy towards one another.

Let's explore 10 engaging activities to help you build that essential trust factor for ultimate team bonding.

Try these trust-building activities to improve personal relationships in your team:

1. Human Pinball

Best for: In-person teams

In this physical game, group members stand in a circle and one person (the human pinball) stands in the middle. The human pinball is gently pushed around the circle and the other team members guide them around to stop them from falling.

This activity builds physical trust because team members have to rely on each other to keep them safe while they are being pushed around with their eyes closed. It shows how important it is to have each other’s back, literally and figuratively, which is key to successful team dynamics.

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2. Traitorous Trivia

Best for: Remote teams

This trivia game pits players against each other while secretly assigning a few team members as “traitors” who have to mislead the team to answer incorrectly. In order to win, participants will need to use their instincts to figure out who is being deceitful.

While it seems mischievous, this game highlights the importance of trust and honesty. By figuring out who can be trusted, team members practice trusting their intuition about their colleagues and enjoy a lighthearted game in the process!

How to get started 👉 See who can trust their instincts in a game of Traitorous Trivia!

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3. Egg Drop

Best for: In-person or remote teams

In this classic engineering challenge teams are given materials like straws, paper, and tape to build a structure that will protect a raw egg from breaking when dropped from a height. For remote teams, encourage everyone to use items lying around the house, and host the activity on a shared video call.

Whether you're hosting this activity in person or remotely, participants will either have to work together or trust their instincts to create a protective design for the egg, encouraging team members to use creative problem-solving and trust each other’s ideas to achieve a common goal (and avoid a big mess!)

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4. Two Truths and a Lie

Best for: In-person and remote teams

Everyone knows and loves this classic icebreaker, where each participant shares three statements—two that are true and one that’s a lie. The team has put their heads together to guess which statement is the lie.

This simple game encourages openness and a bit of vulnerability as participants reveal personal details about themselves and leave them up to scrutiny. It also helps team members build rapport and gain a deeper understanding of one another.

How to get started 👉 Level up the activity by hosting a guided round of Two Truths and a Lie with Confetti!

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5. Trust Chain

Best for: In-person or remote teams

In this virtual team building exercise, each team member shares a challenge or decision they’re currently facing, either personal or work-related. After someone shares, the next person in the "chain" offers advice or a solution based on their own experience. The activity continues as each participant links their advice to the previous challenge and then shares their own.

This activity encourages vulnerability and openness, building a "chain" of trust by showing that each person values and supports the contributions of others. The exercise fosters empathy, listening, and mutual reliance, reinforcing bonds across the team.

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6. Trivia Kickball

Best for: Remote teams

Trivia Kickball is a virtual trivia game where players “kick” by answering questions. In order to answer the question for your team, you’ll first need to trust yourself and your instincts to step up to the plate. This game is collaborative, leaving your teammates there to support you if you feel stumped and need an assist.

Trust in yourself is key here as well as trust in your teammates. This game shows that individual confidence and team collaboration go hand in hand when facing challenges.

How to get started 👉 Step up to the plate and play Trivia Kickball with your team!

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7. Blindfold Obstacle Course

Best for: In-person teams

In this activity, an obstacle course is set up using chairs, cones, ropes, or any available objects. The twist? One team member is blindfolded, and their partner must guide them verbally through the course. No physical guiding allowed. The person guiding must give clear, detailed instructions, and the blindfolded teammate must trust them completely to make it to the finish line.

This exercise reinforces trust in communication and listening, builds confidence, and strengthens teamwork under pressure.

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8. Winner or Loser

Best for: In-person and remote teams

In this storytelling activity, each team member will share a personal story of a challenge they faced. They then present the story from both a "winner" and a "loser" perspective, and the team discusses what can be learned from each version.

This exercise encourages vulnerability and openness. By sharing personal challenges, team members build empathy for one another and create a safe space for honest communication, including opening themselves up to outside perspectives and feedback.

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9. Trust Cards

Best for: In-person and remote teams

In this team building activity, each team member gets a set of cards with prompts related to trust, such as “Share a time when you felt supported by the team” or “Describe a time when you trusted a teammate’s decision”. Encourage everyone to engage in the discussion by asking follow-up questions or sharing anecdotes that they can also relate to.

Sharing specific moments of trust-building reinforces a positive story about the team and our individual resiliency. It encourages reflection and allows team members to see how trust is always growing within the group.

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10. Empathy Water Cooler

Best for: Remote teams

Put yourself in someone else's shoes with a round of empathy-minded icebreakers. In this activity, participants are randomly paired up and asked thought-provoking questions. The goal is to get team members to share their experiences, open up a more thoughtful dialogue, and practice empathy for each other.

Empathy is the foundation of trust. By sharing personal experiences and emotions team members learn to appreciate each other’s perspectives and feel more connected, beyond their work tasks.

How to get started 👉 Get together with your team at the Empathy Water Cooler!

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Start building trust with Confetti!

Trust is the foundation of any team. Whether your team is working together in the same office or remotely across the world, these team building exercises will get team members to connect deeper and collaborate stronger. From icebreaker games to thoughtful story-sharing prompts, these exercises promote openness, communication skills, and shared goals – all the ingredients of trust.

Need help planning a team building event with your company culture goals in mind? Contact us at Confetti to get started!

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