How To: Set up a trust fall

Want to learn what it really means to put your faith in someone else? Try a trust fall, where one person falls backward, depending upon another to catch them.

Step 1: Position person who will fall
Instruct the person who will fall to stand with their eyes shut and their hands folded across their chest.

Step 2: Position spotter
Position the person who will catch – the spotter – behind the person who will fall.

The spotter must be close enough to catch the faller, but far enough away that the faller has adequate falling space.

Step 3: Fall
Instruct the faller to keep their body straight and stiff and to lean back on their heels, allowing themselves to fall into the arms of the spotter.

As faller and spotter get more comfortable, experiment with increasing the distance between the spotter and the faller.

Step 4: Trust fall with several spotters
If you have more people participating, position several to surround the faller. Spotters stand in a semicircle around the back of the faller to catch them.

Step 5: Perform an elevated trust fall
Stage a trust fall from an elevated platform, such as a stepstool, tree stump, or riser. Spotters face each other and link hands. The faller falls into the net of arms.

Practice an elevated trust fall only under the supervision of an experienced trust fall leader.

Step 6: Think about how you feel
Think about how this exercise makes you feel once you and your adrenaline level have fallen. The object is to become more trusting and confident.

Fact: Trust falls are often used as corporate exercises to promote team building.