Apr
7
Written by:
host
4/7/2010 7:00 AM
Many years ago, I had the opportunity to take a group of college students to the United Methodist Seminar Program on National and International Affairs in Washington, D.C. (I highly encourage you to consider the program, which is NOT just for United Methodists!) One of the activities we did was called a "Trust Walk," and the experience I had in that activity was so profound that I've since led a similar activity dozens of times for groups over the years. It is, without a doubt, my favorite activity to lead with groups. The Trust Walk involves having a group of people silently respond to statements of action or belief through movement, and it does not (unlike another popular activity that involves one youth guiding another) require any blindfolds. Here's a basic description of how to create and lead this activity yourself.
Process
- Create your list of questions. See examples and tips below.
- Choose a time and group to do the Trust Walk with. Ideally, you'll have a minimum of 10 people and no less than 90 minutes for the activity. The activity works particularly well with high school and college-aged groups, but I've also used it several times with middle school youth and with adults.
- Clear a large floor space of any furniture or objects.
- Have everyone line up on one side of a room (or put down a strip of tape for persons to line up behind) facing you.
- Explain the activity using the introductory paragraph below, or one similar to it.
- Read a statement, and pause for the participants to walk to the other side of the room, turn, and walk back together. Then immediately read the next statement.
- After your list of statements is exhausted, you may if you wish allow participants to suggest statements.
- When it feels like it's a good time to draw the Trust Walk to a close, finish with one final statement, such as, "Walk if you are ready to process this activity with the rest of the group members."
- Have persons sit in a circle. Pause for a short time of silent reflection on the activity.
- Debrief the activity, using the suggested questions below and your own intuition about what needs to be asked.
- Repeat the ground rule about confidentiality.
- Close the activity with a group prayer.
Introduction
"Today I invite you to join me for an activity called a Trust Walk. I'll explain some details in a moment, but first I need everyone to line up along this wall, facing me. [Wait for them.] The activity works as follows. I'll read a statement of action or belief. If that statement is true for you, then walk to the other side of the room, turn around and face the rest of us who did not walk, pause until all walkers have joined you, and then walk back together to rejoin the rest of the group. There are some ground rules that must be followed throughout the activity.
First, the activity will be done in silence.
Second, it is always your choice alone whether or not you walk.
Third, we'll take some time to talk about the activity afterwards, and I'd encourage everyone to participate in that.
Finally, everything that is shared during the activity—from who walked on a particular question to things that are said when we debrief the activity afterwards—everything will remain confidential and will not leave this room.
All of these rules are very important, and they are what puts the "Trust" in "Trust Walk." Can everyone agree to these groundrules?"
Statements
The following are examples of statements you might use, depending on the group and the topic you wish to explore together. Note that there are a mix of light-hearted and serious statememts, since I highly recommend using some of both.
All questions should be proceeded by the phrase, "Walk if you…" as seen in the first example.
- Walk if you have ever gotten sick after going on a roller coaster.
- …fought with a member of your family today.
- …have ever stolen something from a store.
- …have a medical condition you'll probably have for life.
- …have parents who are divorced.
- …usually would vote for Republicans.
- …are afraid of spiders.
- …prefer boxers over briefs.
- …wonder if God really exists.
- …believe there is truth in other religions.
- …have ever been homeless or have known someone who was.
- …don't like some part of your body.
- …believe homosexuality is a sin.
- …are worried about your future.
- …are a morning person.
- …text your friends more than 10 times a day.
- …would have done something else [tonight, this weekend, etc.] if your parents hadn't made you come.
- …know someone who has or may have an eating disorder.
- …have ever gone further physically with a boy or girl than you wished you had.]
- …have read all of the Harry Potter books.
Typically, one of the last statements I'll use is, "Walk if you have lied on one of the previous statements."
Tips
- Start off with a few very non-threatenings statements, then move into deeper statements gradually. Occasionally shift gears with some lighter statements.
- Remember that almost any statement has the potential to be embarrassing or troubling for someone, so just be aware of what's going on and remind people of the ground rules as necessary.
- Avoid questions that could be simply voyeuristic in nature, such as, "Walk if you have had sex [before, in the past week, with more than one partner, etc.]"
- Group leaders, including the leader of the activity, should also participate.
- The activity leader needs to be an individual who is an empathic and supportive listener and who can hold the attention of the group members.
- Statements do not—and indeed should not—all be related to just one topic, but you can certainly have additional questions connected with your event theme.
- Best friends should probably not stand next to one another—especially middle schoolers.
- Try to mentally take notes of any responses that seemed particularly significant, but do not take written notes during the activity.
Debriefing
- Just as important as the questions is the time of debriefing, so plan out a few questions you want to be sure to ask.
- Sit in a circle for the debriefing so that everyone can see one another.
- Respectful listening is vital. You may wish to have persons raise their hands and be acknowledged to ensure that everyone can listen to one another.
- Some possible debriefing questions include…
- What were some of the feelings you experienced during this activity?
- What made the Trust Walk easy? What made it difficult?
- What were some of the questions that most surprised you? Why?
- What are some of the conclusions you might draw from this activity?
- How does the Trust Walk relate to our larger theme we're exploring together?
- How might this activity help you to be more understanding of others in your everyday life?
- What statement was not asked that you would have liked to have asked?
- Where did you see or experience God in this activity?
- What's something you learned about yourself through the Trust Walk?
- Would you like to do this activity again some day? Why or why not?
- Encourage the participants to talk with you one-on-one if the activity brought up any issues they would like to discuss privately.
~ by Tim Gossett
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