10 Trust Team Building Activities to Strengthen Virtual Teams

Jan 24, 2025 | Team Building, remote work

Building trust in virtual teams is crucial for collaboration, productivity, and team morale. While strategies such as clear communication and accountability frameworks are essential, trust team building activities can fast-track trust development in ways other approaches cannot. In this blog, we’ll explore trust-building exercises tailored to virtual teams that foster deeper connections, boost collaboration, and improve team dynamics.

Why Trust Team Building Activities Matter

Trust is the cornerstone of successful teams. In virtual environments, the absence of face-to-face interaction and non-verbal cues can make building trust more challenging. To overcome this, combining trust-building activities with clear communication and accountability strategies is essential. For more comprehensive approaches, explore our blog on Building Trust in Virtual Teams: 8 Strategies for Success.

Virtual team-building activities create meaningful shared experiences that help bridge the trust gap by providing opportunities to:

  • Foster deeper personal connections.
  • Promote open and transparent communication.
  • Establish psychological safety.
  • Strengthen teamwork through engaging and enjoyable interactions.

Top Trust Team Building Activities for Virtual Teams

1. Virtual Escape Rooms

Why It Works: These activities require teams to collaborate, solve puzzles, and share ideas to achieve a common goal. The shared challenge helps break down barriers and encourages mutual reliance.

How to Implement:

  • Choose a virtual escape room designed for remote teams (Ronin Realm or Spirit Speak are great examples!)
  • Assign clear roles to ensure everyone contributes.
  • Debrief afterward to reflect on teamwork and problem-solving dynamics.
Trust Team Building Activities

2. “Two Truths and a Lie”

Why It Works: This classic icebreaker helps team members learn about one another, fostering trust through shared personal stories and lighthearted fun.

How to Implement:

  • Each team member shares two truths and one lie about themselves.
  • The team guesses which statement is the lie.
  • Use a platform like Zoom with breakout rooms for smaller groups.

3. Trust Mapping Exercise

Why It Works: This activity identifies areas of strong collaboration and potential gaps in trust within the team.

How to Implement:

  • Use a shared whiteboard tool (like Miro or MURAL) to create a trust map.
  • Team members draw connections with those they frequently collaborate with and trust.
  • Discuss ways to strengthen weaker connections.

4. Virtual Coffee Chats

Why It Works: Building trust happens naturally when people connect on a personal level. These informal one-on-one sessions are perfect for nurturing relationships in a low-pressure setting.

How to Implement:

  • Pair team members randomly for 15-minute virtual coffee chats.
  • Provide conversation prompts if needed, such as hobbies, favorite books, or recent highlights.
Virtual Coffee Chats as Trust Team Building Activities for Virtual Teams

5. Collaborative Drawing Challenges

Why It Works: This fun and creative activity encourages teams to work together while relying on each other’s contributions.

How to Implement:

  • Use tools like Jamboard or Microsoft Whiteboard.
  • Assign a group project, such as drawing a team mascot or designing a fictional product.
  • Reflect on how the team collaborated during the task.

6. “What’s My Strength?”

Why It Works: This activity focuses on positive reinforcement, helping team members recognize and appreciate each other’s strengths.

How to Implement:

  • Each person writes one strength for each teammate on a shared document.
  • Compile the feedback and share it during a team meeting.
  • Encourage discussions about how those strengths enhance collaboration.

7. Virtual Team Trivia

Why It Works: Trivia games create a fun, competitive environment while encouraging knowledge sharing and teamwork.

How to Implement:

  • Use platforms like Kahoot or Quizizz to host trivia sessions.
  • Include custom questions about team members, company milestones, or shared interests.
  • Reward the winning team with virtual badges or other incentives.

Here are 1000+ Trivia Questions you can use you can download list of questions here.

8. Silent Collaboration Challenge

Why It Works: This exercise mimics the challenges of non-verbal communication in virtual work, encouraging teams to build trust through active listening and understanding.

How to Implement:

  • Set a task (e.g., building a list of ideas) that the team must complete without speaking or typing.
  • Use only visual cues or shared tools like Trello for communication.
  • Debrief afterward to discuss the experience and lessons learned.

9. Role Reversal Challenge

Why It Works: This activity allows team members to understand each other’s roles and responsibilities better, fostering empathy and trust.

How to Implement:

  • Assign team members to role-play each other’s jobs for a short, hypothetical project.
  • Provide a task or scenario where each person must “step into” someone else’s role.
  • Discuss afterward how the experience influenced their understanding of each other’s work and challenges.

10. Virtual Trust Fall

Why It Works: A modern twist on the traditional trust fall, this activity helps build confidence in teammates through sharing and supporting one another in a virtual setting.

How to Implement:

  • Each team member shares a professional challenge or task they’re currently struggling with.
  • Other team members offer advice, resources, or help to address the issue.
  • Track the support provided and discuss how this reliance on others built trust.

Discover Top 15 Team-Building Problem-Solving Activities to Strengthen Your Team.

How to Choose the Right Activities

To maximize the impact of these activities, consider:

  • Team Size: Adjust activities to accommodate small or large groups.
  • Team Dynamics: Opt for activities that align with the trust level and interpersonal familiarity of your team.
  • Frequency: Schedule trust-building activities monthly or quarterly to maintain momentum.

For more tips on how to choose the right type of team building, read 4 Evidence-Based Team Building Activities: A Practical Guide.

Measuring Success

Assess the effectiveness of trust-building activities by monitoring:

  • Improvements in team communication.
  • Increased participation in meetings.
  • Faster project completion rates.
  • Feedback from team members on trust and collaboration.

Conclusion

Trust team-building activities are a powerful way to bring virtual teams closer together. By fostering genuine connections, enhancing communication, and creating shared experiences, these activities lay the foundation for high-performing teams.

Start incorporating these trust team building exercises today to build a cohesive, resilient virtual team capable of achieving exceptional results.