I know this is probably a minor issue, but can someone give me advice as to how I can stop back-leading. Not only does my instructor get annoyed, but he also says that when I back-lead, it means that I don't trust him or his lead. Plus I try to anticipate every move and I'm mostly wrong. How can I stop doing this?

Stop anticipating and just follow. Give your partner a good connection via a nice strong frame..sit back and enjoy the ride.....

Have him dance non-routine material with you. If you don't know what's coming next you will have a much harder time backleading!

A technique that I used to help followers from leading and or backleading is..get into your dance position and then close your eyes. A blind person certainly would not lead a sighted person, would they? It helped me breaking this habit in many of my female students.

Anonymous. Which dance are you having trouble with. Is it all of them which also includes Latin. Foxtrot is usualy where a fault can easily show up. That is untill the moving foot is in place behind . The body should still be on the front leg where the knee should be bending forward towards your partner. At the same time the knee bends your moving foot will extent, they both work in conjuction with each other, before sending the weight back to what will become the standing leg. The more you bend the knee of the supporting foot the further you will go. Don't lower the heel to the floor untill the now moving leg draws level. For further instructions on this refer to any technique book Page 13 at the top of the page if your local library has a copy of Alex Moore's Ballroom Dancing... Try the above by yourself. If you can't do it solo, you will also not be able to do it with a partner and you will be leading. Best of luck

Try taking a lesson or two in Argentine Tango. It is a type of dance in which the leader has a lot of freedom to improvise steps as opposed to doing predictable figures. That will prevent you from being able to backlead.

"That is untill the moving foot is in place behind . The body should still be on the front leg where the knee should be bending forward towards your partner. At the same time the knee bends your moving foot will extent, they both work in conjuction with each other, before sending the weight back to what will become the standing leg. The more you bend the knee of the supporting foot the further you will go. Don't lower the heel to the floor untill the now moving leg draws level. For further instructions on this refer to any technique book Page 13 at the top of the page if your local library has a copy of Alex Moore's Ballroom Dancing..."

If one actually reads the recommended reference instead of merely name-dropping, you will see that the standing heel must be down and bearing weight by the time the free foot passes it. The entire reach of the backwards step occurs while the weight is resting on the standing heel... which is to say while the standing knee is re-straightening.

Thank you everyone for you input. I really appreciate it. My instructor tried telling me to close my eyes once, but I kept cheating and opening them. Maybe I should just blindfold myself. I'm very stubborn, but I'll keep practicing. I'll get the hang of it with time. Thanks again

Do youself a favor and get serious about stopping your backleading habit, and learn to follow. Believe me, it is not a minor issue. Backleading can be a very unpleasant experience for the man, and he will not enjoy dancing with you as much as he should. You don't want that, do you?

Anonymous. If one actually reads the recomended reference instead of merely name dropping. Well here it is.
At the full extent of the stride
the ball of the back foot and the heel of the front foot are in contact with the floor. Continuing to move backwards
draw the RF back to the LF and at the same time slowly lower the the Left Heel to the floor, making sure that it does not touch the floor untill the RF is level with it. Repeat. Making sure that it does not touch the floor untill the RF is level with it.
What could be plainer than that. This is the way it has been taught since the early 20's and before. If you are unable to dance this way then it is your bad luck. The secret is to use the whole of both feet from the toe to the heel. I think most will agree that the higher the heel is from the floor, the longer it will take to lower to the floor when going backwards. The lower the heel is to the floor the more likely it is to be in error. In other words it will be a right old mess, short paced and very much like a beginner. Also it becomes very difficult to keep good timing.