Choosing the Right Certified LEGO® Serious Play® Training for YOU

Certified LEGO® Serious Play® Training: Online vs. Face-to-face

“What is the difference between your 2-day online and face-to-face training programs – and which one is the best fit for me?”

This is a question that I am often asked during exploration calls, and I totally get it. People invest significantly in their own professional development; both in terms of time and finances. So it is important that they choose the opportunities that will offer them the best return on that investment.

Perhaps unsatisfyingly, my answer to this question is often the same

“It depends.”

As with most things in life, there is no one-size-fits all answer and, in most cases, the nuance of personal context and situation will inform my response, along with the decision-makers mind.

That said, there are some universal truths and unique benefits to both training options. The purpose of this article is to outline a few of them – hopefully to help others who are on the fence about which training option to go for, to choose the best fit for them.

Top Tips for choosing the LEGO® Serious Play® Training that is Right for You

1. Know the Course Structure: Same Same… But Different

The first thing to be aware of is that the overarching objectives for the 2-day online and face-to-face training are the same:

To enable you to design and deliver LEGO® Serious Play® experiences for your context and setting

And you will absolutely meet this objective regardless of which option you opt for. What’s more, the curriculum for both training options is aligned, with both offering opportunities for:

Experiential learning
Focus on key principles and theory
Workshop contracting and design
Learning from Case Studies

The real difference is the modality of delivery – which brings me on to my next tip

2. Consider how you will most likely facilitate LEGO® Serious Play® experiences in your setting?

The logic behind this one is pretty simple. If you are most likely to be delivering virtual LEGO® Serious Play® sessions to key stakeholders in your context and setting, then our online training programs will probably be the best fit.

Whilst there is a LOT of transferable knowledge and skills, our online training will introduce you to the unique process steps required to facilitate LEGO® Serious Play® virtually: Digital whiteboards, model disassembly and ‘Magic Hands’. You will not experience these unique aspects of online LEGO® Serious Play® delivery in our in-person training programs.

However, it is absolutely possible to effectively transfer what you learn during an online training course to in-person facilitation. Which leads me to my next point…

3. Return on Investment: Consider how Valuable this Training is to You – and how much you are willing or able to invest

This sounds mercenary, but it is so important to justify the investment that you are about to make.

There is a small difference in the price of SERIOUSWORK’s 2-day online and in-person training programs: £365.00 to be precise – a modest but not insignificant sum of money. However, there are additional costs to consider when planning to join us for an in-person training: travel, accommodation (if you do not live locally), subsistence, etc. This can mean that attending an in-person training can require a greater investment.

The question you need to ask yourself is, is it worth it.

Let’s be clear, LEGO is a tactile hands-on tool. And attending an in-person program will offer you a more high-octane, human-centred version of our training. You can see and interact with your peers’ models in the way that your own participants will when you facilitate face-to-face workshops and learning experiences. There is also huge value in connecting with your fellow classmates through incidental conversations over lunch. In short, there are ‘hidden curriculum’ benefits you will get from an in-person experience that an online training event simply cannot replicate – but this comes at a cost.

4. Do your Research and Check the Reviews: Our Online training is NOT the Poor Cousin of our Face-to-face offerings

People sometimes assume that the online version of LEGO® Serious Play® is a poor substitute for in-person training.

A quick scan through our almost 100 Google Reviews will tell you otherwise. Our average review score on Google is 5.0/5.0 – regardless of which training program you look at.

The key message here: whilst the online and in-person training offer you different learning experiences, our review scores are testament to the painstaking degree of care taken to design and deliver ALL of our training options, to ensure they meet, and often exceed our graduate’s specific needs.

5. Remember, it’s not all about the LEGO…

Online or in-person, our graduates learn how to facilitate LEGO® Serious Play® experiences for their context and setting; of course they do.

But – as counterintuitive as this may sound – it is worth noting that this is often not what our graduates rate most highly when offering feedback on their SERIOUSWORK learning experiences. Facilitation skills, instructional design tips, a guide to client-centred contracting; these are all cited as some of the many unexpected benefits of our training experiences. And, naturally, the different delivery modalities offer different hidden gems.

Online is a masterclass in how to facilitate for remote or hybrid working environments. Our in-person training will give participants the opportunity to observe how top-class facilitators use non-verbal cues, body language and tone to influence participant’s mindsets and approaches to learning.

So, in response to “which training is best for me?”, the answer is still “it depends” – but hopefully now your decision will be ever so slightly more informed.

If this article has helped you to make your decision, you can book your place using the relevant links below:

If you are still curious to learn more about either of our two day certified LEGO® Serious Play® training programs, schedule a call with me and I will be happy to help offer further guidance.

You can also check out our site: www.serious.global to dig a little deeper.

Online vs. In-Person LEGO® Serious Play® Training