LEGO® Serious Play® Online: How to Run Virtual and Hybrid Workshops That Work
Many teams are no longer in one place, and the question we hear more often is whether LEGO® Serious Play® can still work when people join from different locations. It can. The heart of the method stays the same: each person builds a model and explains what it means to them. What changes is the logistics, the pacing, and the amount of attention the facilitator has to give to people who are not in the room.
This guide explains what stays the same and what changes online, compares virtual, hybrid, and in-person formats side by side, walks through a five-stage way to run a remote session, and shows what to look for in a facilitator before you commit.
LEGO® Serious Play® can be run online and in hybrid formats. Each participant builds with their own bricks and shares their model on camera, while the facilitator plans for pacing, visibility, and equal voice. The method works when the facilitation adapts to the format, not when an in-person script is simply moved onto a screen.
- The method itself does not change online: everyone builds, everyone explains their model, and the group works from shared meaning.
- Hybrid is the hardest format, because the facilitator has to keep remote participants as visible and as heard as the people in the room.
- Skilled facilitation means planning for and adapting to different group sizes, make-ups, and contexts, and that includes the screen as a context.
Can LEGO® Serious Play® Work Online?
LEGO® Serious Play® looks like a hands-on, in-the-room method, so it is fair to ask whether it survives a video call. The answer depends less on the technology and more on how the session is facilitated.
What Stays the Same
The sequence at the center of the method is unchanged. Every participant builds their own model in response to a question, then explains it to the group in their own words. Because everyone builds and everyone speaks, the quieter voices are heard alongside the louder ones. That structure does not depend on whether the group shares a room.
What Changes
Online, the room is no longer shared, so the facilitator has to make up for what a physical room gives for free. The main differences are:
- Materials: each person needs their own bricks at their own location, ideally sent ahead so everyone begins together.
- Visibility: each person needs a camera angle that shows their model clearly when they explain it.
- Pacing: screen-based sessions are best broken into shorter blocks, with clear hand-offs between building and sharing.
- Facilitator attention: reading a group through a screen takes deliberate effort, so the facilitator checks in with each person rather than relying on the feel of the room.
LEGO® Serious Play® works online when the facilitation is adapted to the screen, not when an in-person script is simply moved onto a video call.
Virtual, Hybrid, or In-Person: Which Format Fits?
The right format depends on where your people are and what you need the session to do. Each has a different demand on the facilitator.
| Format | Where people are | Main facilitation challenge | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-person | Everyone in one room | Reading and adapting to the group in the room | Teams that can gather in one place |
| Virtual | Everyone remote, each with their own kit | Pacing, camera visibility, and keeping attention on the screen | Distributed teams with no practical way to meet |
| Hybrid | Some in a room, some on screen | Keeping remote participants as visible and as heard as those in the room | Teams split across a shared office and remote locations |
Why Hybrid Needs the Most Planning
In a hybrid session the people in the room naturally talk to each other, and the people on screen can fade into the background. A facilitator has to design against that, giving remote participants the same chance to build, show, and explain as everyone else. If you are choosing between formats and the whole team can realistically gather, in-person gives the facilitator the easiest read of the room. If they cannot, a fully virtual session often gives everyone a more equal experience than a hybrid one, because no one is the exception.
How to Run a Virtual LEGO® Serious Play® Session
A remote session works best when the preparation is done before anyone joins. These five stages describe a sensible flow for a virtual workshop.
Prepare the Kits and the Question
Send each participant their bricks ahead of time and agree the question the session will answer. Share simple instructions on camera placement and a quiet place to build, so no one spends the opening minutes solving setup problems.
Warm Up with a Simple Build
Start with a short, low-stakes build so everyone practices building, showing their model on camera, and explaining it. This gets the mechanics of the screen out of the way before the real question arrives.
Build Individual Models
Pose the main question and give everyone time to build their own response at the same time. Because each person builds independently, no one waits for a turn and no one is talked over.
Share Meaning, One Person at a Time
Invite each person to hold their model to the camera and explain what it means to them. The facilitator calls on every participant by name, so remote voices are heard evenly and the group builds a picture from all of them.
Build Shared Understanding and Agree Next Steps
Bring the individual models together into a shared view of the situation and capture what the group agreed. Finish by confirming who will do what next, so the session ends with something the team can act on.
In a virtual LEGO® Serious Play® session, every participant builds at the same time and is called on by name, which gives remote voices the same share of the conversation as a physical room.
Choosing a Facilitator for Online and Hybrid Work
Format makes facilitator quality matter more, not less. A screen removes many of the cues a facilitator relies on, so the skill of reading and adapting to a group has to be stronger.
Ask About Adaptation, Not Just Credentials
LEGO® Serious Play® requires practice and deep domain expertise. It is not enough to have read a few books or sat in a training room with the original provider. Skilled facilitation means planning and adapting to different group sizes, make-ups, and contexts, and thinking on your feet during both large and small events. Ask any prospective facilitator how they would adapt a session to your team's actual setup, whether that is fully remote or split across locations.
What Standing and Support Look Like
Serious Play Business has more than 18 years of experience training facilitators around the world, and has trained more than 2,000 facilitators in all types of roles. Dr. Denise Meyerson was one of only four Master Trainers of the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® method selected by the LEGO® Group before the method went open source. She has trained facilitators for over 18 years across 25+ countries and is the author of three books on facilitation, including What the Duck.
If you want to build your own facilitation skills, see our LEGO® Serious Play® facilitator training, or read the journey of becoming a LEGO® Serious Play® facilitator. Our certification includes 40+ hours of self-paced content and individualized Q&A sessions and feedback from Dr. Meyerson.
Plan a Session That Fits Your Team's Setup
Whether your team is fully remote, split across locations, or together in one room, tell us about your group and we will help you plan a workshop that fits.
To understand the full methodology behind the workshop design described above, read our full explanation of how the LEGO® Serious Play® method works.
Frequently asked questions
Can LEGO® Serious Play® be run online?
Yes. The core of the method does not change: each person builds a model and explains what it means to them. What changes is the logistics, because every participant needs their own bricks and a clear view of the group, and the facilitator has to pace the session more deliberately.
What is the difference between a virtual and a hybrid LEGO® Serious Play® workshop?
In a virtual workshop everyone joins remotely, so everyone has the same experience. In a hybrid workshop some people share a room while others join on screen, which means the facilitator has to work to keep the remote participants as visible and as heard as the people in the room.
What do participants need for an online LEGO® Serious Play® session?
Each participant needs their own set of bricks, a camera that can show their model, a quiet place to build, and a stable connection. Sending the materials ahead of the session lets everyone start at the same time.
How do you keep remote participants engaged in a LEGO® Serious Play® workshop?
Give every person the same chance to build, show, and explain, keep sessions broken into shorter blocks, and make sure each model is described in the person's own words. Skilled facilitation means thinking on your feet and adapting to the group in front of you, and that applies to a screen as much as a room.
Does a facilitator need different training to run LEGO® Serious Play® online?
The method requires practice and deep domain expertise whether the room is physical or virtual. It is not enough to have read a few books, so look for a trainer who has adapted to different group sizes, make-ups, and contexts and who gives you feedback on your own facilitation.
When should a team choose in-person over online?
If the whole team can gather in one place, an in-person session gives the facilitator the easiest read of the room. Choose a virtual or hybrid format when the team is spread out and bringing everyone together is not practical, and plan the session around that reality.