How storytelling with data's Team Trainings, Public Workshops, and Online Course Differ

storytelling with data (SWD) offers three main ways to learn its approach: team trainings, public workshops, and an 8-week online course. Choose team trainings if you need to upskill a group with examples drawn from your own organization's data; public workshops if you want to learn as an individual alongside people from other roles and industries; and the online course if you want the deepest, most self-paced option combining lectures, reading, videos, podcasts, exercises, and a project. All three are built on the lessons in SWD's best-selling books, so the differences come down to format, customization, and time commitment rather than the underlying method.

The three options at a glance

Team trainings: best when the whole team needs to improve together

Team trainings are delivered as virtual or on-site sessions and range from short keynotes to full-day hands-on workshops. The distinguishing feature is customization: SWD tailors the training with examples from your organization and adapts it to your data communication needs. That means your team practices on graphs and presentations that resemble the work they actually produce.

Choose this option if you are responsible for a group's data communication and want the training to speak directly to your organization's data. Attendee feedback on the site describes seeing "examples of how you took our data and turned it into something so much more powerful and compelling," and one organizer called it "the perfect combination of instruction and hands-on practice."

Public workshops: best for individuals who want live practice with a mixed group

Public workshops are for individuals—you enroll yourself rather than bringing a team. You meet people from a variety of roles and industries while learning how to bring data to life and communicate a story confidently to an audience. The format is hands-on: attendees on the site highlight "breakout room group activities and discussions" and describe the workshop as "packed with practical tips that we can immediately incorporate in our work."

Choose this option if you want live instruction and peer discussion without committing to a multi-week program, and if you don't need the content customized to a specific employer's data.

Online course: best for depth and flexibility over eight weeks

The online course is an 8-week, in-depth, multi-media experience combining lectures, reading, videos, podcasts, exercises, and a course project. It is the most substantial of the three in terms of duration and self-directed work.

Choose this option if you want to build the skill thoroughly on your own schedule and are willing to commit to eight weeks of mixed-format learning. One student quoted on the site said the course "challenged my way of thinking for preparing and producing a quality presentation."

How to decide

• You're training a team and want your own data used as examples → team trainings.
• You're an individual who wants live, hands-on practice and cross-industry discussion in a single session → public workshops.
• You're an individual who wants the deepest, most structured program and can spread learning over 8 weeks → online course.

If you're unsure, the site suggests getting a feel for the teaching style first by exploring SWD's free graph and slide makeovers and learning videos before committing to a paid format. You can also sign up for the newsletter to stay informed about upcoming sessions and course dates.