“Stories are the single most powerful weapon in a leader’s arsenal.“
— Howard Gardner, Harvard University

xhibit and event managers have always told stories to provide role models of possibility, stories about companies that consistently turn trade shows into gold mines of high-performance results. Many, including my personal favorites, are tales of exhibitors who start out clueless, get no results, eat a plate of humble pie, figure out how to fix their problems, and score big. Think of them as great stories with an irresistible ring of authenticity, or knowledge management without the PowerPoint.

Storytelling is a strategy growing in popularity among leading corporate thinkers, and for good reason. According to famed screenwriter and teacher Robert McKee, “Stories are the currency of human contact.” Not a bad communication tool to use in an industry that boasts face-to-face contact as its essential competitive advantage.

Today, people like Larry Prusak, executive director of IBM’s Institute of Knowledge Management and author of “Working Knowledge” and “In Good Company,” are championing the purposeful use of storytelling to achieve a practical outcome with an individual or organization.

The question is: What role does storytelling play in the sharing of knowledge? And, more specifically, can exhibit and event professionals use stories to open the minds and change the attitudes of upper management? Let’s find out.

Pretend your boss invites you to coffee. She needs you to prove the value of trade shows and events, and — damn! — she expects you to provide answers she can take to the big wigs. You’re then allocated a decaf latte and 10 minutes to make your point and salvage your budget.

You have two options. You can pull out the data (you have data, right?), rip through a weapons-grade arpeggio of numbers, documenting return on investment, highlighting the lower costs associated with acquiring sales leads at trade shows compared to other media, and finishing with a crescendo of bar charts that document the shorter sales cycle and accelerated cash flow that results from a positive trade show experience. Applause, applause!

Personally, I love that stuff, but I only represent one half of the world. The other half sees data differently, less like elegant symmetry and more like a lifeless proxy for the real experience. When that’s the case, and even when it isn’t (and only you can make that call), you might want to use the second option — the power of storytelling. If you don’t have stories, here are two of my personal favorites.

The first story is from the September 2005 issue of EXHIBITOR. Paul Fazio, owner of Sonny’s Enterprises Inc., hated trade shows. He repeatedly spent $300,000 a year at his industry’s biggest show, and got nothing in return. Fazio was ready to jump the trade show ship. Along came Marty Smith, an expert in analyzing what he calls “the purchasing experience.” Smith showed Fazio his mistakes, helped him make minor adjustments, and kaboom! From 2003 to 2005, Fazio’s show-floor sales rocketed from $400,000 to $4 million.

My second favorite is a story from the June 2005 issue of EXHIBITOR. In this story, Chrysler Group turned George P. Johnson Co.’s event-marketing group loose to build an authentic obstacle course — complete with dirt, logs, water, and a 35-degree incline — inside Chicago’s McCormick Place. Chrysler got 65,000 attendees to test-drive vehicles in the exhibit, captured buyer info from 800,000 attendees, kept each visitor in the exhibit for an average of 44 minutes, and increased car sales by 8 percent.

Ultimately, you’ll have to decide whether bar charts or story time is more likely to be effective with your boss, but having both techniques in your arsenal will make you twice as likely to tell your own success story some day. e