Crafting Cohesive Stories for Exhibit Designs and Builds

In the exhibit design and build industry, project managers play a pivotal role in guiding clients toward creating meaningful and memorable exhibitions. While clients may come with a wealth of stories to tell, they often struggle with how to present these narratives cohesively. The key is to approach the process with a strategic framework, ensuring that the exhibition’s purpose is clear and impactful.

Identifying the Main Theme: The Foundation of Success

Before diving into content development or design, it is crucial to identify the main theme of the exhibition. This theme acts as the anchor for every decision that follows. Ask the client: What is the primary message of the exhibition? The answer to this question provides clarity and focus, ensuring that all elements of the exhibit work together harmoniously to support this central idea.

A clearly defined main theme not only enhances the storytelling but also streamlines decision-making during the design and build phases. Without this anchor, clients may find themselves overwhelmed by the abundance of stories they want to share, leading to a scattered and less impactful visitor experience.

Three Essential Questions to Guide Storytelling

Once the main theme is established, the next step is to delve deeper into the visitor experience by answering three critical questions:

  1. What do you want people to know?
  2. What do you want people to feel?
  3. What do you want people to do?

These questions serve as guiderails, ensuring that the storytelling process remains aligned with the overarching theme and goals of the exhibition. They also help clients prioritize their messaging, avoiding the common pitfall of trying to say everything at once.

Selecting and Editing Stories: Quality Over Quantity

With the main theme and visitor outcomes defined, the next step is to identify the storylines that will bring the exhibition to life. Not every story needs to be told. In fact, attempting to include too many narratives can overwhelm visitors and dilute the impact of the exhibit. Instead, focus on:

  • Prioritizing stories that best support the main theme.
  • Editing stories to ensure they are concise and impactful.
  • Maintaining a logical flow that enhances visitor understanding and engagement.

Encourage clients to view storytelling as a process of refinement, where less is often more. By curating the most compelling and relevant narratives, the exhibition becomes a powerful and cohesive experience for visitors.

The Value of Keeping Stories in Reserve

It’s important to encourage clients to resist the urge to tell all their stories at once. Keeping some narratives in reserve offers several advantages:

  • Refreshing exhibitions over time. By rotating in new stories, the exhibition can remain dynamic and attract repeat visitors.
  • Creating temporary exhibits. Reserved stories can be used for smaller, temporary exhibitions, adding variety to the overall experience.
  • Preserving the element of surprise. Holding back certain narratives allows for future opportunities to captivate audiences in new and unexpected ways.

By viewing some stories as assets to be unveiled later, clients can extend the lifecycle of their exhibition content and maintain ongoing visitor engagement. This approach also allows for flexibility in responding to new trends or interests that may arise in the future.

As a project manager in the exhibit design and build industry, your role extends beyond logistics and timelines. You are a storyteller, collaborator, and guide. By helping clients define their main theme, answer key questions about visitor outcomes, and strategically select and edit their stories, you ensure that the exhibition not only informs but also inspires and engages. And by encouraging clients to keep some stories in reserve, you empower them to create a sustainable and evolving narrative experience. In the end, it’s not about telling every story—it’s about telling the right stories in the right way.

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Picture of Daniel Charles Arnold, PMP

Daniel Charles Arnold, PMP

Dan Arnold is a seasoned Senior Project Manager with more than 20 years of experience. A U.S. Navy veteran, Dan brings disciplined leadership, managing teams on a multitude of projects. PMP-certified, Dan excels in high-pressure situations and has a passion for mentoring and innovative problem-solving.

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