🎪 YOUR BOOTH IS A STORY — OR IT'S NOISE 

In this solo episode of Automotive Storytelling, the only podcast examining mobility through storytelling, Stéphane Lagresle, founder of The Storytelling Tribe, draws on years of CES experience, including his most recent visit in January 2026, to break down the five principles that turn a trade show booth from a product catalog into a story visitors will remember and retell.

From IKEA-inspired visitor flows to the art of making your team speak the same language, this episode delivers a practical framework for anyone preparing for CES, IAA, MWC, or any major industry event.

🎯 KEY INSIGHTS

The IKEA Blueprint: Designing Visitor Journeys, Not Floor Plans

Most trade show booths are open spaces where visitors wander aimlessly. Stéphane reveals how applying IKEA's guided flow principle — and a 3-zone model (Attraction → Engagement → Conversion) — creates a narrative arc that builds understanding step by step.

The Building Block Strategy: From Chapters to a Complete Story

Discover why leading with your flagship demo is like showing a movie's final scene first, and how structuring demos as progressive building blocks creates an unforgettable "aha" moment — with real examples from HARMAN and CES 2026.

The Ambassador Effect: Storytelling That Multiplies

Learn why the 20 people visiting your booth actually represent hundreds back at their offices, why 88% of B2B buyers trust personal recommendations above all else, and how to craft a story simple enough to survive the "Monday Morning Test."

💡 PRACTICAL TAKEAWAYS

• Design the journey first: Sketch your visitor path on a whiteboard before touching booth layouts — Entry → Station 1 → Station 2 → Station 3 → Exit. If you can't draw a clear line, neither can your visitors.
• Apply the half-and-half rule: Write down everything you want to communicate. Cross out half. Then cross out half again. What's left is your story. Everything else is noise.
• Run the "What do you do?" drill: Before the show, ask every team member that question and record the answers. The number of different answers is the size of your problem.
• Arm your ambassadors: Give visitors a takeaway tool — a one-pager, a QR code to a 60-second video, a shareable link — so they can retell your story with backup.

🌟 ABOUT YOUR HOST

Stéphane Lagresle brings 15+ years of experience in automotive technology communication. Having worked with Samsung, Harman, and TomTom, and walked countless CES floors, he developed the Automotive-Grade Storytelling™ methodology that bridges engineering excellence with market relevance.

CROSS-REFERENCES

• 🔗 Quick Fix #1: "The Dinner Party Test" — the foundational principle behind making stories retellable (Season 1, Episode 17)
• 🔗 Quick Fix #2: "Escaping the PowerPoint Jail" — the 18-Minute Rule and why less is more (Season 1, Episode 23)

Ready to turn your next trade show booth into a story your visitors will retell?

"Under the Hood: Automotive Storytelling" uncovers the human narratives driving innovation in an industry that impacts lives worldwide. Hosted by Stéphane Lagresle, this podcast explores how the power of storytelling ultimately connects technology to humans.