They have to be able to talk about us without us. What this phrase means, in its simplest form, is that you have to tell a story so clear, so concise, so memorable and evocative that people can repeat it for you even after you’ve left the room.

• ground it in your values
• start with the principle
• know what makes you unique: There can’t be platitudes or generalities or vague assertions as a core part of the message
• be evocative: avoid details and pick a small subset of the most emotionally gripping parts of your story. You'll have time to go in-depth later when people are interested.
• enemies become friends: in a business or commercial context, customers can berely keep straight the difference between two competitors. What do we have in common, because those folks might not have sworn allegiance, but but they may have chosen out of convenience.
• find joyce in repetition: a disciplined, collaborative, evocative message becomes a mantra for a community
• don't obsess over exact wording: as long as it's not a "telephone game", it's a win