Change Your Pants – A Funny Story that Inspired 250 Execs

In March of 2009, I met Seb Elsworth of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO). It was about 4 pm at a reception at the Great Ideas Conference (from ASAE). Seb is the director of strategy for ACEVO, a very important association in the UK. They bring together the senior leadership of charities to discuss strategy and tactics on a variety of topics such as messaging, volunteerism, government support, grants, programs, fundraising, publicity, board of directors, and the list goes on.

Our serendipitous meeting included of course, serendipitous conversation. By the time the night was over, I agreed to present a business/organizational storytelling keynote in London. The program, Leaders to the Power of Storytelling (or Storytelling for Leaders).

Storytelling for Leaders Keynote

My keynote was titled, Leaders to the Power of Story:  How What You Say Significantly Impacts Organisational Performance. During the talk, I shared several important concepts. One of the big ones was how different people can have different interpretations of words and messages.

I share a personal story where I unknowingly embarrassed myself by asking several men about their “pants.” I didn’t know at the time of the question, they were from the UK. My questions about their pants prompted them to turn a bit red and become embarrassed. I was utterly clueless as to the cultural differences related to work choices. Indeed, to them, I was asking questions about their underwear. Here I am, thinking my questions were light-hearted and innocuous.

A fun, light-hearted conversation with them ensued. I soon learned the word “pants” to the British, which generally means underwear. Trousers are used for what we refer to as pants in the United States.

“Do you have any pants in your messaging?“

Do You Have Any “Pants” In Your Messaging?

I then brought the concept back to the executives in the audience. I asked them a powerful question, phrased in a metaphor. “Do you have any pants in your messaging?” followed by a long and dramatic pause. I wanted this to really, really sink in. You could hear a pin drop. The room of ~250 was so quiet.

It’s a question we get all the time, phrased something like, “Do our messages resonate with our target audiences?” To make your messages stick, you have to stand out. Be memorable and catchy.

And that’s what I did. I rephrased the age-old issue of resonating with our audiences with a memorable, catchy, and powerful phrase, what we call your Better Tomorrow Message ™ at The Chief Storyteller ^®.

After saying, “Do you have any pants in your messaging?” I followed with several questions. “Are there words and phrases you know of or think might be misunderstood by your target audiences? Are there words, phrases, and visuals not generating the activity you planned for? If you answered either with even a tiny ‘yes,’ you should be revising your communication. Change your pants.”

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It was another fantastic international experience. Thank you, Seb, for the honor. Thank you to Sir Stephen Bubb, Executive Director of ACEVO, for a fantastic event, put on by a fantastic team.

Read the subsequent blog entry, “Wow! Tell Me More – An Article for United Kingdom Charities,” which was my article published in the ACEVO Network Magazine.

Invite Ira Koretsky to your conference, association, retreat, or training events. Contact him today to:

• Learn how to craft insightful messages
• Learn how to captivate audiences with your stories
• Learn how to inspire action with clear messages

Find below some of my favorite activities and places visited while in London.