How Bill Gates Radically Transformed His Public Speaking And Communication Skills

Bill Gates has returned to the company he co-founded, serving as product and technology advisor to newly appointed Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella. In this new position, the public might see a very different communicator than the leader who left his day-to-day role at Microsoft in 2006. I’ve watched Gates very closely as he’s transformed himself into a persuasive communicator who can explain complex subjects clearly and simply.

Beginning in 2006 when Bill Gates announced he would focus most of his time on philanthropy through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, he also began to think seriously about how to communicate the complex problems the foundation was trying to solve (extreme poverty, childhood deaths, global healthcare) in simple ways that most people could understand. Gates knew it would be nearly impossible to encourage stakeholders to take action—or donate their wealth—if he failed to grab their attention and to persuade them to sacrifice for the greater good.

For example, every year Bill and Melinda Gates write a letter focusing on the big issues of poverty, foreign aid, and philanthropy. The title of the 2014 letter: 3 Myths That Block Progress For The Poor. Regular readers of my column know that I’m a big fan of  “The rule of three.” Three is the most powerful number in communication theory. There’s a reason why Goldilocks saw three bears and why there are three “unalienable rights” in the Declaration of Independence. Three is substantial enough to support an argument and short enough to remember.

Instead of overwhelming people with too much information, Gates chose three myths to dispel in the newsletter. They were:

Myth #1: Poor countries are doomed to stay poor.

Myth #2: Foreign aid is a big waste.

Myth #3: Saving lives leads to overpopulation.

The approach worked and garnered millions of views on television and social media. For example, nearly every interviewer opened the conversation with the list.

Jimmy Fallon: “In the letter you debunk three myths. First, you say that poor countries are doomed to stay poor…”

Joe Scarborough, MSNBC: “We’re talking about three myths. What’s the first one?”

Charlie Rose, CBS Morning News: “Bill Gates has three myths he says blocks help to the world’s poorest people.”

Most of the headlines on blogs and in newspapers also chose to highlight the three myths. For example,

TIME Magazine: Bill Gates Talks To Time About The Three Myths of Global Aid

The Wall Street Journal: Bill and Melinda Gates On Top 3 Myths of Poverty

The foundation’s letter appears online. The website contains a remarkable video that you would have never seen from the Bill Gates who ran Microsoft. In this short, two-minute video, Bill Gates uses old school technology—even older than PowerPoint—to describe how the way the world has improved since 1960. Gates uses nothing more than simple circle drawings on a white notepad. Great communicators understand one fundamental rule of persuasion – complex ideas must be communicated simply.

Release the mosquitoes! The best examples of Gates’ new and improved style can be seen on TED (Technology/Entertainment/Design) is a series of conferences where the best and brightest are invited to share their ideas with other bright people. The presentations are captured on line and serve as instructive case studies for those who want to transform their public speaking and presentation skills.

In 2009 Gates delivered this TED presentation on the topic of malaria in third world countries. "Malaria, of course, is transmitted by mosquitoes," Gates said as he opened a glass jar. "I brought some here so you can experience this. I'll let these roam around the auditorium. There's no reason why only poor people should have the experience!" Gates then made it clear that the mosquitoes were not infected, but the stunt grabbed the attention of his listeners. Gates had drawn the audience into the conversation and they knew it.

The stunt worked so well that when Gates delivered another TED talk the following year on the topic of solving the world’s energy crisis, he brought fireflies as an example of one of the many gimmicks that people have offered as solutions. He said,

Now, I thought, ‘How could I really capture this?’ Is there some kind of natural illustration, some demonstration that would grab people's imagination here?’ I thought back to a year ago when I brought mosquitos, and somehow people enjoyed that. (Laughter) It really got them involved in the idea of, you know, there are people who live with mosquitos. So, with energy, all I could come up with is this. I decided that releasing fireflies would be my contribution to the environment here this year. So here we have some natural fireflies…

Of course I’m not suggesting that you release insects at your next presentation, but I am encouraging you to elicit a surprise, what I call a “jaw-dropping moment.” The jaw-dropper might include a personal story, an intriguing video, an unusual prop or demonstration. The brain cannot ignore novelty. The most compelling presentations surprise the audience with new information or information packaged in a fresh, unexpected way.

Use pictures instead of words. In his global warming presentation titled, Innovating To Zero, Gates used image-rich slides that represented a radical departure from the cluttered PowerPoint slides seen in nearly every conference in America. The slides Gates created for Innovating to Zero contain mostly photographs and very few words. The average PowerPoint slide has 40 words. Gates didn’t reach 40 words until his 15th slide! On Gates’ first slide the audience saw a photograph of poor children in a small African village. “Energy and climate are extremely important to these people. In fact, more important than to anyone else on the planet,” he began.

This technique is called picture superiority. Simply put, people tend to remember pictures better than they remember words alone. The best presentations include a balance of words and pictures.

For example, Gates explained global warming in seven seconds and his slide was remarkably simple. He said, “CO2 gets emitted. That leads to a temperature increase and that temperature increase leads to some very negative effects.” His slide contained the simple formula over an image of a dry landscape:

CO2 - temperature increase - negative effects

Gates realizes that to inform, educate, and inspire, he must be able to address complex problems in a simple, visual, and compelling style. Although his new role as Nadella’s advisor might not give him the opportunity to be as public as Microsoft’s CEO, it will be interesting to see how Gates transfers his presentation skills to tackle the big technology issues Microsoft tries to solve.

Carmine Gallo is the communications coach for the world’s most admired brands. He is a popular keynote speaker and author of several books, including Talk Like TED, which reveals the 9 public-speaking secrets of the world’s top minds. Carmine Gallo is an independent, objective communication expert not affiliated with TED Conferences, LLC. Sign up for Carmine’s newsletter and follow him on Facebook or Twitter.