Microsoft Corp. co-founder and former CEO Bill Gates has shared insights into the art of delivering compelling presentations, highlighting the late Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs‘ natural talent in this area.
What Happened: Gates discussed the importance of storytelling in presentations on the Armchair Expert With Dax Shepard podcast earlier this month.
During the conversation that took place in India, Gates spoke about the role of storytelling in securing government funding for the Gates Foundation‘s initiatives.
“The work we do, the cost to deliver even just say vaccines in Africa, even our foundation, although it’s the largest by foundation standards compared to the cost of actually buying all the vaccines and getting them delivered to just say all the kids in Africa, that would be too much for us,” he said.
Gates added, “So we have to partner with governments who have these aid budgets and convince them, hey, let’s pool money together.”
“And so telling the story is very important. That’s what makes it legitimate for us to get politicians to step up,” the former Microsoft CEO said.
When Shepard praised his speech prowess, Gates said he wouldn’t call himself a natural. “Steve Jobs was a natural, although he would rehearse.” He noted that Jobs’ ability to make his presentations appear spontaneous was part of his genius.
Subscribe to the Benzinga Tech Trends newsletter to get all the latest tech developments delivered to your inbox.
“It was always fun to watch him kind of rehearse because part of his genius was when he would finally do it, he would make it look like he’s just thinking it up right there.”
Why It Matters: In a previous interview, Gates acknowledged Jobs’ unique abilities, including his sense of design and marketing, despite his imperfections.
“I learned a lot from Steve, we were utterly different. I mean, he never wrote a line of code, but his sense of design, marketing, and his intuitive feel for who is a good engineer… Steve was such a unique person, and he could get a lot out of people.”
Jobs’ presentation skills have been a subject of admiration and study for many years. His ability to captivate audiences and convey complex ideas in a simple, compelling manner has been a source of inspiration for many aspiring presenters and business leaders.
Check out more of Benzinga's Consumer Tech coverage by following this link.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo courtesy: Shutterstock and Wikimedia
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Comments
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.
