This is the ‘win with stories’ newsletter. Every week, I send an email with a message wrapped in a super short story, one actionable communication tip and a recommendation to help you enhance your storytelling skills.
Bill and Melinda Gates announced their divorce last month. While many are witnessing the repercussions, I am wondering why the media is behaving the way it is. Here’s the story.
Why does Gates pay while Trump gets away?
Gates started Microsoft back in 1976 when he was just 20.
At 31, Gates became the youngest billionaire. But parallel to Gates’ dizzying success was evidence of his Napoleonic ambition to conquer everything.
This resulted in the US Department of Justice lawsuit on monopolistic trade practices. While Gates won against the accusations, thousands believe that Microsoft is not an epitome of corporate goodness.
But it seemed like the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation had succeeded in reinventing the tech billionaire.
That was until Bill and Melinda Gates announced their divorce on 3rd May 2021.
Reports that were earlier ignored, caught on this time around. Gates’ dealings with Epstein, pursuing female colleagues at Microsoft and the conflict of interest in the foundation’s deals, all these were suddenly under the scanner.
Gates might still weather this storm, but it is a storm nonetheless. And it threatens to destroy his carefully crafted ‘superman with spectacles’ image.
That brings us to the ex US president, Donald Trump.
He seems to get away with everything. He lacks grace, does not hide his greed, racism or even casual sexism, yet almost half of the people who voted wanted him back in the Oval office.
What is Trump’s super power?
It’s a weird answer but I think it’s true.
Trump is authentic. But Gates is not, or at least does not seem so at the moment.
People are ready to love a villain too. But at least be a real one.
What’s you take away from this story? Let me know.
You may or may not like Trump, but we could learn this one communication tip from him – creating labels:
Back in 2016, Trump successfully manufactured labels for his opponents and liberal media. The most popular one was ‘Crooked Hillary’ followed by ‘Fake News’, ‘Little Marco’ and ‘Lyin Ted’.
Many of these labels caught on, making it easy to remember the adjectives or key anti-messages Trump wanted people to associate with his opponents.
This links back to defining a core message/idea and communicating it in 3-5 words.
You can communicate positive attributes for your brand using this technique(remember taglines?) or start an internal or external campaign using the technique.
One thing you could watch, listen or read this week:
With all the damning revelations, you may or may not like Bill Gates either, but he is someone who has worked hard on his public speaking skills over the years.
This TED talk of his about mosquitoes is considered a masterstroke. Wait for the a-ha! Moment. Watch it here.
Hope you enjoyed this edition of ‘win with stories’ newsletter. If you have a question about business or personal communication, feel free to reply here or connect with me on Linkedin or Twitter.
One last request – forward this to friends and colleagues who’d find this story and the tips useful. If you received this email from someone and liked it, you can subscribe here.
Cheers.
Sachin.
