If you could ask Bill and Melinda Gates one question, what would it be?
I recently had the amazing opportunity to ask Bill and Melinda Gates a question via Twitter and, while they didn’t directly answer the specific question I ask, I was able to to gain incredible insight into how they’re communicating with the public while keep their personal and professional brands in mind.
In this episode, I explain how this opportunity came to be, the question I asked, their answer, and exactly how you can utilize the same tactics the Gates are using in order to make sure your voice aligns with your overall brand and goals.
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Transcript
Hey, hey! It’s Andrea and welcome to the Voice of Influence podcast! So last week, I had something really interesting happened. I’m not sure exactly how to explain it or describe it other than to say that it was sort of those one of those random things that you just sort of happen upon and it turns out to be something really super cool.
That really super cool thing ended up being that I got to ask Bill and Melinda Gates a question on Good Morning America. The reason why I was able to do that is that I was simply on Twitter at the right time. I saw Robin Roberts post something and she asked, you know, “Do you have any questions for Bill and Melinda Gates because their annual letter for the foundation comes out today and we’re asking questions, they’re answering your questions.”
So I thought “Well, sure, I’d love to ask Bill and Melinda Gates some questions.” So I just _____ an answer real quickly and posted it and turns out they accepted my question and they used it on air. What a fun little thing to happen, right?
This is what the question was and the situation. I’ll just explain the whole kind of scenario. Bill and Melinda gates have their foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and this foundation is funded with some of their personal money and some money that others have given them. They take this money as philanthropist and used it to experiment to try to solve kind of global problems, world problems, or human problems that typically aren’t solved by government, industry, or companies, the market.
So they take this money and they spend it in a lot of different kinds of ways. It’s not just spending money; it’s about going out, doing research, talking to actual teachers and asking them what needs to be done. They go out and they go to Africa and they talk to people about, you know, one of their projects when they first got going was around malaria.
They’re sort of ambassadors. They have lots of ideas. They go out and share them and they bring them back. Together, Bill and Melinda Gates make these decisions about how they’re going to use the funds that are available to them to do good work in the world.
Well, every year, they write a letter and just sort of talking about something that they really care about. This year, this was the 10th year, and so they decided to answer 10 of the questions that come up very frequently when they are out and about.
So here are the 10 questions. You can find these at gatesnotes.com. I’m not sure if they have the answers. I just want you to know the questions were asked.
- Why don’t you give more in the United States?
- What do you have to show for the billions you’ve spent on US education?
- Why don’t you give money to fight climate change? (Their answer was “We do,” by the way).
- Are you imposing your values on other cultures, which is interesting?
- Does saving kids’ live lead to overpopulation?
- How are President Trump policies affecting your foundations work?
- Why do you work with corporations?
- Is it fair that you have so much influence? (What an interesting question, and it has an interesting response too, by the way).
- What happens when the two of you disagree? And then finally,
- Why are you really giving your money away? What’s in it for you?
Well, I’ll just say that this is a very interesting letter and the way that they respond to this. They don’t respond together as one voice. Melinda will say something and Bill will say something, and it’s attributed to each of them individually. So it’s really interesting to see how they answer these really difficult questions.
Well, what happened last week, I had not read this letter at this point, and like I said there was this question on Twitter and I just quickly asked, “What are your arguments like and how had they changed over the years?” You know, I think it’s really interesting to see couples doing things together and what is that look like, because very frequently it’s not easy when people get going together in any kind of partnership. In marriage, when we’re taking that marriage to another level of doing or working together in some capacity that can be really difficult, but it can also be incredibly valuable and helpful to a relationship.
So, I was really curious what they would say to that question. It turns out that they answered that question kind of in a report anyway. Here’s the way that they responded. It ended up being Melinda that responded to that question and she said that, first of all they start out with they know their goals. They agree on the big vision of their foundation. But when it comes to the nitty-gritty details, they both have opinions. And what she said was they’re not afraid of a little bit of grist in the conversation.
I have not used that word before but you can guarantee you’re going to hear it from me someday because “grist” I like that word. Anyhow, they’re not afraid of a little bit of that in a conversation because they know that they’re both striving towards those big goals in the end that they both have a mutual respect. They know that the other person is learning more and they’re coming to the table and bringing more to the table that’s important. So, they pay attention to that and in the end make decisions with those big goals in mind.
I thought these answers were interesting in a lot of different levels, because number one, I think my initial response was “Oh gosh, she didn’t really answer how their arguments have changed over the years or that sort of thing.” But as I got to thinking about it, I really realized what a good response this was because in light of their brands, their voice in the world, if you think about it, each one of us has a certain kind of voice in the world.
We have been given gifts, resources, connections, and all sorts of different things that are resources or you could even called them assets to be used to be responsible for. They’re all different for everybody, but you could probably say that somebody who is like Bill and Melinda Gates there’s a financial components to their resources that are available to them.
But there are also these connections that they’ve made over the years and the respect that world leaders have for them. The way that their voice is in the world, it’s one that is humanitarian and desires to, you can tell by the way that they respond to things, they’re going to be very careful about what they share and they will share some personal things.
But they’re not going to share really deep personal things that would distract from their voice in the world and what they’re really here to accomplish. I think that this is very, very important because I’m one who is an advocate for making yourself vulnerable, sharing personal stories; I think those are very important in a way that we can connect with our audiences with the person that we’re talking to, to not be afraid of sharing our weaknesses and that sort of thing.
But at the same time, I think we have to do that in a way that takes into account who it is that we are talking to, what it is that they need from us, what’s actually going to be valuable, or really contribute to them in some way on what that connection really needs to be.
So, if you look at the short interview on Good Morning America that is not a place where you’re going to have an in dept conversation about something like how are your arguments changed over the years. But this is definitely the place; their focuses on, their foundation on what they’ve been accomplishing, and the questions that people have for them which they’re not afraid of, which I found really refreshing and it gives them a chance to connect with the people who are watching this particular program.
So even though it’s not an in dept conversation like if you were in a podcast, if I have the opportunity to interview them on a podcast, that would be a totally different kind of conversation because you’re able to get into some of those deeper questions and allow them to come to a deeper response and just kind of see where that conversation would go.
But in this situation, they had questions lined up a little bit ahead of time and they kind of knew what they’re going to say. I assume that they knew what the questions were ahead of time, and it give them a chance to highlight the things that they wanted to highlight that would be beneficial to this audience in this situation.
OK, so there’s a couple of things going on here that I want to highlight for us as people who wants to also have a voice of influence in the world. There’s a lot that we can learn from this little situation.
So first of all, what is it that you are responsible for? This is going to make a difference in the way that you use your voice in the world, in a public setting. What are those gifts, assets, or talents; those things that you’ve earned or been given, those connections that you forged? What are these things that you have to offer others? What are you working with?
These are very interesting questions because I don’t know that we really think about this super clearly very often and we really need to because there’s so much here. If you could go through and think through the different things that you’ve been given, that you have a responsibility for, or you have a responsibility to then that would give you a better sense of what it is that you’re wanting your voice to sound like in the world.
If I’m responsible for millions or billions of dollars of a foundation money to be used for the good of the world that’s a huge and hefty responsibility. It’s not something that you’re going to want to waste your voice on things that will cause distraction from the things that you’re most called to, those biggest things.
That doesn’t mean you can’t be a little bit vulnerable at times and it’s certainly in this scenario, in these Gates notes, and this letter that they wrote. Bill and Melinda Gates are certainly sharing vulnerably in a sense. They’re being pretty transparent, but at the same time, it’s not something that super raw for them. I think that they thought through these questions ahead of time and decided what they’re going to say, which is good, especially in a public setting like this.
So what are you responsible for and then how do you want your voice to display this responsibility. Your voice is sort of responsible too these things, these assets that you have, that you’ve been given. So how does your voice best represent those things and then how does your voice help you achieve the goals that you set in place.
So, Bill and Melinda Gates, again, they have these big goals or broad ideas that they are attempting to accomplish with their foundation and they know what these are and they agree on these.
This is super important for all of us who are in partnership, who have a business or even in marriage where if you know those big broad goals that you’re shooting towards, it’s going to make all of the other little decisions a little easier to come to consensus on.
So having those big goals in place and being totally onboard with those in the beginning is going to make everything else down the line easier to come to come to consensus on. And then when you go to make decisions about how you’re going to use that voice that’s where you need to start to really start to look at your audience.
Who is in this audience? Are these people that are people you’re wanting to influence in what way? How are you wanting to influence them? And then you want to look at your audience. Who is in this audience?
Whenever I say audience in this podcast, I’m talking about the person that sitting across from you in the table or the big group of people that are listening to your speech or your podcast or whatever it might be. So who is in this particular audience? What is appropriate for this setting? What make sense? What do you want to convey? What is your voice convey in this setting to this particular person or kind of person that still is in line with your bigger broader goals?
Now, here is what I found that my clients have the most troubled with. Two things in particular; number one, really being able to define their voice. What is it that they really want to convey? What is it that they’re really responsible for? What are they passionate about? How will they use their voice in the world?
The way that I see this is that it’s really about the personal brand strategy and strategy is something that is like the big picture. It’s this big picture vision for your voice, for your voice of influence. That’s what a personal brand strategy is. It’s not about how can I get my name out there and what tactics should I use to sell my programs and things like this.
What I talk about and what I see is super important here before you ever get to tactics is what is this strategy, what’s the game plan? What is it that you’re really wanting to accomplish and why? How can you tap deepest part of who you are, tap those as resources for fuel and emotion that I think is fuel that really shares your passion and causes your message to have energy and bring things to life.
How do you decide what that message really is? What is that core message that you’re trying to get a cause? When you are wanting to have a voice of influence in the world, it is so important no matter what you call it that you have a personal brand strategy. You dig into who you are, what you’re all about, why you do what you do even to decide what you’re going to do. What are your values? What is that core message, etc?
These are things that when people come to me this is what they’re most struggling with. They’re struggling with what is my message? What is it that I really see that I do? I have this one thing that I do but I kind of want to try this other thing that I want to do. I’m not really sure if I have the courage to do and I’m not really sure if I have that stamina to do it.
Well, that’s why you look at your personal brand strategy that’s why you look at your passion, your style, your message, or your offerings. What you could offer the world and your plan and your community. When you know these things, when you have a sense of a real deep self-awareness and it’s really not just self-awareness, it’s awareness also of your situation, but a really deep sense of self-awareness, awareness in general.
Then you reflect on that awareness. You bring that awareness to whatever your decision that you’re trying to make or how you’re going to use your voice in the world. You bring the self-awareness to that and then you use it as a filter to decide what you’re going to do next or what you actually want to say. You look at your audience. You look at all those things that are around you, the circumstance bringing the assets or the gifts that you have responsibility for.
You bring those two certain problems in the world and you say “OK, what do I have to contribute to this problem? What is specifically me, not just how do I fit into a role that I see somebody else is playing, but you, how do you do the best version of you? How can you be the best, and I say best maybe that’s not the right word, but the fullest. You know, like striving, of course I’m an idealist.
So, I want people to strive to be the best to the fullest, the version of themselves because I believe that you are created and you’re given these things for a reason. I believe that’s in you for a reason. So, you utilize all these things, some things are innate, some things you’ve gained over the years, or you’ve earned over the years, and your hard-earned wisdom, skills, or knowledge, things that you’ve acquired but then also things that you’re innately good at; your strengths, your talents.
So, how you bring all that to the table as your voice of influence? How do you use your voice or your personal brand? How do you use that voice to convey or to connect your gifts with the need in the world, the actual need in the world? That is the question that comes up over and over again and the reason why I created the Voice of Influence Academy.
So, the Voice of Influence Academy, in that academy, we have a variety of different things that we’re creating. One in particular that we’ve already created that we’re using, every six months, we open up a new coaching program. It’s a group coaching program that is a course with a group coaching component. Every month for six months, there is a general thing that you’re looking to find, whether that be your purpose, your passion, your style, etc, etc; the things that I already mentioned previously.
Each month, you just allow that the material that I gave you, you go through it and then you start to think about it and then you kind of let it simmer as you’re going through your regular life, as you’re continuing to work on your business, or as you’re going to your job, or as you’re parenting your children. You let it simmer and things start to come together.
Well, actually, currently in month four of this particular class, of the Voice of Influence Academy, the personal brand strategy coaching program, and I told them at the beginning, I’m like “You’re going to get a little bit of an idea as we go. You’re going to get a little bit of an idea of each month’s thing and then as you continue to add each category, each month’s module, you’re going to get more clarity on the previous modules.
So once you get through month four, you’re going to be at a point where you have a really good idea about who you are and what your voice is going to be in the world and what you really wanted to be. It’s the best version of itself and it’s so fun because that’s exactly what’s happening. Light bulbs are coming on and passion is being lit in a new fresh way and it is so exciting.
I tell you this because I want you to know that this is something that you can have for yourself whether it’d be through my program which is very systematic, like I said that strategy. I pulled it out together and it’s a very clear path to finding your voice of influence, whether you use my path that I’ve laid out for you and encouraged you through or if you go and you try to figure it out on your own.
Either way, I encourage you to dive in and to go for it because when you get really clear on that, your voice becomes more and more clear, and it reaches further. It becomes a real representation of who you are, your calling, and who you want to be in the world and then it really reaches to people that need it most.
So, I really encourage you to take a look at that and to really think about your own personal brand strategy. But I don’t want to leave today without giving you the opportunity to connect with me especially if you’re interested in the personal brand strategy course.
So, if you’re interested in working with me one-on-one with your personal brand strategy or in a group setting where you have some extra time to let things kind of sit and work through this on your own in a group setting then I encourage you to sign up for my email list.
You can do that by just simply subscribing on my website. There’s a box where you can just subscribe. You can do that there or you can download the Voice of Influence tips and strategies that are also available on my website and that will also get you on to my email list where you will then have the opportunity very soon to start exploring your own personal brand strategy within the context of the personal brand strategy launch.
There will be some free resources in that time that will be beneficial to you and then you may choose to work with me or be part of this program. Just so you know this particular class, this next class that will open up here in April of 2018, it’ll kind of have some extra special thing available that probably won’t be available again in the future.
So, I just want you to know that this is a really great opportunity for you to jump on board if you’re really feeling that desire to know what your voice is in the world and what you want your message to be about, how you’re going to convey this voice of influence, this personal brand of yours in the world to make the most difference that you can make.
So, stop by the show notes at voiceofinfluence.net/44, and make your voice matter more!
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