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One of the problems with malaria is that it shouldn't be a problem.
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It's actually not that hard to protect yourself from getting infected.
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The real problem is that those who are affected by malaria can’t do
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much about it because they can’t afford it while those who could do
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something about it are not affected.
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Which is why they don't really care.
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Now, how do you make someone care for something that they quite likely know a
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lot about, but still don't care about.
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Here's what Bill Gates did when he took the TED stage in 2009.
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He was facing an audience of people who you’d imagine could potentially
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do something about malaria although they were not affected.
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I mean, a ticket to the conference costs at least 5,000 bucks.
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A couple of minutes into his speech, Gates walked over to a table that had
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an empty glass of jar standing on it.
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He stopped.
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“You know, there's no reason only poor people should
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have the experience.” And lifted the glass to let the mosquitoes fly.
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Only to add that the mosquitoes were, of course, not infectious.
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This short moment was stronger than any professionally designed
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Excel chart could have been.
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It was stronger than any photo of a suffering patient or a
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mourning family would have been.
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Because it brought the experience close.
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Gates didn't just speak about the severity of malaria.
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He didn't just show it.
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He let his audience experience the feelings.
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Suddenly, they were affected, at least the kind of, at least for a very brief moment.
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And so he made them care.
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Doing something against malaria wasn't just the generous thing to do
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anymore but the human thing to do.
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The best part is this.
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It didn't cost him a fortune.
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It was not an expensive wow effect.
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It just cost him an idea.
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That's the crucial part here.
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How can you make your audience not only see the destination, but how can you bring
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them closer to the feeling of being there?
