How the world’s most influential people communicate and influence

Every January, the world’s most influential people gather on the snowy peaks of Davos to discuss the most pressing global issues. This is a masterclass in the art of communication and influence.

The World Economic Forum’s flagship meeting will be held from January 19th to 23rd and will be attended by US President Donald Trump, billionaire Bill Gates, Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang spoke and led a panel discussion.

This year’s theme was “Spirit of Dialogue,” as geopolitical uncertainty and international trade tensions took center stage in the conversation.

Among the most important topics on the agenda were President Trump’s push to take ownership of Greenland, an Arctic territory, and the impact of artificial intelligence on the labor market.

Reactions from national leaders and CEOs were broadcast live and then distilled into 10-second soundbites and TikTok fan edits that were consumed around the world and sparked immediate criticism.

In a conversation with CNBC, René Carayol, a leadership coach to Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 executives and global leaders, analyzed what the most effective communicators did at this year’s World Economic Forum.

Mr. Karayol has worked with Nelson Mandela, former Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. apple CEO Tim Cook and many others spoke candidly about the key elements of powerful public speaking and communication.

“The two big things we always coach are performance, not content. Second, it’s not what you say, but how you say it. That’s the most powerful thing. Stop trying to remember words and learn performance,” Carayol said.

Carayol said French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney were “two masterclasses” in public speaking, leadership and influence.

President Macron delivered a special speech at Davos on Tuesday, hitting back at “bullies” in a tough speech after President Trump renewed his threat of tariffs on Europe and a 200% tax on French wine.

The French leader warned of a world “without rules” where international law would be ignored and called for global cooperation to tackle instability. Because of an eye infection, he wore blue aviator-style sunglasses, which gave Macron’s presentation a “Tom Cruise” feel, Carayol said.

“He looked like a Marvel superhero. He stood tall and erect and spoke out,” Carayol said.

His posture was “upright, looking up, and looking strong,” giving him an aura of being “unafraid, unapologetic, and providing the backbone for all of Europe.”

Carney delivered a similar message to Macron in his speech at the WEF on Tuesday, saying the world’s “middle powers” must unite against coercion from the world’s biggest powers.

“Great powers have begun to use economic integration as a weapon. Tariffs are leverage, financial infrastructure is coercion, and supply chains are vulnerabilities that can be exploited,” Carney said.

Carayol called Carney’s speech “excellent,” calling him calm, authoritative, thoughtful and studious.

Carney’s facial expressions dominated much of the conversation, as he remained “extremely serious and solemn” throughout his speech and never broke a smile. He also used intonation to create dignity.

“He was serious…he wanted the world to know he wasn’t going easy on Trump by not mentioning Trump at all,” Carayol said. “Mr Macron was someone you wanted to leave with and remember, and Mr Carney was someone you respected.”

Although Trump is generally a good speaker, Carayol said Wednesday’s speech was a rambling one.

“Trump was going off script and rambling all throughout the show, but there was no real meaning to it because he was doing his ‘octopus’ thing. Trump is always scared when someone confronts him.” “He was a mess and deflated.”

But Carayol noted that Trump is normally “intelligent” and that “when he’s at his best…I don’t agree with what he says, but I agree with the way he says it.”

“He’s at his best when he’s in a competitive environment, so when he ran for president, he slaughtered all his opponents,” Carayol said, looking back to the 2024 US presidential election.

Andrew Brodsky, a business professor at the University of Texas and author of PING: The Secret to Successful Communication, says business leaders may communicate differently than heads of state because CEOs need to be more aware of how their words affect their company’s stock price, but world leaders can use more powerful rhetoric.

“World leaders often have other communication tools at their disposal because they don’t have to worry about stock prices,” Brodsky told CNBC. “Notably, world leaders have adopted strategies that use negative emotions such as anger or highlight potential existential threats to their countries’ futures to motivate their populations.”

Conversely, if a tech company’s CEO “expresses negative sentiment or becomes fixated on risks” towards technologies such as AI, their company’s stock price may be affected or their staff may lose faith in the company and leave.

Instead, Brodsky emphasized that one of the best communication styles in leadership is to use “images, metaphors, and stories” to share your vision with your audience.

For example, when Satya Nadella discussed advances in AI at this week’s WEF, he compared it to the transformative situation when PCs were first introduced and even mentioned that AI’s impact is “10x, 100x” that.

“Rather than emphasizing technical aspects, Mr. Nadella used simple metaphors that anyone could understand to communicate his vision for the future of AI,” Brodsky said.

Additionally, Jensen Huang was asked whether AI would create more or less jobs, and instead of using statistics, he told a story about how AI actually created more jobs in the radiology industry.

“Rather than relying on high-level, cross-industry statistics, Mr. Huang was able to use a story about a radiologist to demonstrate the positive impact of AI. Using the story, he was able to make what he was saying feel more concrete and meaningful to his audience in a way that statistics alone could never do,” Brodsky said.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates also stood out during the panel discussion, mostly maintaining eye contact with the audience while taking questions from the interviewer and other panelists.

“This seemingly small choice gave the impression that Mr. Gates was addressing the audience directly and drawing them into the conversation,” Brodsky added.

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