Pat Kenny

What actually makes a speech work?

I'm joined now in studio by Derek Mooney, former ministerial advisor and speechwriter, to explore what separates the memorable from the forgettable.

And how did you come across CityWise?

I mean, did your parents hear about it and suggest you go or were you recruited in school for CityWise?

Derek, good morning and welcome.

Morning.

First of all, what do you think of the speeches?

So this was the spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down.

When he says, by Jove...

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So the Astro and the Higgs and the crack, in other words, was on offer.

But it's a kind of an affectation, isn't it?

But part of the package was also, and you better explain to me how CityWise interact with the formal education system to encourage you to focus on things.

I mean, he knows he's being anachronistic when he uses that because that is something the Americans find charming.

Now, what did you make of the subtlety of his messaging?

Because he did talk about a check on executive power, for instance.

This was the way the American Constitution...

was drafted so that there couldn't be a rogue president, even though we have one now.

It was a brave thing to do, wasn't it, to admonish his host?

Now, CityWise itself, will you explain to me its genesis, who started it and why and who funds it?