Not long after the Brexit vote, I was invited to a private press event with Lord Dobbs (aka Michael Dobbs, author of the original novel House of Cards). We discussed, among other things, how to give a truly memorable speech. He, having worked close-up with former PM Margaret Thatcher, had fascinating things to say on the subject. This article, “The essence of the memorable speech”, was originally published in Professional Manager, the official Chartered Management Institute magazine.