Browse 82 after dinner speakers and keynote presenters, rated an average 5 out of 5 across 201 reviews from real clients. The list spans sport, business and leadership, broadcasting, adventure and comedy, with most bookings around $370.
An after dinner speaker is booked for a single set piece rather than to run the evening. The speech usually follows the meal and lasts 20 to 45 minutes, so the choice of subject and a speaker's ease in front of a particular audience matter more than the length of their credit list.
After dinner speaking is its own discipline. The audience has eaten, the formal business of the evening is done and the room is at its least attentive, which is why the speakers who do it well treat it as a craft in itself rather than an extension of conference work.
The speech normally comes after the meal and before the rest of the evening, running 20 to 45 minutes. At awards dinners it often follows the presentations; at association and club events it is frequently the main event in its own right. Some speakers will also take questions or stay to meet guests, which is worth agreeing in advance because it changes how long they are on site. Where an evening needs someone to hold the whole running order together, that is a job for a toastmaster or an event host rather than the after dinner speaker.
Most speakers work a defined territory. Sport and adventure suit celebratory dinners where the story carries the room; business, leadership and change are booked for conference and association audiences who expect something to take away; comedy works where the brief is simply to send guests home in a good mood, and shades into what a comedian would deliver. Where the aim is to leave an audience with a message rather than an anecdote, a motivational speaker is usually the closer fit.
Fees run from $100 to $2,100+, with most bookings around $370. The range reflects recognition more than speaking length: a broadcaster or former international competitor commands a premium, while speakers with strong material and less public profile deliver the same 30 minutes for a fraction of it. Travel and overnight accommodation are usually quoted separately, so a fee that looks higher at first can work out level once those are added.
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