After Dinner Speakers

Why book an after-dinner speaker?

An after-dinner speaker can add energy and entertainment to corporate events and awards dinners. A great speaker can capture the room and bring guests together through a shared experience. We often speak to clients who still refer to the best speakers they heard at events years ago, which says a lot about the impact a great speech can have.

Despite the name, an after-dinner speaker doesn’t always need to speak after dinner. From our experience, speakers can work brilliantly before dinner or between courses – it all depends on your audience, venue and running order. And there’s no single style of after-dinner speech either. One event might call for plenty of laughter, another an extraordinary personal story, while another might benefit from expert insight into politics, business or current affairs. That variety is one of the reasons we love this type of event – there are so many different ways to engage a room.

How to Choose the Right After-Dinner Speaker

Choosing the right after-dinner speaker starts with understanding your audience and what you want them to bring to the evening. In our experience, if you’re looking to sell tables or boost attendance, a celebrity or recognisable name can be a real draw, and many are fantastic storytellers too. But a big name isn’t essential for a brilliant after-dinner speech. Some of the most engaging speakers we’ve heard don’t have a huge public profile, but have incredible stories to tell.

The more you can tell us about your event, the better our recommendations will be. Once we understand your audience, budget and what matters most to you – whether that’s profile, storytelling, humour, personality or a connection with your guests – we can put together a range of after-dinner speakers.

With over 20 years’ experience booking after-dinner speakers, we know what works in the room. We’ll give you straightforward advice, talk you through the options and help you choose a speaker with confidence.

After-Dinner Speaker, Comedian or Awards Host: What’s the Difference?

The easiest way to choose is to think about the role you need them to play at your event.

• Choose an after-dinner speaker if you want engaging stories or insight into a specific subject. These often draw on experiences from sport, politics or an extraordinary personal story.
• Choose a comedian if the main aim is to make your guests laugh. Their performance will be more focused on comedy and entertainment than sharing a personal or professional story.
• Choose an awards host if you need someone to run the evening, introduce awards and speakers and keep everything to time.

There can be plenty of crossover. Some comedians are brilliant awards hosts, while many presenters and well-known personalities can host an event and deliver an after-dinner speech. We regularly help clients work out which format will work best, and sometimes one person can successfully do more than one role.

Can’t See Who You’re After?

If you already have a particular speaker in mind and can’t see them listed, just ask. We can contact them on your behalf and find out about their availability and fees. 

If you don’t have a name in mind and you can’t see anyone who quite fits what you’re looking for,  that’s where we can help too. Tell us about your event, audience, budget and what you’d like the speaker to achieve, and we’ll research the market on your behalf. We’re not limited to the speakers on our website, so we can look further afield to find people who genuinely fit the brief. If your first choice is beyond your budget, we can also suggest alternatives who offer a similar style or expertise at a different price point.

After-Dinner Speaker FAQs

How much does an after-dinner speaker cost?

After-dinner speaker fees vary considerably depending on their profile, experience and demand. As a guide, fees can start from around £2,000, with many well-known speakers falling within the £5,000–£25,000 range. Internationally recognised names and celebrities can command fees of £100,000 or more. Whatever your budget, we’re happy to work with you and explore what’s realistically available. 

What if my budget doesn’t stretch to the speaker I had in mind?

Tell us who you were hoping to book and what attracted you to them. It might be their story, humour, profile, background or subject matter. We can use that to suggest other speakers who offer some of those same qualities at a different price point. Some of the best after-dinner speakers we’ve seen aren’t household names, so a smaller budget doesn’t necessarily mean compromising on the experience for your guests.

How do I book an after-dinner speaker?

Start by telling us about your event, including the date, location, audience, budget and what you’re hoping the speaker will bring to the evening. We’ll recommend suitable speakers and provide fees and information about why they’re a good fit. Once you’ve chosen your preferred speaker, we’ll take care of the booking and contracts, and work with you and the speaker in the lead-up to the event to make sure everyone knows what to expect.

What happens if our speaker becomes unavailable close to the event?

This is where working with an agency provides real peace of mind for event planners. It’s unusual, but very occasionally illness, travel disruption or unforeseen circumstances mean a speaker can no longer attend. If that happens, we will immediately start looking at the best available alternatives, taking your original brief and budget into account. With an extensive network of speakers and industry contacts to call upon, we can move quickly to explore suitable replacements. Having an agency involved means you have someone who already understands your event and can help find a solution quickly.

Does an after-dinner speaker have to speak after dinner?

No. Despite the name, an after-dinner speaker doesn’t necessarily have to appear after the meal. We’ve seen speakers work brilliantly before dinner, between courses and at other points in the running order. The best timing depends on your venue, audience and plans for the evening. Tell us how your event is structured and we can advise on where we think the speaker will work best.

And if it’s an after-lunch speaker you’re looking for, don’t worry – we do those too! 

How long does an after-dinner speech usually last?

Most after-dinner speeches last around 30–45 minutes, sometimes followed by audience questions. We generally find this is long enough to tell a great story and keep the room engaged. The best length will depend on your running order and audience, and we can advise on timings based on how the rest of your evening is structured.

Can an after-dinner speech be tailored to our event or company?

Yes, although the level and type of tailoring varies from speaker to speaker. Some speakers have a core speech but can focus on the parts of their story that best resonate with your audience or the theme of your event. Others offer much more tailored content – for example, we’ve arranged for political speakers to shape their talk around a specific industry, looking at what’s happening in the world at the time and what it could mean for that particular audience. We’ll establish what you need before booking and make sure the speaker understands the brief, usually with a briefing call ahead of the event where appropriate.