Talk ain’t cheap

According to a speaker contract leaked to the press, Giuliani's diva-like demands include a private jet which "MUST BE a Gulfstream IV or bigger" and a two-bedroom hotel suite flanked by rooms for his security team. He also requires a "king-sized bed, a balcony and a view". Of what, his contract doesn't say.

Politican-turned-tree hugger Al Gore's leaked contract also reveals some interesting tidbits. Any vehicle used to drive him, for instance, "will be a sedan, NOT an SUV" while his $100,000-plus fee doesn't get you out of buying first-class plane tickets and accommodation for him and his entourage.

Even the tanking economy has had little impact on the earning potential of top-strata speakers. Last week it emerged Tony Blair had earned $587,000 for two half-hour speeches in the Philippines. More than 2,000 delegates paid up to $510 a ticket to hear Blair's oratory, which included sharp one-liners such as "politics really matters, but a lot of what goes on is not great" and "religion [can be] a source of inspiration, or an excuse for evil".

A Washington insider described Blair, who has a two-year waiting list for engagements, as the "ultimate catch". "He can basically name his fee," she said. "His marketability is incredibly high."

But lesser luminaries are tightening their belts. JLA's Lee says that most of his clients are now willing to be "flexible" with their fees. The industry overall has seen a 15 percent drop in business as blue chip players - previously the biggest source of speaker bucks - rein in their budgets.

"Very few organisations want to run the risk of looking extravagant," Lee says. "The banking sector in particular does not want to be seen to be paying vast fees for speakers. A year ago, it was about impressing the audience. Now it's a less showy approach."

Unsurprisingly, corporate groups are newly keen to hear well-known people expound on the economy.

"We are selling four times as many people speaking on the economy, as we were a year ago," Lee says.

British politician Norman Lamont, who was chancellor of the exchequer in the last recession, is one such speaker enjoying a boom in bookings. Which, as Lee observes, "is very interesting, remembering how unpopular he was at the time".

Still, those for whom dinner demand falls can take comfort - any failures will make great fodder for future bookings. Part of the allure of after-dinner speaking is that career success isn't a pre-requisite. On the contrary, setbacks sell.

Gerald Ratner, former chief executive of his family jewellery firm, Ratners, is a case in point. In 1991 he unravelled three decades of corporate success in 45 minutes when, during a legendary speech to the Institute of Directors, he called his firm's stock "crap" and said a prawn sandwich would last longer than some of its earrings.

The gaffe wiped $700,000 off the firm's value, saw him fired, and led to the term ‘doing a Ratner' being immortalised as a catchphrase for corporate blunders.

Ratner has since returned to the scene of the crime, and now rakes in thousands peddling the tale of his revival to packed conference groups.

"I am in demand to make speeches, but you can take my tips with a pinch of salt," he admits.

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