Speaking fee

A speaking fee is payment awarded to an individual for speaking at a public event. Usually, speaking fees do not correlate with oratorical talent but are awarded on the basis of celebrity and the access thus provided. High speaking fees, in corporate America, are a way of disguising impropriety by dressing a bribe as repayment for a service. Politicians, subjected to more public scrutiny, usually do not collect speaking fees while in public office, but can collect enormous speaking fees after leaving politics.