What is a Certified Speaking Professional?

What is a CSP?

The Certified Speaking Professional designation, established in 1980, is the speaking industry’s international measure of professional platform skill.  The CSP designation is conferred by the National Speakers Association (NSA) only on those speakers who have earned it by meeting strict qualifying criteria. The letters CSP following a speaker’s name identify that speaker as a speaking professional with a proven track record for understanding and delivering value from the platform.

Why Should You Hire a CSP?

Audience members will assess the success of your meetings based on the relevance of the topics addressed and the caliber and professionalism of the speakers who present them. Even the most relevant topics will go unnoticed if the speakers fail to connect with, and bring their messages to life for, audience members.  Choosing a CSP is one way of maximizing the opportunity meetings provide for inspiring and instructing participants. CSP(s) are speakers who have demonstrated their ability to capture and hold audience members’ attention, bring key topics to life and leave impressions that will lead participants to implement what they’ve heard—and remembered.

How Many CSP(s) Are There?

As of 2004, there were approximately 450 CSP(s). That number represents approximately 12% of the membership of the National Speakers Association and less than 10% of the membership of the International Federation for Professional Speakers.  The small number of professional speakers who have earned the CSP designation speaks to the difficulty of meeting the qualifying criteria.

What Are The Qualifying Criteria?

• Maintain membership in NSA and subscribe to its Code of Professional Ethics
• Serve a minimum of 100 different clients within 5 years
• Present a minimum of 250 professional speaking engagements with this same 5-year period
• Submit testimonial letters from clients served
• Submit professionally prepared promotional materials
• Receive excellent ratings from past clients on professional performance evaluations
• Continue education in the professional speaking field through NSA’s many educational programs