What does CSP—Certified Speaking Professional—mean?
The Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) is an internationally recognized certification for professional speakers. It is awarded by the U.S.-based National Speakers Association (NSA). The CSP stands for proven professionalism, client satisfaction, financial success, and quality on stage.
In 2026, Dr. Nikolai A. Behr was honored by the National Speakers Association as a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP).
A special international distinction: Behr is the only speaker from the European Union in the CSP Class of 2026.
What is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP)?
The CSP is not an award for a single successful presentation, nor is it a public speaking certificate awarded after a seminar.
Anyone who wishes to use the title “Certified Speaking Professional” must demonstrate a track record of success as a professional speaker over a period of several years.
The National Speakers Association summarizes the requirements for a CSP in four areas of professional competence:
Eloquence – The Art of Public Speaking
Professional speakers must convey complex ideas in an understandable way, connect with their audience, and make an impact through their language, voice, body language, and stage presence.
Expertise – Specialized Knowledge
A CSP doesn’t just speak well—he must know what he’s talking about. Technical expertise, personal experience, and the ability to make relevant knowledge accessible to an audience are all part of the professional standard.
Enterprise – Entrepreneurship
Public speaking is also a business. CSPs must demonstrate that they have worked successfully as professional speakers for years and have built a financially viable public speaking business.
Ethics
Professionalism also means reliability and integrity. Applicants commit to upholding professional and ethical standards.
The German Speakers Association describes the CSP as an international quality certification for full-time professional speakers, who must demonstrate at least five years of professionalism, client satisfaction, and financial success. https://germanspeakers.org/awards/zertifizierung-csp/
What are the requirements for the CSP?
The path to becoming a Certified Speaking Professional is a multi-step qualification process.
These include, among other things, documented professional speaking engagements, verified fees and revenue, client reviews, and expert evaluations of stage performances.
According to the published requirements, applicants must, among other things, demonstrate a significant number of qualifying paid performances. In addition, they must submit a video, which experienced CSPs will use to evaluate their professional stage performance. https://germanspeakers.org/awards/zertifizierung-csp/
What matters, then, is not a single big performance. The CSP demonstrates consistency.
Dr. Nikolai A. Behr Will Become a Certified Speaking Professional in 2026
In late July 2026, Dr. Nikolai A. Behr was officially recognized as a Certified Speaking Professional at the National Speakers Association convention in Austin, Texas.
For Behr, this moment was more than just the presentation of a medal:
“The CSP means a lot to me precisely because it isn’t awarded for a single good presentation. What matters most is what you’ve accomplished over the years on stage and for your clients. The fact that I was the only speaker from the European Union to receive this award in 2026 makes this moment especially meaningful to me.”
The only newly designated CSP from the European Union in 2026
The CSP Class of 2026 is an international group.
Among the Certified Speaking Professionals newly certified in 2026, Dr. Nikolai A. Behr is the only speaker from a European Union member state.
In addition to him, another European—Julie Holmes of the United Kingdom—is part of the international CSP class of 2026.
For the Munich-based speaker, this is also a reflection of his increasingly international scope of work. Behr speaks and works with executives and companies in Germany and around the world.
From Munich to the International Stage
Dr. Nikolai A. Behr was born in Munich-Bogenhausen. He attended school first in Halfing in the Chiemgau region and later in Pullach in the Isar Valley. Today he lives in Munich and Antdorf in the Weilheim-Schongau district.
Dr. Nikolai A. Behr is an international keynote speaker, an expert in executive communication, a media trainer, and a crisis communications specialist. For more than 30 years, he has been supporting CEOs, board members, entrepreneurs, and executives in challenging communication situations. According to his official NSA profile, he has already trained and coached more than 2,500 executives and leaders.
Source: NSA CSP Directory Profile
His presentations focus in particular on leadership and communication, AI and leadership, cybersecurity and communication, as well as fake news and deepfakes—and the question of how leaders can provide direction in times of technological and societal change.
“Technology can take on more and more of our tasks. But it cannot relieve us of our responsibility. Especially in the age of AI, credible communication therefore becomes a crucial leadership task.”
What does Nikolai Behr stand for as a CSP and keynote speaker?
A CSP title alone does not make for a compelling keynote. What matters most is the experience a speaker brings to the stage and how that experience changes the audience’s understanding, decisions, or actions afterward.
Nikolai Behr combines his many years of experience in media, entrepreneurship, and strategic communication with the current challenges facing executives. His presentations address, among other things, three key questions:
How Do You Lead People in the Age of Artificial Intelligence?
AI is transforming decision-making processes, communication, and organizations. Leadership must therefore redefine what tasks machines can take over—and what responsibilities humans will continue to bear.
How do leaders communicate credibly?
Especially under pressure, communication determines whether people trust a leader and are willing to follow her.
How do companies protect themselves against deepfakes, fake news, and cyber manipulation?
When voices, images, and videos can be manipulated to look deceptively real, cybersecurity also becomes a matter of communication and leadership.
Behr also addresses this trend as the editor of the book “We Are Fake! – How the Misuse of AI, Fake News, and Deepfakes Threaten the Economy and Society.”
Is the CSP the goal—or just the beginning?
For Nikolai Behr, the CSP is not the end of his speaking career. The National Speakers Association also explicitly states that the designation is not a “finish line.” CSPs are expected to continue developing their programs, adapt to new technologies and the changing expectations of their audiences, and pass on their knowledge to other speakers.
“That’s exactly what I like about the CSP. The medal doesn’t say, ‘You’re done now.’ It’s more like, ‘You’ve reached a professional standard—now you have to prove that you can maintain it.’”
What does CSP mean for event organizers?
For event organizers, the Certified Speaking Professional designation is, above all, a mark of quality.
For event organizers, the Certified Speaking Professional designation is, above all, a mark of quality.
This is particularly relevant for companies looking for an experienced, professional speaker for board meetings, executive conferences, international conventions, or client events.
The CSP does not replace the crucial question: Is the speaker a good fit for our audience and our goals? But it does provide independent evidence that the speaker has demonstrably mastered the professional aspects of the public speaking business.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP)
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Dr. Nikolai A. Behr speaks in German and English on leadership and communication, AI and leadership, as well as cybersecurity, deepfakes, and strategic communication.