Professional Speaker Associations
Our recent interview with Kristin Arnold, President of the National Speakers Association, led me to several questions:
- How many professional speaker associations exist?
- Where are they?
- How long have they been around?
- How many members do they have?
Do you know the answers? Read on!
Global Speakers Federation
The Global Speakers Federation (GSF) is a loosely affiliated network of professional speaker associations around the world.
It launched in 1998 with member federations from four countries: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. The GSF now counts 10 full member federations, one candidate federation, and one more federation which is forming. The countries represented are shown in the map below in red.
The GSF leadership team includes an executive council, as well as representatives from the member federations.
Most of the member federations are relatively young, with 8 having formed in the last decade, and the oldest going back just 37 years. The total individual membership is just 5780 speakers. I suspect (but have no evidence) that this is just a small fraction of the number of professional speakers worldwide. Nonetheless, there appears to be rapid growth, and we may see these numbers rise considerably in the next few years.
| Country | Short Name | Full Name | Founded | Members |
| Australia | NSAA | National Speakers Association Australia | 1987 | 500 |
| Canada | CAPS | Canadian Association of Professional Speakers | 1997 | 570 |
| France (candidate) | FPSA | French Professional Speakers Association | 2008 | 60 |
| Germany, Austria, Switzerland | GSA | German Speakers Association | 2005 | 500 |
| Malaysia | MAPS | Malaysian Association of Professional Speakers | 2001 | 210 |
| Middle East (in formation) | PSAME | Professional Speakers Association – Middle East | 2007 | 55 |
| Netherlands | PSAH | Professional Speakers Association Holland | 2006 | 70 |
| New Zealand | NSANZ | National Speakers Association of New Zealand | 1994 | 122 |
| Singapore | APSS | Asia Professional Speakers Singapore | 2003 | 85 |
| South Africa | PSASA | Professional Speakers Association of Southern Africa | 2002 | 220 |
| United States | NSA (NSAUS) | National Speakers Association | 1973 | 3150 |
| United Kingdom | PSA (PSAUK) | Professional Speaking Association | 2000 | 238 |
Other Professional Speaker Associations
Others? Please let me know.
Is Your Country Represented?
Is there a professional speaker association in your country?
If so, have you ever investigated the resources that are available to you in growing your speaking skills and business opportunities?
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Tom's RSS Feed @tomsrsfeeds — Sep 2nd, 2010
Professional Speaker Associations http://bit.ly/d36kAZ
Alltop @alltop_speaking — Sep 2nd, 2010
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Wendy Kier @bblc — Sep 2nd, 2010
Does your country have a Professional Speaker Association? Find out here: http://bit.ly/dzvMZ0 > via 6minutes
wendy kier @womencoaching — Sep 2nd, 2010
Does your country have a Professional Speaker Association? Find out here: http://bit.ly/dzvMZ0 > via 6minutes
wendy kier @biz_mechanic — Sep 2nd, 2010
Does your country have a Professional Speaker Association? Find out here: http://bit.ly/dzvMZ0 > via 6minutes
Adam Sicinski @speakingguru — Sep 2nd, 2010
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patriciasinglet @patriciasinglet — Sep 2nd, 2010
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sachinlabde @sachinlabde — Sep 4th, 2010
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Gina Carr @ginacarr — Aug 30th, 2011
RT @6minutes Professional Speaker Associations – How many are there? http://t.co/NTJq9ZT
Kirstie O'Sullivan @kirstieoh — Sep 8th, 2011
Is there a professional speaker's organisation in your country? via @sixminutes http://ow.ly/6okFh