Speaking Engagements
Nicholas Kralev speaks on three main subjects: diplomacy and international affairs; media and journalism; global travel. Below are some of his most recent topics, followed by some of his previous engagements. If you’d like to invite him to speak at your event, please click below.
INVITE NICHOLAS
The Shifting Role and Impact of Diplomacy in a World in Disarray
By definition, diplomacy brings people together to manage relationships and resolve disputes. In a world in disarray, it becomes humanity’s best hope for avoiding conflict, bringing back order and securing a better future. In this presentation, Kralev addresses the steps governments around the world, as well as the international community as a whole, must take to give diplomacy its rightful recognition as a true profession, complete with all necessary resources and tools. He also talks about how the work of diplomats has changed in the 21st century, and how smart, persistent and effective diplomacy can contribute directly to a nation’s security and prosperity, while promoting global stability in the process.
Kralev is the founding executive director of the Washington International Diplomatic Academy, whose work has taken him to 99 countries. He is the author of America’s Other Army: The U.S. Foreign Service and 21st-Century Diplomacy and Diplomats in the Trenches: Profiles of U.S. Foreign Service Officers.
WORKSHOPS
Negotiation in the Time of Social Distancing
Negotiation is one of the most social activities, and success is usually achieved through face-to-face interactions. Many factors beyond proximity and talking are decisive, including eye contact, facial expressions, body language and even distractions. The thorniest disagreements needed to seal a deal are often worked out not in the main room, but in greater seclusion between the main players. The COVID-19 crisis has made all of that impossible, and many of the social-distancing practices businesses have been observing will be the new normal for some time to come. Even when travel resumes, many companies are unlikely to spend the same resources to send someone thousands of miles away.
In this interactive session, Nicholas Kralev shares strategies and tactics about negotiating in the time of social distancing, communicating with images on a computer screen and contending with technical problems. The session includes a negotiation exercise.
Global Government Affairs in the Time of COVID-19
If your company works with governments in foreign countries, it won’t be business as usual for the foreseeable future. In-person meetings and other face-to-face interactions will be rare, even after there is a COVID-19 treatment or vaccine. Foreign travel is likely to be very limited for a long time. In this interactive session, Nicholas Kralev shares strategies and tactics about working with and influencing national and local governments in countries around the world in the time of social distancing. The session includes an exercise during which participants will practice using various tools to achieve specific business objectives.
Business Travel Amid a Pandemic
Travel has been decimated worldwide by the COVID-19 pandemic. Even after the economy reopens, business travel will be very different for years from what it was before. In this interactive session, Nicholas Kralev shares his expectations about the state of the airline industry in the next few years, as well as strategies on how to navigate it and how to adapt corporate travel policies. The session includes an interactive portion, during which Kralev offers specific advice to participants on their particular challenges and travel practices, as well as on how best to manage previously booked travel that was canceled because of COVID-19.
Kralev is the author of Decoding Air Travel: A Guide to Saving on Airfare and Flying in Luxury, which climbed to 80th place on Amazon’s overall bestseller list. He has flown more than 2.5 million miles and visited 99 countries.
Previous Engagements
2020
Houston, Texas
January 15-16
World Affairs Council
University of St. Thomas
Muscat, Oman
February 4-6
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
U.S. Embassy
Sultan Qaboos University
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
February 9
American University of Sharjah
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
February 9
American University in Dubai
February 20-21
University of Wisconsin
Marquette University
Albuquerque, New Mexico
February 26
World Affairs Council
Austin, Texas
February 27-28
World Affairs Council
St. Edwards University
Missoula, Montana
March 10
World Affairs Council
University of Montana
2019
Paris, France
October 17
Paris-Est Créteil University
Sorbonne-Nouvelle
Lille, France
October 18
Université de Lille
Sciences-Po
October 21-24
American Chamber of Commerce
Eastern Europe Study Center
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
U.S. Embassy
Kaunas, Lithuania
October 23
Vytautas Magnus University
Kaunas Technical University
2018
Washington, DC
June 28, July 19, August 4
The Smithsonian Institution
Tokyo, Japan
November 6
American Center Japan
Nagoya, Japan
November 7
University of Nagoya
Hong Kong
November 15
Hong Kong Baptist University
Hong Kong University
November 16
Education University
Chinese University of Hong Kong
2017
March 28-29
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Foundation for Strategic and International Studies
Institute of Public Affairs
U.S. Embassy
Ilia State University
Sofia, Bulgaria
April 4
American Corner @ City Library
U.S. Embassy
Washington, DC
May 31
DACOR
Munich, Germany
October 10
Center for Applied Policy Research
Amerika Haus
October 11
University of Mannheim
Erfurt, Germany
October 13
University of Erfurt
Berlin, Germany
October 26
U.S. Embassy
Vienna, Austria
October 30
University of Vienna
U.S. Embassy
America Haus
2016
January 21
World Affairs Council
Chicago, IL
January 29
Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Albuquerque, NM
June 14
Committee on Foreign Relations
Washington, DC
October 25
U.S. Department of State
Copenhagen, Denmark
October 26-27
Copenhagen University
U.S. Embassy
Danish Institute for International Studies
Roskilde, Denmark
October 28
Roskilde University
Lisbon, Portugal
November 2
American Chamber of Commerce
November 3
University of Coimbra
Aveido, Portugal
November 3
University of Aveido
Porto, Portugal
November 4
University of Porto
Braga, Portugal
November 4
University of Minho
Lisbon, Portugal
November 7-9
New University of Lisbon
University of Lisbon
Web Summit
U.S. Embassy
University of Lisbon Institute
American Club of Portugal
Turku, Finland
November 11
University of Turku
2015
January 8
Global Business Travel Association
North-Central Chapter
Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia
March 23-26
U.S. Embassy
National University of Mongolia
University of Humanities
Business Consulting Center
Press Institute
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Suva, Fiji
March 30-April 2
Pacific Youth Council
Ministry of Information
Fiji National University
University of the South Pacific
Fijian Media Association
Pristina, Kosovo
April 22-24
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
University of Pristina
Ministry of European Integration
U.S. Embassy
Tallinn, Estonia
April 27-29
Tallinn University of Technology
U.S. Embassy
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Tallinn University Media College
Tartu, Estonia
April 28
University of Tartu
May 4-7
Media Institute of Southern Africa
Manzini, Swaziland
May 5
Community Media Association
Bucharest, Romania
November 2
U.S. Embassy
Romanian Diplomatic Institute
Craiova, Romania
November 3
Alexandru si Aristia Aman Library
Ramnicu Valcea, Romania
November 4
Valcea County Library
Sibiu, Romania
November 5-6
Lucian Blaga University
Astra Library
Association of European Journalists
Cairo, Egypt
November 9-12
U.S. Embassy
Future University
Cairo University
American University in Cairo
Regional Center for Strategic Studies
Egyptian Council on Foreign Affairs
New York, NY
December 9
EastWest Institute
2014
February 24-25
Addis Ababa University
Civil Service College
U.S. Embassy
Dakar, Senegal
February 27-28
Université de Dakar
Centre Africain d’Etudes Supérieures en Gestion (CESAG)
Centre d’Etudes Diplomatiques et Stratégiques (CEDS)
Sup De Co
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
March 3
U.S. Embassy
National Defense College
Dar es Salaam School of Journalism
Gaborone, Botswana
March 5-6
University of Botswana
Botswana Guardian
Lusaka, Zambia
March 7
Evelyn Hone College
The Times of Zambia
The Daily Nation
Bratislava, Slovakia
April 22-23
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Slovak Foreign Policy Association
Comenius University
Riga, Latvia
April 24-25
Riga Graduate School of Law
Stockholm School of Economics
University of Latvia
Prague, Czech Republic
April 28-29
American Center
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Charles University
Economics University
Chisinau, Moldova
May 5-6
Advanced School of Journalism
American Resource Center
Independent Journalism Center
May 8-9
University of Sarajevo
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
May 9
Nansen Dialogue Center
Tyson’s Corner, VA
October 1
Global Business Travel Association
Northern Virginia Chapter
West Point, NY
October 17
U.S. Military Academy
Budapest, Hungary
November 4-7
U.S. Embassy
ELTE University
Corvinus University
National Journalists Association
Veszprém, Hungary
November 5
University of Pannonia
Pécs, Hungary
November 6
University of Pécs
Almaty, Kazakhstan
November 10-12
University of International Relations
KazNU University
IT University
KIMEP University
Turan University
Astana, Kazakhstan
November 13-15
KazMediaCenter
Nazarbayev University
Youth Business Club
Eurasian National University
Academy of Public Administration
American Corner
Kuwait City, Kuwait
November 16-18
Kuwait University
Ministry of Information
Gulf University for Science and Technology
American University in Kuwait
2013
January 8
U.S. Department of State
Ralph J. Bunche Library
February 6
Georgetown University
School of Foreign Service
March 7
American University
School of International Service
March 21
Booz Allen Hamilton Inc.
April 4
Harvard Club of Washington DC
September 5
The Heritage Foundation
Birmingham, AL
January 10
Birmingham Southern College
Committee on Foreign Relations
Salt Lake City, UT
January 16
University of Utah
Brigham Young University
Committee on Foreign Relations
Casper, WY
January 17
Committee on Foreign Relations
Sacramento, CA
January 29-30
The Harvard Club
California State University
University Union
Los Angeles, CA
January 31-February 1
International Visitors Council
World Affairs Council
University of California at Los Angeles
Tampa, FL
February 13
The Harvard Club
Honolulu, HI
February 20-21
The Harvard Club of Hawaii
U.S. Pacific Command
Tulsa, OK
February 25
Committee on Foreign Relations
Boston, MA
February 27
World Boston
Downtown Harvard Club
San Diego, CA
March 5
University of California at San Diego
San Diego Diplomacy Council
Indianapolis, IN
March 26
Committee on Foreign Relations
Claremont, CA
April 23
Scripps College
Santiago, Chile
May 7
Universidad de Los Andes
Diplomatic Academy of Chile
Louisville, KY
May 14
Committee on Foreign Relations
May 31
U.S.-Argentina Binational Center
Council for International Relations
Athens, Greece
October 4
Institute of International Relations
University of Peloponnese
Ankara, Turkey
October 7
Bilkent University
Istanbul, Turkey
October 8
Sehir University
Zagreb, Croatia
October 9
Diplomatic Academy
Madrid, Spain
October 15-16
U.S.-Spain Council
International Affairs and
Foreign Policy Institute
Rey Juan Carlos University
Lisbon, Portugal
October 17-18
University of Lisbon (ISCSP)
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
University of Lisbon Institute (ISCTE)
Coimbra, Portugal
October 18
University of Coimbra
Bern, Switzerland
October 21
Department of Foreign Affairs
Polit-Forum Käfigturm
Hong Kong
October 28-29
Hong Kong Baptist University
U.S. Consulate-General
Hong Kong University
City University of Hong Kong
Kyoto, Japan
October 30
Kyoto University of Foreign Studies
Osaka, Japan
October 30
U.S. Consulate-General
Seoul, South Korea
October 31-November 1
American Center Korea
Korea National Diplomatic Academy
Hankuk University
Giessen, Germany
November 4
Giessen University
Stuttgart, Germany
November 5
German-American Center
Munich, Germany
November 6
Amerika Haus
Hamburg, Germany
November 7
University of Hamburg
Kiel, Germany
November 7
Kiel University
Berlin, Germany
November 8
Humboldt University
2012
October 9
Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
October 22
American Foreign Service Association
November 15
Human Rights Campaign
November 29
The George Washington University
Elliott School of International Affairs
December 19
DACOR Bacon House
Los Angeles, CA
September 18
The Harvard Club
Palm Springs, CA
September 19
Palm Springs Air Museum
San Francisco, CA
September 28-29
The Harvard Club of Silicon Valley
Foreign Service Association
Seattle, WA
September 24
University of Washington
School of International Studies
Little Rock, AR
September 25
University of Arkansas
Clinton School of Public Service
Miami, FL
September 27
Florida International University
Geneva, Switzerland
October 11-12
Webster University
United Nations Library
American International Club
U.S. Mission to the United Nations
Amman, Jordan
October 14
Jordan Institute of Diplomacy
October 15-16
University of London
London Academy of Diplomacy
Medford, MA
October 17
Tufts University
Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy
Chicago, IL
October 18
International Trade Club of Chicago
World Chicago
Dallas, TX
October 19
World Affairs Council
Singapore
October 25-26
Nanyang Technological University
Hwa Chong Institute
Singapore Management University
American Chamber of Commerce
Harvard Club of Singapore
Tokyo, Japan
October 29-30
Temple University
Harvard Club of Japan
Tokyo American Center
Taipei, Taiwan
October 31-November 1
Taipei City Library
National Chengchi University
Frankfurt, Germany
November 2
Harvard Club of Germany
Steuben-Schurz Society
Santa Fe, NM
November 9
World Affairs Forum
St. John’s College
Phoenix, AZ
November 12
Council for International Visitors
Las Vegas, NV
November 14
World Affairs Council