“Add value, bring joy… and be 10% braver” says Apprentice-flop-turned-TEDx Speaker
A clear message, well articulated – the keynote speaker at the International Women in Travel & Tourism Forum was an uplifting presence on her stage with her manifesto for "being human" in an "industry that changes lives".
“Be a positive disruptor,” urged Jaz Ampaw-Farr, keynote speaker to delegates at yesterday’s International Women in Travel & Tourism Forum.
The award-winning Speaker of the Year 2022, Blind Date contestant and The Apprentice candidate wowed the audience at Google HQ in London with a funny, thought-provoking and inspirational speech – which also stunned the room into silence when she revealed her sexual abuse at the hands of her stepfather. Her overarching message encouraged attendees to “be proud, be you, be 10% braver".
She explained how her desire to say “yes” more led to her appearing as a picker on Blind Date. Her date, which took place in Austria, was shown on Best of Blind Date in a compilation of worst dates – she picked number 2 from Leeds, who climbed out of a toilet window while they were having dinner because he wanted a McDonald’s!
It also inspired her to join The Apprentice in 2013, when her willingness to put herself forward as a project manager in week one put her directly in Lord Sugar’s firing line.
“Being brave is hard work, it’s embarrassing and it’s scary but afterwards you’ll have a great story to tell,” she said.
“I’m not saying everyone should apply for reality TV shows but just imagine living as if you had nothing to fear and nothing to lose.
“I went from foster care to Speaker of the Year. If that’s actually possible, what else am I thinking isn’t possible that actually is?”
She talked about the importance of valuing people, and how she had a primary school teacher, Mrs Cook, who told Ampaw-Farr that she would make a great teacher.
She said: “I was lucky enough to have that seed watered and nurtured and it never went away,” – now she is an expert in leadership, resilience, wellbeing & diversity, an author and TEDx Speaker.
“Valuing people is power. Value gives them a story they can tell people that is different. Your most important story is your unwritten one, you can still change that.”
She also shared her family motto, which is “add value, bring joy”.
“Laughter is a language every human speaks,” she said.
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