About
Jennifer van der Schaaf
Jennifer van der Schaaf wanted a Rolex before she turned eighteen and a BMW by the time she was twenty-five. She started as a professional dancer, but before getting that BMW, she stepped into the advertising world. Work hard, play hard. Until she completely exhausted herself.
Then she decisively pulled the plug.
She pursued a theater education. From culinary experiences at the chef’s table to sandwiches with apple syrup on the couch, but for the first time, she felt where her energy truly came from.
After her education, Jennifer became a director. She founded her own event agency TATARATAA!, directed large commercial shows for companies like L’Oréal, Hewlett Packard, and Businesswoman of the Year, and worked with artists such as Jochem Myjer, Sanne Wallis de Vries, Shishani, and Typhoon.
Sanne Wallis de Vries described her as ‘a master in creating grand entertainment that also has a meaningful message.’
Now, Jennifer herself takes the stage, and that is where she stands out. She is not a speaker who tells a story. She is a director who shakes the audience awake. Raw, funny, confrontational, and infectious. Everyone leaves energized, with insights that are immediately applicable.
She speaks about energy, intuition, and leadership. About team performance, talent development, and diversity. About how success grows when you use your energy as a guide, both as an individual and as an organization. And about why feeling, presence, and inner compass are becoming increasingly important in a world full of data and AI.
A company that stands for something is incredibly attractive.
Jennifer always immerses herself in the organization. The core of the company, the story, the people, and the mission are woven into every keynote. What she delivers feels sharp, personal, and tailored.
She takes the stage as a motivational keynote speaker and performer. From substantive talks to full evening shows with a DJ and live performances. Additionally, she offers training such as Pitch Your Power, where professionals learn how to present their story powerfully.
Her philosophy is simple: Everything begins with energy.
1. Energy as a Guide
You wake up, excited for the day, and within 30 minutes at work, you already feel as limp as a dishcloth. All energy drained away. What is happening here? Energy provides you with information throughout the day about what is right and what is not. However, most people have taught themselves to stop listening to it. Jennifer shows how to recognise and use that signal again in your work, your choices, and how you collaborate. As a compass.
2. Big Decisions with Small Feelings
We talk a lot. With Teams, via Teams. Every step controlled and explained. We try to think everything through with our heads: career, relationships, the future of the planet. Yet the most important decisions are rarely made based solely on numbers and logic. Your body often knows what is right before your head does. Jennifer shows how to reactivate and use your intuition. Because those who learn to trust it move faster, make sharper choices, and perform better.
3. Energy and Team Performance
The biggest blockade to great team performance? Micromanagement. A team performance can be anything: a new strategy, an event, a higher profit percentage. Ultimately, it is always about the same thing: giving space to talent. Those who want to achieve something great give freedom and ownership. Then energy flows. Ideas improve. People dare more. And something emerges that no one, not even the leader, could have conceived alone. Jennifer shows how that works. Because fear and ego are the worst advisors at the top.
4. Reveal Yourself
Every company started with a good story. An idea. A mission. But due to busyness, the story often fades into the background, while that is where the energy lies. Jennifer brings the story back to the forefront on stage. Because a show is not a luxury. It is the most powerful tool a company has to make a story tangible. From motivational talk to a complete show with light design, composition, video, and live performance. Because ‘a company that stands for something is fiercely attractive’.
5. You Have a Good Story
Every professional has a story. Only most people have no idea what truly makes them special. Because nothing is as complicated as recognising your greatest talent. Jennifer knows within three minutes, live on stage, what someone’s greatest talent is and what meaning they attach to it. That is twenty years of experience in how people and stories work.
6. Diversity and Perspective
Jennifer speaks about diversity from her own practice as a creator and director. She worked on productions around the colonial past and created shows like Top Woman of the Year. In her work, she sees up close what happens when different perspectives are or are not at the table. Therefore, she does not like to speak about target groups without also giving them a platform. If diversity and inclusion are an important part of the keynote, someone who is part of it stands next to her. Jennifer collaborates with a large network of inspiring creators and performers for this.
7. Your Event is Your Strongest Stage
An event is the only moment when everyone is in the same room at the same time. Feels the same energy. Experiences the same thing. Without a screen. That is incredibly rare. It is the voice of your company. Live. Instantly tangible for everyone at the same time. Jennifer shows how to use that moment to reactivate your organisation’s story on stage and on the floor. So that people not only have a fun day but leave knowing why they get up every morning.
8. Workshop: Pitch Your Power
Present yourself sharply: honest, unique, and unforgettable.
Showing yourself in a presentation is difficult. Especially online. But it is crucial if you want to convey your story well. Whether you are applying for a job, introducing yourself in a meeting, or selling a product, presenting yourself well in the first minute gives wings to the rest of your presentation.
In this masterclass, we search for the story that fits you seamlessly. A story that showcases your talent on a stage. So that every audience immediately knows who you are and what you can mean.
After this masterclass, your story stands firm. Wherever you are, whoever you need to introduce yourself to, you will know exactly what to say about yourself, in what order, and how to reinforce your story. In a way that perfectly matches who you are.
9. Workshop Stage Your Story
For people who regularly stand on stage.
A good speech starts with a good personal story. Is the opening sharp enough? Does the speech have a clear thread? Are the slides a support or a distraction? And does the audience remember what you said at the end? We write and refine the speech and then work on the presentation: how you stand, how your voice sounds, and what you do with nerves backstage. So that every time you stand on stage, you know what you are doing and why it works.
10. Workshop Strategy Live
For teams working with a new strategy.
A new strategy on paper is one thing. Conveying the strategy inspiringly is another. It is important that teams first feel the strategy themselves. Where does the strategy touch your own values? What makes the strategy relevant to you? For your team? In this training, teams discover the connection between the strategy and themselves, so they can not only retell it but also truly convey it with energy and enthusiasm. To colleagues, clients, to everyone involved. Because a strategy that does not live, does not work.
© Dik Nicolai
