TEDx Amman: The Grit Code on a 2,000-year-old stage

The event

In October 2025, Paris Norriss took the stage at TEDxAmman as part of TED’s Global Ideas Search. The search is a series of events held around the world to find the most impactful idea of our time. TEDxAmman represented the Middle East, and the winning idea advances to the annual TED conference in Vancouver.

The venue made it unforgettable. The talk took place inside the Roman Theatre in Amman, an amphitheatre about 2,000 years old where, as Paris put it, “gladiators once performed”. The event was also captured in a full TED documentary.

Paris shared the line-up with his friend and fellow adventurer Nelly Attar, who told the story of her journey from underground girls’ dance classes in Saudi Arabia to the summits of the world’s toughest mountains.

The audience

Around 4,000 people filled the theatre, overwhelmingly young people and students. “4,000 people sat in silence whilst I told mine,” Paris wrote afterwards.

What stayed with him most happened after he stepped off stage. The students surrounded him, “curious, warm, full of questions and ideas”, and he described the warmth and kindness of the young Jordanians he met as truly admirable. “The future is in very good hands.”

What Paris spoke about

Paris delivered The Grit Code, his talk on how grit and resilience are built. His idea for the Global Ideas Search was simple: change how we think about learning, so that we develop the mindsets that create leaders with unbreakable grit and resilience.

The Grit Code began as Paris’s way of making sense of what big adventures, such as rowing the Pacific Ocean, actually taught him. In his words, it is about “not the headlines, not the highlight reel. The real stuff: the doubt, the exhaustion, the moments where you have to decide who you are when no one is watching.” The talk sets out five foundational stones drawn from one of the most extreme environments on earth, which apply anywhere people are pushing through something hard, whether in business, in sport or in life.

Paris has given versions of the talk many times. But, as he said, standing in that Roman theatre in front of 4,000 bright minds “was different”.

Highlights

• Selected by TED as part of its Global Ideas Search, with TEDxAmman representing the Middle East.
• A 4,000-strong audience in a 2,000-year-old Roman amphitheatre.
• Shared the stage with adventurer Nelly Attar.
• The event was filmed for a full TED documentary.

Why it matters

For Paris, the night was proof that storytelling is timeless. “The setting changes. The technology changes. The language changes. But the power of a story told well? That has never changed, and it never will.”

It is the same principle he brings to every keynote, whether for a conference, a leadership team or a school. Real stories from extreme environments are turned into lessons people can use the next morning.

About The Grit Code keynote

The Grit Code is built on real stories from extreme environments. Paris rowed 4,800km across the Pacific Ocean in 2023 with the Brothers N Oars crew, a row that raised more than £150,000 for marine conservation. He also ran seven marathons on seven continents in 5 days, 21 hours and 51 minutes, in Antarctica, Cape Town, Perth, Dubai, Madrid, Fortaleza and Miami.

From those experiences he draws practical lessons on purpose, vision, limiting beliefs, adapting a plan and keeping a clear head under pressure. He has delivered the keynote for audiences including the UN Tourism General Assembly, TEDx Amman, COP28, Expo 2020, DHL, Nokia, Kraft Heinz, IHG, Dubai Airports, Durlston Partners in London and Surfbreak in Honolulu. Every talk starts with a briefing call, so the stories connect to your theme, your industry and the challenges your people are facing right now.

“Standing on a 2000 yr old Roman theatre stage taught me something I’ll never forget. That storytelling is timeless.”
— Paris Norriss on LinkedIn

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Want Paris for your own conference or leadership event? Read more about The Grit Code, see more past speaking events or send an enquiry. Planning an event in the region? See Paris as a keynote speaker in Jordan.