Jody Urquhart

Jody Urquhart is a top Canadian motivational, conference speaker providing inspired keynote presentations that encompass employee burnout, health and wellness, resiliency, as well as Quietly Disruptive Leadership™. 

She is also an expert in employee engagement and stress management, and, an award-winning author of the Canadian bestselling books All Work and No Say and Bliss Out.

Infusing her talks with humour, she uncovers the unconscious stress habits that quietly disconnect people at work.

With over 26 years on stage, she has delivered more than 1,000 presentations and training videos across North America, helping leaders create cultures that feel as good as they look on paper.

Jody is the creator of Quietly Disruptive Leadership™, a human-centered approach that teaches leaders how to recognize the story in their heads, regulate their response, and communicate in a way people can actually hear.

Known for her sharp humor and real-world insight, Jody doesn’t just inspire audiences—she shifts how they show up.

Jody Urquhart, based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada provdes keynote presentations, workshops, fireside chats, moderated Q&A, and other lecture formats on a wide variety of topics. Each presentation is unique and customized for audiences, industries, conferences and various event formats.

This Would Be Funny… If It Wasn’t Happening To Me!
How to Navigate Change Without Losing Your Mind

Change is constant. People are unpredictable
And most of us are reacting on autopilot.
That’s where stress, resistance, and miscommunication take over.

In this high-energy, comedy-infused keynote, Jody introduces Quietly Disruptive Leadership™—helping leaders disrupt autopilot and lead human. Because the way you lead yourself is the way you lead others.

Using shared humour, Jody creates space between the stimulus and the response—so leaders can pause, reset, and choose how they show up, even in the middle of pressure.

Audiences will learn to:

• Interrupt stress reactions in the moment
• Lead with calm, clarity, and presence
• Get teams on board with change—without pushing
• Stay grounded and effective in uncertainty 

CrazyBusy:
Relief to Find Immediate Balance in a Fast-Paced World

Do your days feel overwhelming? Like you’re busy all day—but not getting to what matters most?
You’re not alone.

Most people aren’t just busy—they’re stuck in patterns of busyness. Filling time to avoid uncertainty. Focusing on small tasks instead of meaningful ones. Tying their worth to how much they get done.

Working harder isn’t the solution.
Seeing the pattern is.

In this humorous highly relatable keynote, Jody helps audiences recognize the habits that keep them overwhelmed—and interrupt them in real time.
Because you’re not the problem. The pattern is.

Audiences will learn:

• 3 signs they’re working harder—not smarter
• How personal habits quietly drain time and energy
• 4 hidden time and energy leaks (especially when working from home)
• How to stay productive without taking themselves so seriously
• Why they keep doing things the hard way—and how to shift it

Follow Me, I’m Right Behind You!
How to Lead & Influence Others

Leadership today isn’t about authority.
It’s about influence.

And influence doesn’t come from control
—it comes from how you show up.

Most leaders don’t struggle with effort.
They struggle with awareness.

They’re leading on autopilot
—reacting instead of connecting.

In this high-energy, comedy-infused keynote, Jody helps leaders break unconscious patterns, disrupt autopilot and lead human. Through humour, insight, and real-time interaction, audiences learn how to create the kind of environment people actually want to be part of—where trust, respect, and engagement drive results.

Because people don’t follow titles.
They follow how you make them feel.

In this keynote, audiences will learn:

• How to influence others without relying on authority
• How to break unconscious leadership patterns that limit impact
• Four keys to building a culture of recognition and respect
• How to strengthen purpose, vision, and connection
• How to create real involvement and a sense of belonging

The Joy of the Job- Take This Job & Love It
How to Bring Energy and Meaning Back to Work

You’re doing the work.
Showing up.
Getting through the day.
So why does it feel like the energy is gone?
It’s not the job.
It’s the pattern.

Unconscious stress habits quietly drain focus, energy, and connection to meaning.

In this funny, high-impact keynote, Jody introduces Quietly Disruptive Leadership™—helping audiences recognize and break those patterns so they can disrupt autopilot and lead human, starting with themselves.

Because energy at work isn’t something you wait for. It’s something you create by how you show up.

Audiences will learn to:

• Recognize the stress habits draining their energy
• Reconnect to meaning, purpose, and personal responsibility
• Bring more lightness and engagement into their day
• Improve focus and productivity—without burning out

The Nerve to Serve: Say Hello to Humour & Goodbye to Burnout
How to Stay Human in High-Stress Work

Work is demanding.
People are emotional.
And stress has a way of taking over before you even realize it.
That’s autopilot.

In high-pressure environments, reactions happen fast—and not always in ways we’re proud of.
This is where burnout begins.

In this engaging, comedy-infused keynote, Jody shows how shared humour creates space between the stimulus and the response—giving people a moment to pause, reset, and choose how they show up.

Through Quietly Disruptive Leadership™, audiences learn how to disrupt stress patterns, reconnect to themselves, and lead human—even in the middle of pressure.

Because when you can laugh together, you can think again.
And when you can think again, you can respond better.

Audiences will learn to:

• Use humour to interrupt stress in the moment
• Create space between reaction and response
• Take their work seriously—without taking themselves so seriously
• Build resilience without emotional exhaustion
• Bring more energy, connection, and perspective into there day

How to Speak Human:
Lead Human in a High-Pressure World

A practical and engaging keynote that helps professionals communicate with clarity, stay present in difficult conversations, and build stronger working relationships—without overcomplicating it.

Because the real work isn’t just getting the numbers right.
It’s getting people on the same page.

Audiences will Learn:

• How stress impacts the way we listen, speak, and interpret others
• Why communication breaks down—even between capable, well-intentioned people
• Simple ways to pause, respond with intention, and reduce unnecessary tension
• How to give feedback, ask better questions, and create real understanding
• Most people don’t lack emotional depth—they just lack the skills to communicate it.

This session brings those skills into real, everyday interactions.