--- title: "Jody Urquhart" description: "Book Jody Urquhart, Canadian keynote speaker and bestselling author, for a high-energy talk on burnout, leadership & resilience — K&M Productions." canonical: https://www.kmprod.com/speakers/jody-urquhart updated: 2026-08-27 17:17:00 --- # Jody Urquhart *Canadian Motivational Keynote Speaker on Burnout, Leadership & Workplace Culture* ## Biography Before she ever stepped on a conference keynote stage, Jody Urquhart spent years working as a stand-up comedian — training that taught her something most speakers never learn: how to read a room, hold silence, and use humor to get people to lower their guard. That skill became the foundation of a speaking career now spanning over 26 years on stages across North America, and for over a decade she also wrote a self-syndicated newspaper column, *The Joy of Work*, syndicated to more than 40 publications and exploring the everyday habits and blind spots that quietly shape workplace culture. That curiosity turned into research. Jody has produced more than 1,000 videos and conducted hundreds of interviews with professionals across industries, studying why people disengage from work and what actually brings them back. That body of work now shapes every keynote she delivers, from healthcare conferences to corporate leadership retreats. Jody's mission is simple: help people feel deeply about what they do, instead of just doing what they're told. She doesn't believe workplace transformation comes from more information — it comes from noticing the small, repeated habits that run on autopilot, and choosing differently. It's a message she's carried to audiences from Fortune 500 boardrooms to municipal leadership conferences, always landing the same way: funny enough to enjoy, honest enough to stick. ## Presentation Topics Based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada Jody speaks at conferences, corporate events, and leadership retreats across Canada — including Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, and Ottawa — as well as in the United States. ### 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 their 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.  ## About Jody Urquhart is a Canadian keynote speaker on burnout, leadership, and workplace culture, known for her Quietly Disruptive Leadership™ framework and her signature no-slides, no-script speaking style. Drawing on a background in stand-up comedy and over 26 years on stages across North America, she helps leaders and teams recognize the unconscious habits driving disengagement — and replace them with more presence, connection, and clarity. A Canadian bestselling author of *All Work & No Say* and *Bliss Out*, Jody has spoken to more than 2,000 audiences for organizations including Discover, Sun Life, and Kruger. Her approach blends humor with hard-won insight, giving audiences permission to laugh at themselves on the way to genuine, lasting change. ## Expertise - **Burnout Recovery** — spotting burnout as a warning sign, not a weakness, before it takes root - **Quietly Disruptive Leadership™** — Jody's signature framework for trading autopilot reactions for real presence - **Psychological Safety** — helping leaders create environments where people feel safe enough to speak up, disagree, and be honest without fear of consequence - **Workplace Belonging** — building teams where people feel seen enough to stay - **Leading Through Change** — staying grounded and connected when everything around you isn't - **Human Communication** — replacing defensiveness and over-explaining with clarity - **Engagement & Retention** — treating disengagement as a symptom, not the root problem ## What Clients Say > This isn't about another motivational speech. It's about rewiring how professionals authentically engage, lead, and create meaningful workplace connections. > > — Marisol Kroll - Kruger > Incorporating Brain-based training for enhanced learning and peak performance. The exercises and audience participation made the information really easy to use. > > — John Ricklin - IPAC > It’s a huge relief to experience a motivational speaker with no PowerPoint. You are authentic, hilarious and relatable. > > — Donna Balter - Cambridge Health Alliance > Thank you, Jody Urquhart, for coming out to speak to us. You were awesome and I received great feedback from our attendees! We’ll definitely be in touch to have you come back for future events. > > — Canadian Energy Workers Association (CEWA) > Well done. My colleagues were commenting on how we are privileged to have had you speak at our AGM. I agree! Excellent topic for nurses, well presented and very entertaining! > > — C. Hamming - LPN > Jody Urquhart has a very warm and natural sense of humour. Not only on point but also very funny! > > — Maria Shryer -CIBC ---