Keynotes
That are Motivational, Fun, and Good for you
Understanding Mental Health: The Good, the Bad, and the Funny
It’s time to talk but discussing mental health doesn’t have to be heavy or burdensome.
Comedian and Bell Let’s Talk ambassador Jessica Holmes breaks down the stigma by using heart and humour to share her experience with depression. She weaves comedy, characters, and music to bring understanding and hope to a serious subject, describing how she went from successful entertainer who opened for Oprah Winfrey to couch potato who slept more than the cat!
Holmes shares the lessons she wrote about in her heartwarmingly funny book Depression The Comedy to motivate your team to prioritize their well-being. Your team will learn:
- Where to begin if they or someone they know is struggling.
- How a small shift in perspective can increase their fulfillment and happiness at work.
- Simple, achievable steps to improve mental health.
- That no one is alone, and we’re all entitled to a sense of well-being.
Holmes’ story, which has a deeply happy ending, leaves your team with a better understanding of mental illness, more empathy and understanding for those suffering with it, and that wonderful feeling you get from belly laughs.
Watch Jessica’s Mental Health Keynote demo here.
Bring on the Joy! Building Resilience and Engagement in Times of Change
Years of flux and uncertainty have left people burnt out and many are still grappling with disconnection. It’s more important now than ever to foster a sense of well-being and engagement in the workplace.
Comedian and Bell Let’s Talk ambassador Jessica Holmes presents a moving, funny, and energetic talk that encourages positive mental health and reengages your sense of purpose. Drawing on inspiration from her own journey through depression, Holmes shares how she reconnected with her love of life and work, drawing parallels with this new chance we all have to thrive after setback.
Holmes’ call to action combines comedy with inspiration from the field of positive psychology. She delivers insights into:
- Simple, sustainable steps to improve mental health.
- Shifting perspective to increase fulfillment and happiness at work.
- Moving forward with empathy for yourself and others (one of the most important parts of a successful team!).
- Renewing your sense of purpose and energy by engaging with your values.
- Reigniting your creativity.
This talk honours the courage it has taken to come this far and reconnects audiences with their greatest qualities to bring on personal and professional joy!
Power Laughs: Using Humour to Build Resilience
There’s no better way than humour to remind us we’re all in this together, so take a load off with some laughs! Stress is a part of life but we are more likely to live healthy, productive lives if we maintain our physical and emotional resilience. This touching, honest, and laugh-out-loud presentation offers simple, achievable steps to redirect our thoughts and take charge of our well-being.
Jessica Holmes proves that comedy is more than an entertainment form; and she teaches audiences how anyone can use comedy as a powerful filter, through which we can navigate, stressful situations, and power us to recover from setbacks, and face challenges more easily.
The 60-Minute Perspective Makeover: Proven Tips to Living an Awesome Life!
The secrets of success are the same no matter what business you’re in, and success begins with getting motivated. Inspiration and comedy unite in this 60-minute transformational presentation from “I should…” to “I will!”.
Energizing and funny, Jessica Holmes’ call to action combines her trademark character comedy with quirky anecdotes to deliver motivational insights into:
- Finding greater meaning in your work.
- Using positive psychology to be happier day to day.
- Setting and reaching your goals.
- Learning to laugh at life’s shortcomings.
Holmes gives quick, achievable “how to’s” about these topics and more, in a laugh-out-loud hour of fun. The audience receives introspective takeaways to guarantee that her presentation makes a meaningful impact.
Connection Culture: The Power of Purpose and Positive Relationships
Today, many organizations are navigating burnout, high turnover, and a growing sense of disengagement. That’s where positive psychology steps in; by focusing on what’s strong — not just what’s wrong — to help people feel connected, valued, and inspired to engage meaningfully.
In this fun and interactive session filled with humour and heart, mental health advocate and Master of Applied Positive Psychology candidate Jessica Holmes leads your team through science-based strategies and interactions that spark meaningful connection.
Your team will:
- Enjoy laugh-out-loud relationship-building activities to increase their sense of belonging.
- Gain practical strategies to enhance their well-being in connective ways.
- Identify and use their core strengths, leading to greater engagement in all areas of life.
- Leave with a renewed sense of connection to each other and the meaning in their work.
Positive relationships and strengths-use have been shown to boost resilience and life satisfaction, as well as lower rates of burnout. This session is especially impactful for teams navigating physically or emotionally demanding roles, remote or hybrid environments, and organizational change. Holmes helps teams feel valued, supported and connected to the greatest parts of themselves and each other.
“The responses were overwhelmingly positive. Participants reported high value in the reflection and connection elements, and hearing everyone’s word/sentence, summing up the weekend was very special. The main suggestion from the group was simply for more time!”
– Wendy Bartinski, Owner, WB Event Management
“Connection Culture” can be run as a breakout session, a workshop, or integrated into a keynote.
Emcee
Whether in English or a mix of English, French, and Spanish, Jessica Holmes combines comedy, music, and celebrity impressions to celebrate your team as an engaging Emcee, in-person or virtually. Weaving together heart and humour, Holmes honours your audience and keeps them engaged with lively, personalized interactions. She never loses sight of the bottom line: it’s your special event and it deserves to be extraordinary!