Jessica Holmes

Speaking topics

Presentations listed below include in-person and virtual keynotes, as well as workshops, fireside chats, and other presentation formats.

• Mental Health: The Good, the Bad, and the Funny

  Most workplaces are already talking about mental health. But as stress, disengagement and burnout persist, those conversations become easy to tune out. This keynote offers a fresh, engaging way to raise everyday energy, connection, and adaptability.

  Comedian and Bell Let’s Talk ambassador Jessica Holmes brings humour, heart, and lived experience to well-being, offering a perspective that feels both new and immediately useful. She weaves inspiration with comedy and music to bring understanding and hope to a serious subject.

  Drawing from her bestselling book Depression the Comedy, Holmes shows teams how making small, realistic shifts can improve resilience and engagement, both at home and work. Audiences will leave motivated to prioritize their well-being in ways that actually stick. The result is a team that feels refreshed, re-engaged, and better equipped to thrive together.

  Participants leave with:

  • More ease and confidence discussing mental health.
  • Simple, realistic strategies that fit real workdays.
  • A shared experience that strengthens empathy, trust, and team connection.
  • The knowledge of where to begin if they or someone they know is struggling.
  • The reassurance that no one is alone and we are all entitled to a sense of well-being.

• Bring on the Joy! Building Resilience and Engagement in Times of Change

  Years of rapid change, blurred work-life boundaries, and ongoing pressures have left many people feeling drained, distracted, and disconnected. Employees are navigating hybrid schedules, constant digital demands, and the lingering effects of burnout, all while trying to stay motivated and engaged. Creating space for well-being, connection, and purpose has never been more valuable. This keynote helps people feel energized, supported, and ready to bring their best selves to work and life.

  Comedian and Bell Let’s Talk ambassador Jessica Holmes delivers a moving, funny, and energetic keynote that inspires positive mental health and helps audiences reconnect with their sense of purpose and joy. Drawing on her personal journey through depression, Holmes will share how she rediscovered laughter, creativity, and engagement — and how audiences can do the same in their own lives, even after challenges.

  Holmes’ talk combines humour, heart, and evidence-based insights from positive psychology to leave a lasting impression. Participants will walk away feeling lighter and better equipped with practical tools to thrive personally and professionally.

  Key takeaways include:

  • Simple, sustainable steps to improve mental health.
  • Shifts in perspective that increase fulfillment and happiness at work and at home.
  • How to move forward with empathy for themselves and others, strengthening collaboration and trust.
  • Ways to reconnect with their values to renew purpose, energy, and motivation.

  This talk celebrates the courage it takes to keep going, honours the progress people have made, and leaves audiences feeling inspired, resilient, and ready to engage fully with their work, teams, and lives.

• Connection Culture Workshop: 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 focussing 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

  Depending on your team’s needs, “Connection Culture” can be a two-hour or half-day workshop, integrated into a keynote, or run as a breakout session.

• Laugh It Off and Bring It On: Using Humour as a Stress-Buster

  Comedy is a powerful filter through which we can navigate stressful situations, recover faster from setbacks, and face challenges more easily. It even boosts immunity! In this energizing presentation, Jessica Holmes helps your team take a load off with laughter, and gives you the tools to make it happen at work and in life.

  Embracing a more humorous perspective is an elephant-sized improvement on the negativity bias our brains usually steer us toward. This laugh-out-loud and often touching presentation offers simple, achievable steps from positive psychology to redirect our thoughts and take charge of our well-being. Anyone, even the chronically un-funny, can make this shift!

  This presentation is the perfect mix of comedy and wellness that leaves audiences motivated to set the bar higher for their personal happiness. Sharing simple tips to manage stress, Holmes brings all the fun and energy of her comedy act to remind us that, while life is far from perfect, it’s easier with our sense of humour intact.

• 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.

• Event Host / Emcee

  Whether in English or a mix of English, French, and Spanish, Jessica Holmes combines comedy, music, and celebrity impressions to celebrate your team, 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!