Why the Best Keynote Speakers Never Give the Same Speech Twice

By Wade Paterson

What does it take to build a thriving professional speaking career from scratch — with no agent, no stage, and nothing but a kitchen table? Giselle Ugarte did exactly that. Starting during the pandemic lockdown of 2020, she transformed herself into one of the most sought-after keynote speakers on the circuit, tackling topics like personal branding, healthy social media habits, and the future of leadership. In this wide-ranging conversation, Giselle shares the raw, unfiltered story of her journey — from an awkward first gig opening for Gary Vaynerchuk to commanding stages around the world — and reveals why she believes customizing every single presentation is the difference between good speakers and truly great ones.

An Unlikely First Gig: Opening for Gary Vee in a Banana Republic Jumpsuit

Giselle's first paid speaking engagement sounds impressive on paper: she opened for Gary Vaynerchuk. But the reality was far less glamorous. She was paid $500 — a fraction of the event's massive budget — and she only landed the opportunity because she had the audacity to ask.

"They called to invite me to a dinner for influential locals," Giselle recalls. "And I just asked, 'Do you have an opener? Do you need someone to MC or hype up the crowd?' They were like, 'You would do that?' As if I was doing them a favour."

But instead of showing up as herself, Giselle fell into a trap that many new speakers encounter: she tried to do speaker instead of be speaker. She bought a Banana Republic jumpsuit she'd never normally wear, swapped her beloved Rolex for a plain Apple Watch, and squeezed into conservative heels that betrayed her sneaker-and-stiletto personality. On stage, she tried to emulate Gary's style instead of finding her own voice.

"Anybody watching probably thought I did a pretty good job, especially for my first time," she admits. "But I knew — that's not me." The lesson? Sometimes you have to do the cringe-worthy version first before you discover who you've been all along.

How the Pandemic Accidentally Launched a Speaking Career

After that first gig, Giselle felt a fire ignite. But she didn't immediately leap into full-time speaking. She moved to another job, bided her time, and then attended a conference in February 2020, convinced it was finally her moment. Then March 2020 happened, and live events vanished overnight.

What could have been a devastating setback turned into an unexpected launching pad. Without stages to stand on, Giselle turned to the tools she already had: her phone, a kitchen table, and years of experience creating video content.

"Learning how to capture attention in a Zoom room without a professional camera, without lighting, without a team — it taught me how to be self-sufficient and scrappy," she explains. "It taught me how to find my real, authentic voice in a way that I couldn't wearing that Banana Republic jumpsuit."

She began creating short-form videos teaching businesses and individuals how to leverage social media and video during the crisis. The content resonated. Meeting planners, event coordinators, and influential figures discovered her organically through social media algorithms that increasingly surface content to non-followers.

The progression was natural: a Zoom call led to a webinar, a webinar led to a virtual event, and when live events returned, those same clients invited her to deliver in person. "It's been this contagiously referral-based business, optimized by the power of video and the power of connection," Giselle says.

You Already Have a Microphone — It's Called Your Phone

One of Giselle's most empowering messages is that aspiring speakers don't need to wait for permission to begin. For over a decade before her speaking career took off, she had been posting videos online — first with the intention of landing a TV hosting job, then to build her personal brand.

"You don't have to wait for someone to physically give you a microphone anymore," she says. "You have a microphone in your hand. It's called your phone."

Her advice for anyone creating content is to start with intention:

The Case for Customizing Every Speech

Perhaps the most distinctive element of Giselle's approach is her refusal to deliver the same presentation twice. While many professional speakers — and there's nothing wrong with this — develop a polished set and deliver it repeatedly, Giselle customizes every keynote for every audience.

"I didn't even realize that a lot of speakers give the exact same presentation over and over," she says. "The best way I can put it is this: customization is the difference between talking to an audience and talking at an audience."

She illustrates the point with a story about attending a real estate conference where a speaker used the example of "a CEO walking around your office." The problem? Most real estate agents don't work in traditional offices. It was a small misstep, but it immediately created distance between the speaker and the room.

Contrast that with the feedback Giselle received after a customized keynote in Austin: "The president came up to me and said, 'I had to double-check that you didn't work for our organization because I thought you were one of us.'"

How to Customize: A Practical Framework

Giselle's customization process isn't about reinventing the wheel each time. It's about doing the research that makes an audience feel seen. Here's what that looks like in practice:

Even if you deliver the same core keynote every time, Giselle argues, doing even the bare minimum of research can dramatically change how your message lands.

The Story Library: Staying Fresh Without Starting from Scratch

Giselle doesn't build every presentation from zero. Instead, she maintains a flexible system that allows for both structure and spontaneity.

She keeps a running note on her phone simply titled "Stories" — a collection of personal anecdotes, client examples, and lessons she can pull from at any time. She also has roughly ten go-to slides built in Canva that she can mix and match depending on the audience and topic.

"I have a few stories where I might have a 15-minute version, a 10-minute version, or a 5-minute version," she explains. "I know which ones are great fillers if I need to expand, and which ones I can cut if I'm running short."

She tests new material constantly — in her group coaching sessions, on Instagram Stories (which disappear after 24 hours), at dinner tables with friends, and even alone in hotel rooms with a timer running. This constant iteration means that by the time a story reaches a keynote stage, it's been refined through dozens of real-world repetitions.

Yes, Professional Speakers Get Nervous Too

One of the most reassuring revelations from the conversation is that even a speaker of Giselle's caliber battles serious nerves before every presentation.

"I usually end up spending about an hour completely frozen in bed," she admits. "I can't move. I question everything I'm about to say. I question whether I deserve to be there at all. I feel like I'm going to pee but I don't know if I actually have to or if it's just nerves."

But right before she hits the stage, something shifts. She breathes, grounds herself, and transforms the anxiety into excitement.

"The nerves mean I care," she says. "They mean I want to do a really good job." Interestingly, she's found that the nerves have actually intensified as her career has grown — because the audiences are bigger and the stakes feel higher. But so has her ability to channel that energy productively.

Her secret weapon in those moments? A simple reframe: It's not about you. It's about who you're serving.

"When I remind myself of that — when I think about the person in the back row who's still too scared to show up, who needs to hear this message — that's what gets me grounded and ready to deliver."

The Power of Practising Full-Out

Giselle draws a brilliant analogy from her years as a dancer to illustrate a common preparation mistake. In dance, there's a practice called "marking it" — going through the motions at half effort instead of executing full-out. She learned the hard way what happens when you only mark it: during a performance in front of thousands, she was the only dancer facing the wrong direction because she'd never practised the full turn.

The same principle applies to speaking. "I've made the mistake of only practising the 'hard' parts — the big stories — without realising I'm rusty on my transitions or a lesson I thought I knew by heart," she says.

Her advice:

The 72-Hour Rule: Why Giselle Doesn't Drink Before Presenting

One of Giselle's non-negotiable rules is avoiding alcohol for at least 72 hours before a speaking engagement. The rule emerged from a deeper examination of what was slowing her down professionally.

Inspired by a podcast question — "What is keeping you from achieving your dreams as quickly as you would like?" — she started tracking the real cost of even casual drinking. A Friday night out could wipe out Saturday entirely, leave Sunday foggy, and carry a mental haze into Monday. Over a month, that's a full week of diminished capacity.

Using an Oura ring to track her sleep, she discovered that even a single glass of wine dramatically degraded her sleep quality. For someone whose livelihood depends on mental clarity, sharp recall, and authentic presence, the trade-off simply wasn't worth it.

"There's nothing wrong with alcohol unless it doesn't feel right for you or it's slowing you down from doing what you actually want to do," she says. The insight extends beyond professional speakers — anyone preparing for an important presentation, toast, or public moment would benefit from showing up with a clear mind.

What to Do When Your Speech Isn't Landing

Even the best speakers face moments when the energy in the room dips. Giselle's honest admission? "More than half the time, it's in my head." But for the times when the disconnect is real, she relies on what she calls pattern interruptions — borrowed from a production term for unexpected cuts or angles that recapture attention.

In practice, this might look like:

After the event, the real work begins: watch the game tape. Giselle hates watching herself on stage but considers it essential. One useful trick she's discovered: if she watches the footage immediately, she'll find everything wrong with it. If she waits a few months, she's far kinder to herself. Sometimes letting the review marinate leads to more productive insights.

Embrace the Q&A — It's Where Connection Happens

While many speakers shy away from audience Q&A sessions, Giselle actively seeks them out. "I love it. I want to get stumped," she says.

Her confidence in these unscripted moments comes from years of practice — going live on Instagram, participating in Clubhouse rooms, and coaching clients through thousands of hours of conversation. She's also not afraid to say, "You know what, I never thought about it that way — let me get back to you," or to turn a question back to the audience.

For speakers who aren't ready for Q&A, her advice is straightforward: never do a Q&A unless you're confident in your material and your audience. But if you can get there, the questions people ask — and don't ask — become invaluable research for refining your future presentations.

Body Language: Authentic Movement Over Choreographed Gestures

Giselle is known for her dynamic stage presence — she moves, gestures, and uses her whole body when she speaks. But she's candid that much of it is simply who she is as a former dancer and natural performer, not a calculated technique.

"Some of it is thoughtful, and some of it is genuine passion," she explains. "I wouldn't say scripted or choreographed."

She does, however, study other speakers' use of movement. One technique she admires: using different areas of the stage to represent different parts of a story — starting on one side for the "before" and moving across for the "after," giving the narrative a visual arc.

Her key distinction: movement should come from intention or authenticity, not from nervousness or a belief that you're "supposed to" move a certain way. The same principle applies to hand gestures — if they're natural to how you communicate, keep them. If they're a nervous habit or an attempt to look polished, they'll read as inauthentic.

Speakers Who Inspire Giselle

When asked about her favourite speakers, Giselle rattled off an eclectic list that reveals the breadth of her influences:

The takeaway: great speakers are perpetual students. They watch, study, and learn from everyone — not just people in their niche, but comedians, pastors, coaches, and friends.

From Kitchen Table to Madison Square Garden

Giselle's story is a masterclass in building a career through authenticity, persistence, and relentless customization. She didn't follow the traditional path — no bureau, no agent, no polished website in the early days. Instead, she showed up consistently on video, treated every opportunity as a chance to learn and connect, and built a reputation one customized presentation at a time.

When asked about her dream venue, her answer was characteristically personal: she wants to share the stage with Brendon Burchard and Jaimie Kern Lima — two people she's already spoken that dream to out loud. "Oh, and Madison Square Garden," she adds with a laugh. "Let's shoot for the stars."

Given that she built this entire career in roughly three years, starting from a kitchen table during a global pandemic, it would be unwise to bet against her. Whether you're an aspiring keynote speaker, someone preparing for a wedding toast, or simply looking to communicate with more confidence and impact, Giselle's core message rings true: be yourself, do your homework, and never underestimate the power of making your audience feel like you're talking to them — not at them.

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