Blog, Kostya Kimlat

Speaking

I Spent 20 Years Building This Keynote. TEDx Gave Me 18 Minutes.

Kostya Kimlat's TEDx talk, How To Read Anyone In 6 Seconds, is live. Twenty years of a private keynote on reading people, condensed into 18 minutes.

Perception

AI Is the Best Method Ever Built. It Still Can’t Create the Effect.

Audiences feel the effect and never see the method. As AI handles more of the method, the way your people make customers feel is what sets your company apart.

Speaking

A Mentalist Sent Me His Reel. None of the Audience Was Real.

It took three and a half years to make a three and a half minute speaker reel. Here is how to tell whether the audience reacting in one is real.

More recent

From the archive

Sales & Customer Service

Creating Astonishing Customer Experiences for Transformative Business Growth

Learn how magician Kostya Kimlat can transform your business by teaching your team to create astonishing customer experiences that drive loyalty and growth.

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Sales & Customer Service

Step-by-Step: How Any Business Can Astonish Their Customers

Go beyond “satisfaction” and aim for astonishment when taking care of your customers. Follow the three-step framework I use as a magician to deliver magic in your business.

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Leadership

Stop Competing With AI. Think Like A Magician™ Instead.

As AI masters knowledge work, discover why magicians’ skills in human connection and experience creation are becoming essential for business success in the age of artificial intelligence.

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Leadership

Why You Need To Teach Your Team To Think Like A Magician™

Transform how your team creates customer experiences by teaching them the psychological secrets magicians use to amaze their audiences.

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Leadership

Why Pro Athletes Are Obsessed With Magicians (And What CEOs Need To Learn From Both)

Athletes love magic because it mirrors elite performance: mastery through practice, reading people, and creating peak moments.

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Perception

Why Anticipation Creates More Powerful Experiences Than Surprise

Discover why surprise isn't the key to creating extraordinary experiences for your customers - and what actually drives deeper engagement.

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Leadership

Transform Your Company Using The Magical ‘Power of Moments’

Learn how peak moments shape customer loyalty—transform routine service into memorable experiences using psychology secrets from the stage.

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Magic

Watch: My Magic Show at Christner’s Prime Steak & Lobster

Have I done magic for you at Christner’s over the last 18 years? I’m preparing for our next season of dinner shows and reflecting on this amazing partnership. Since 2006, I've been performing magic at Christner's Prime Steak & Lobster, but this is the first time we’ve made a video about it!

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Sales & Customer Service

What Every Tech Trade Show Booth Needs

Engage your audience and create lasting connections at tech trade shows with tailored magic and personalized interactions.

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Appearances

UCF Alum Turned Keynote Speaker & Magician

UCF’s Pegasus Magazine recently featured my motivational speaking and magician career in its magazine.

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Speaking

Sales Kickoff Speakers: A Guide

Looking for the perfect sales kickoff speaker? This guide explains how to find a top motivational keynote speaker for your sales kickoff event.

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Perception

The Magician’s Formula: 4 Tools to Create Legendary Customer Experiences

Magicians are masters of customer perception. Learn their 4 techniques to get inside customers’ heads, exceed expectations, and create legendary service experiences.

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Virtual

How I Became a Virtual Magician Doing Online Magic Shows

From canceled gigs to Zoom magic shows — here’s my unexpected story to becoming a virtual magician.

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Speaking

How Hairstylists & Image Professionals Think Like Magicians

Magician and keynote speaker shares 3 tips from his presentation to 1000 stylists on how they can think like magicians to better understand clients, manage perceptions, and grow.

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Speaking

Magician Keynote Speaker — Why Your Corporate Team Needs To Think Like A Magician™

As The Business Magician, I combine magic, psychology & motivation in my keynotes to teach perception management - helping teams connect, communicate & achieve extraordinary results.

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Speaking

Healthcare Speaker: Secrets from a Magician for Medical Innovation

Learn how healthcare providers can "Think Like A Magician™" to transform patient relationships and perceptions through improved communication and understanding.

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Speaking

Think Like A Magician™ — But Don’t Trick People

Learn how to Think Like A Magician™ to understand human psychology, boost empathy and communication, and positively transform how people perceive the world.

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Leadership

The 15 ‘Muggle’ Jobs That Need to Think Like A Magician™ — And Why

What can teachers and other careers learn from magicians? Adopting a magician's mindset can help anyone communicate more effectively and creatively solve problems.

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Speaking

I’m a Magician Speaker - How I Can Transform Your Company

Learn how thinking like a magician can transform your company's culture, shift perceptions and morale, improve communication and problem-solving, and streamline processes.

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Sales & Customer Service

A Magician’s Approach to Reducing Wait Times For Your Business

Take a page from a magician's book of secrets and discover how to reduce wait times in your business. In this blog post, we'll explore the psychology of waiting, share practical strategies, and provide actionable insights that will leave you inspired to create extraordinary customer experiences.

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Magic

Elevate Your Performance–Two Magician-Approved Strategies to Level Up Your Job Skills

Join me as I reveal my magician's dual-strategy approach to mastering job skills, turning ordinary work into extraordinary performances.

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Magic

Practice Like A Performer: A Magician’s Perspective on Your 9-to-5

Discover how to transform your everyday job into a journey of growth and development with the unconventional wisdom of a practicing magician.

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Magic

Job Search Like A Magician: 3 Secrets to Astonish Employers

Here’s the secret I want to share with you: the principles of magic can also work wonders for individuals like you in your quest for a new job or career advancement. In this article, I’ll unveil a few magician’s secrets that will help you work your magic and elevate your career.

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Sales & Customer Service

Reduce Your “Time to Magic” At Work—And Serve Customers Like A Magician

Discover the secrets to reducing the "Time to Magic" in your business and creating extraordinary customer experiences. Learn from the world of magic and apply principles that captivate and delight audiences effortlessly.

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Perception

Your Barista is a Mentalist

Discover the hidden skills of your barista that make them akin to mentalists in predicting your tipping behavior. Learn the power of observation, empathy, and perceptual transactions to enhance your understanding of others and elevate your communication skills.

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Perception

Perception is My Obsession As A Magician—It Should Be Yours, Too

Ever wondered how a magician captivates their audience? How they can keep you guessing, mystified, and engaged for hours on end? The answer lies in an all-powerful concept—perception.

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Sales & Customer Service

Trade Show Magician - Maximize Your Convention ROI With Magic

Discover how incorporating captivating magic performances can transform your convention experience and maximize your return on investment (ROI). Stand out from the competition, engage attendees, and leave a lasting impression that generates leads and boosts brand recognition.

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The Invisible Thread Binding Ukraine and Me

I find myself caught between two worlds—my comfortable life as a corporate magician in the United States and the heartbreaking war tearing through my birthplace of Ukraine.

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Magic

My Favorite Type of Magic to Perform

Magicians and lovers of magic might be surprised to find that my favorite type of magic to perform is not actually card magic—but theatrical mentalism.

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Virtual

Virtual Magic Shows: A Guide

Discover the secrets to planning, executing, and maximizing the impact of virtual magic shows with this comprehensive guide, featuring valuable insights and practical tips from a renowned virtual magician.

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Magic

Corporate Magicians: A Guide

Corporate magicians are highly skilled entertainers who perform magic that supports the goals of a corporate event. Whether it’s a company event, a conference, or a special occasion, a good corporate magician can bring high energy, fun, and excitement to the entire audience.

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Virtual

Why The Virtual Magic Show is (Surprisingly) Here To Stay

Even as the world starts to return to normal and the acute phase of the pandemic comes to an end, virtual magic shows are here to stay.

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Virtual

Virtual Mentalism Shows: 5 Reasons Why They’ll Psych Up Your Employees

If you’re looking to add some excitement and novelty to your virtual team-building events, consider booking a virtual mentalism show. Here are 5 reasons why.

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Magic

Announcing OrlandoMagicians.com

I’m excited to announce the launch of orlandomagicians.com, a centralized home on the internet for finding the best magicians in Orlando! As the CEO of See Magic Live, a company that helps you book top magicians nationwide, I understand the importance of finding the right performer for any occasion.

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Virtual

Combatting Hunger with a Virtual Magic Show: On TV with Jason Guy

I'm preparing for my virtual magic show to benefit Second Harvest Food Bank. This morning I got to speak with our local news reporter, Jason Guy, and I got to do a little magic for him and tell him all about the show.

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Virtual

7 Questions to Ask BEFORE You Book a Virtual Magic Show (How to Choose a Magician)

So you’ve decided to host a virtual magic show for your company’s employees or clients. You have realized through your research that magic shows can work really well on Zoom, where everyone feels the thrill of a first-row seat and the potential to participate.

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Virtual

5 Secrets to a Successful Virtual Take Your Child to Work Day

Five tips for a virtual Take Your Child to Work Day, so you feel prepared, your team feels supported, and your team’s kids feel inspired.

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I Spent 20 Years Building This Keynote. TEDx Gave Me 18 Minutes.

AI Is the Best Method Ever Built. It Still Can’t Create the Effect.

A Mentalist Sent Me His Reel. None of the Audience Was Real.

More recent

“Is Mentalism Real?” Answered Honestly by a Professional Mentalist

Why Preparing to Use AI Solved My Problem Without AI

The Day Your Microphone Betrays Your Brilliance

Why Your Sales Team Keeps Losing to Companies That Shouldn’t Even Be in the Running

The Executive’s Guide to Creating a Culture of Customer Astonishment

Why Financial Services Managers Need to Think Like Magicians

How to Win Over Any Stakeholder for Your Next Keynote Speaker

Transform Your Team into AI Champions

How Attorneys Can Think Like A Magician™

From the archive

Writing on perception, persuasion and the craft

I Spent 20 Years Building This Keynote. TEDx Gave Me 18 Minutes.

AI Is the Best Method Ever Built. It Still Can’t Create the Effect.

A Mentalist Sent Me His Reel. None of the Audience Was Real.

More recent

“Is Mentalism Real?” Answered Honestly by a Professional Mentalist

Why Preparing to Use AI Solved My Problem Without AI

The Day Your Microphone Betrays Your Brilliance

Why Your Sales Team Keeps Losing to Companies That Shouldn’t Even Be in the Running

The Executive’s Guide to Creating a Culture of Customer Astonishment

Why Financial Services Managers Need to Think Like Magicians

How to Win Over Any Stakeholder for Your Next Keynote Speaker

Transform Your Team into AI Champions

How Attorneys Can Think Like A Magician™

From the archive