Keynote speaking
Business keynotes, taught with magic they can’t explain.
Kostya Kimlat is a magician and keynote speaker. He teaches sales and service teams how people perceive, decide and remember, and shows each idea live on stage. He has three keynotes, built for conferences, sales kickoffs and leadership retreats, and delivers them in person or virtually.
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1,000+
corporate events and conferences
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NASA, AT&T, Siemens
among his corporate clients
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Fooled Penn & Teller
on national television
Trusted by
See him work
The speaker reel.
3:39 · Cut from keynotes and corporate events
The format
Live magic, with a business lesson in every trick.
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Every idea is attached to a moment they can’t explain.
Kostya pairs each principle with a piece of live magic, so people remember the lesson along with the moment that fooled them.
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Your people take part.
Volunteers come from the audience, and Kostya makes sure every one of them looks good. Nobody gets pulled on stage to be the butt of a joke, and your senior leaders stay comfortable the whole time.
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It’s built for your event.
Before the date, Kostya learns about your audience and your business, so his examples come from your world.
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Executives take it seriously.
Kostya has presented to leadership teams at NASA, AT&T and Siemens. The magic is written for smart adults.
The keynotes
Reading people, explaining your value, and astonishing customers.
Tell him who is in the room and what you need to change, and he will tell you which one fits.
01 / 03 People & communication
Personality Magic™
A system for reading a person’s style in seconds, then adapting how you speak to them in real time.
Best for: sales teams, managers, cross-functional groups
Four styles: Diamonds, Clubs, Hearts and Spades. Your team learns to place anyone within moments of meeting them and adjust before the conversation goes sideways.
- Strengthen workplace relationships
- Read a customer before they finish their first sentence
- Build buy-in with people who think nothing like you do
- Diamonds
- Clubs
- Hearts
- Spades
02 / 03 Sales & leadership
Think Like A Magician™
Your team stops leading with how they work and starts leading with what the customer feels.
Best for: sales kickoffs, leadership meetings, annual conferences
Every role has methods (how something gets done), results (the metrics) and effects (how customers and colleagues feel). Most professionals lead with methods. Magicians hide methods and lead with the effect.
- Explain your value without explaining your process
- Win deals on what the customer feels, as well as on specs
- Give your team language for why their work matters
03 / 03 Customer experience
Astonish Them
Turn routine service into experiences customers tell other people about.
Best for: customer experience teams, service culture initiatives, retention programs
Your team learns how magicians set, meet and exceed expectations, and how to plan the moment a customer will describe to friends afterward.
- Build moments customers describe to other people
- Turn good service into referrals
- Give frontline teams specific things to do differently
TEDx Talk
The keynote, compressed to eighteen minutes.
18 minutes
Why teams book him
What your team gets.
A skill they keep using.
Whichever talk you choose, your team leaves with a skill they can use in their next conversation with a customer or a colleague.
Live magic makes it stick.
People remember the moment they couldn’t explain, and they remember the lesson that went with it.
Built for executive audiences.
Kostya shapes the content around your event goals. Volunteers are treated well, leaders stay comfortable, and nothing about it is corny.
Easy to plan.
You get a prep call to agree on what the session needs to accomplish, clear technical requirements, and promotional materials to help build attendance, so you spend less time chasing details.
Business principles from someone who runs a business.
Kostya founded See Magic Live, which books magicians across the country, and since 2010 he has led the team of magicians who collaborate with the Orlando Magic.
Client reviews
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Deanne Abrams
Director, Employee Development
In the past ten years in Higher Education I have seen my share of speakers. I have never seen an audience react as positively to a keynote speaker.
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Andy Searles
Leadership event organizer
Capturing attention through magic allowed his leadership principles to find their way into people’s minds and actions.
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Nick Vece
Sales Director
One of the best keynote presentations I’ve experienced. Really enjoyed the content and have so many takeaways.
Planning
How it works.
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01 · You check the date.
Send your date and you’ll hear from Kostya’s team within one hour during business hours, with his availability or the questions the team needs answered before quoting.
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02 · A prep call.
A conversation about your audience, the results you want and the tone of the event. It runs as long as it needs to.
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03 · We send everything.
Technical requirements, promotional copy and images to drive attendance, and an intro for your emcee.
On the day, he arrives early for sound check, walks the room, and talks to your AV team before doors.
Questions
What planners ask.
Will our executives take this seriously?
Yes. Kostya has presented to leadership teams at NASA, AT&T and Siemens. The magic is written for smart adults.
Is there actually magic during the keynote?
Yes, throughout. Each piece of magic illustrates a business principle, so people remember the two together.
How is this different from a motivational speaker?
Motivational speakers set out to inspire. Kostya teaches a specific skill, demonstrates it with live magic, and your team leaves able to use it the same day.
What does it cost?
Keynote fees are in the five-figure range and vary with format, customization and travel. Send your event details and you’ll hear from Kostya’s team within one hour during business hours; a specific quote follows once the format, date and travel are clear.
Can the keynote be customized to our event?
Yes. Every engagement starts with a planning call to align on your audience, objectives and theme.
How interactive is it?
Very. Several pieces use volunteers from the audience, and Kostya sets up each one so the volunteer looks good. Leaders stay comfortable, and anyone who’d rather watch is welcome to.
Is Kostya a humorous keynote speaker?
Kostya is a keynote speaker and magician rather than a comedian, though there’s plenty of laughter and fun during his presentations and shows. He’s a master at letting the people he brings on stage shine, and the laughter comes from real moments of interaction between them.
Can this run longer than a keynote?
Personality Magic™ can also run as a longer workshop, with time for your team to practice the material themselves. Tell us how long you have and he’ll tell you what fits.
Can Kostya give a virtual keynote?
Yes. He delivers all three keynotes in person or virtually. He’s based in Orlando, Florida, and travels worldwide for live events.
How far in advance should we book?
As early as possible, especially for sales kickoffs and peak conference seasons.
Book the keynote they’ll still be quoting.
You’ll hear from Kostya’s team within one hour during business hours.
Bringing this to your boss?
How to Win Over Any Stakeholder for Your Next Keynote Speaker