Nicholas Gentry is a Carnegie Mellon–trained philosophy and communication professor turned professional mentalist, insight facilitator, and corporate consultant.

In this talk, he shows how ancient philosophy becomes a modern communication tool, how mentalism becomes a live case study, and how illusion reveals how teams actually think, listen, and collaborate—in real time.

This is not theory.
Not feel-good corporate theater.
And not another slide deck.

Gentry’s work is part experience, part training, and entirely practical. Teams don’t just hear ideas—they watch their habits, assumptions, and blind spots play out live, then leave with shared language, sharper awareness, and a clearer path to action.

Academic life taught him how to think like a philosopher.
Performance taught him how to think like a magician.
Business taught him that insight without action changes nothing.

This session is for teams who want measurable improvements in communication, collaboration, and decision-making—by learning to see what’s already happening in the room.

Team Communication & Decision-Making

Made Visible. Tested Live. Improved in Real Time.

Most communication training talks about teamwork.

This one puts it on display.

Nicholas Gentry is a Carnegie Mellon–trained philosophy and communication instructor turned professional mentalist and corporate insight facilitator. His sessions use live mentalism and illusion as controlled demonstrations of how teams actually think, listen, misread signals, and influence one another under pressure.

What normally stays invisible becomes impossible to ignore.

What This Is (And Isn’t)

This is not:

  • A motivational speech

  • A slide deck

  • A personality test

  • A “trust fall” exercise

  • Feel-good corporate theater

This is:

  • A live diagnostic of team communication

  • A shared experience that exposes assumptions and blind spots

  • Practical training grounded in philosophy, psychology, and real-world decision dynamics

  • A session designed to produce measurable changes, not vague inspiration

How It Works

Gentry blends three disciplines most organizations never see combined:

  • Philosophy — to clarify thinking, language, and assumptions

  • Mentalism & illusion — to create live, undeniable case studies

  • Business reality — to translate insight into action that survives Monday morning

Teams don’t just hear ideas.

They watch themselves making decisions, missing cues, and influencing one another—live, in the room.

That shared experience creates:

  • A common reference point

  • Sharper awareness of communication patterns

  • Language teams can actually use after the session ends

What Teams Leave With

Participants consistently report:

  • Clearer communication under ambiguity

  • Improved listening and signal detection

  • Fewer unexamined assumptions driving decisions

  • Stronger alignment without forced consensus

  • A shared vocabulary for addressing breakdowns when they happen

No hype. No mysticism. Just better thinking, made visible.

Why It Works

Academic life taught Gentry how to think precisely.
Performance taught him how to make invisible processes observable.
Business taught him a hard truth:

Insight without action changes nothing.

Every session is structured to bridge that gap—so teams leave with understanding they can actually apply.

Who This Is For

This work is designed for:

  • Leadership teams

  • High-stakes decision environments

  • Organizations skeptical of traditional training

  • Groups who value clarity over comfort

  • Teams who want results they can point to, not slogans they forget

If your team already rolls its eyes at buzzwords, this is probably a good fit.

Formats

  • Team-Building Workshops

  • Communication & Decision-Making Training

  • Leadership Off-Sites

  • Conference Breakout Sessions

  • Executive & Cross-Functional Teams

Each session is customized to the audience, stakes, and context.

Bottom Line

Better communication doesn’t come from saying the right things.

It comes from seeing what’s actually happening—and knowing what to do about it.

If that’s what your team wants, this work delivers.

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