Worklife with Adam Grant ReThinking: Building confidence with mentalist Oz Pearlman
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Dec 2, 2025 
Oz Pearlman, known as the World’s Greatest Mentalist, shares his intriguing journey from Wall Street to captivating audiences with his mind-reading shows. He reveals the art of mentalism as a skill of performance and intuition, emphasizing the importance of risk-taking and preparing for failure. Oz discusses the power of audience connection, using body language and empathy to craft memorable experiences. He also offers practical tips to combat procrastination and reframes rejection into resilience, all while delighting the crowd with live demonstrations.
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Live Mind-Reading Demonstration
- Oz Pearlman performed a live mentalism demonstration by guiding a crowd member to think of a trusted person's name and revealing it on a whiteboard.
- The trick illustrated his performance skills and set up themes he later explained about reading people and creating memorable moments.
Plan For Failure, Control The Frame
- Plan extensively and model possible failures before high-risk performances.
- Oz treats shows like a director controlling the camera: conceal the path so failures can be rerouted unnoticed.
Memory Is Built By Retelling
- Memorable moments stick because people retell them and replay them in memory.
- Recounting stories strengthens and clarifies memories, making experiences more enduring.