Paris · La Défense · Île-de-France
Your guests decide, and the prediction was waiting all along.
Isma Zmerli, a Paris-based mentalist, turns conventions, gala dinners and receptions into a shared experiment in prediction and apparent mind reading, in English or French.
5.0 on Google (500+ reviews) · Based in Paris · Reply within 24 hours, no commitment.
Mentalism, three ways
A plenary at the Palais des Congrès, New Year’s greetings at head office and a launch evening off the Champs-Élysées each call for a different dose of mentalism. The right format depends on the size of the room and on what you want people to remember the next morning.
Plenary and convention
Volunteers make free choices on stage while the audience follows every step, and a prediction locked away at the start turns out to match. The feature runs 20 to 45 minutes and can open a convention, revive the afternoon or crown an awards night.
The venue only needs to provide a stage space and a microphone.
Reception and dinner
During the drinks, Isma joins small groups and works with what guests think rather than what they hold: a name, a memory, a place they picture. For card magic and sleight of hand, he also works as a close-up magician in Paris.
Usually one to three hours, depending on guest numbers.
AI, data and start-ups
Isma is also an artificial intelligence engineer. In his AI and mentalism show, the audience competes with a model that tries to predict its choices: a good match for a team day at Station F or an evening around VivaTech.
For product launches, tech conferences and digital teams.
Tell Isma about your audience and running order: he will help you choose, with no commitment. For a company event, see also corporate magician and mentalist.
Paris and Île-de-France
Isma is based in Paris, so there is no train or flight to plan for an event in the city or its suburbs. Amphitheatre, art deco hall, former stock exchange or company auditorium: he builds the mentalism around the room’s sightlines and your running order.
The Paris calendar has its own rhythm: New Year’s greetings (les vœux) in January, VivaTech in late spring, back-to-work seminars in September and end-of-year parties in December.
Conventions
Company conventions in the amphitheatres of the Palais des Congrès at Porte Maillot, the largest seating more than 3,700, or at CNIT Forest in La Défense, back in service since 2023: a mentalism sequence gives a long plenary a moment the whole room shares.
Historic halls
Launches and incentive evenings at Palais Brongniart, the former Paris stock exchange, or conferences at the Maison de la Mutualité, an art deco landmark in the Latin Quarter: two settings where a stage show feels part of the architecture.
Tech and start-ups
Team days at Station F, the start-up campus in the 13th arrondissement with its 352-seat auditorium, or side events around VivaTech at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles: the AI version of the show speaks the audience’s language.
Champs-Élysées and the Golden Triangle, Opéra, the Marais, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the Latin Quarter, Montparnasse, Bercy, the 13th arrondissement, Porte Maillot, Porte de Versailles
La Défense, Neuilly-sur-Seine, Levallois-Perret, Boulogne-Billancourt, Issy-les-Moulineaux, Saint-Denis, Saint-Ouen, Rueil-Malmaison
Versailles, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Chantilly, Fontainebleau, Vaux-le-Vicomte, Marne-la-Vallée, Roissy
Good to know: January is the season of les vœux, the New Year’s greetings French companies hold for their staff and partners, usually a speech followed by drinks. A short mentalism feature straight after the speech keeps everyone in the room and gives the cocktail its first topic of conversation.
Close-up magician in ParisLondonLyonGenevaAI keynotesAll locations
What clients say
Corporate event · Mentalism
★★★★★
“A huge thank you to Isma! An incredible performance: our clients absolutely loved it. Professional, astonishing and incredibly friendly. We recommend him wholeheartedly!”
Corporate event · VIP guests
★★★★★
“Isma is fascinating and charismatic: the perfect experience and wow factor for our event with VIP guests. We were all amazed by his talent, and the guests are still talking about it.”
Company plenary · 200 employees
★★★★★
“Everyone loved the entertainment! […] He was very accommodating and tailored his performance to our company’s needs and industry.”
Meet Isma
On stage or up close with your guests, Isma turns surprise into an experience people share.
The art of capturing attention and getting your guests involved.
Trained in machine learning and deep learning.
A master’s degree exploring perception, attention and decision-making.
Easy to organise
One conversation is enough to get started, even if your programme is still taking shape.
Your questions
A mentalist appears to read thoughts, predict decisions and influence choices. Isma, who holds a master’s degree in cognitive science from ENS Ulm, presents it as an experience in perception and decision-making, and volunteers are always treated with respect.
Yes. Isma performs in English or French, which suits Paris head offices where teams from several countries meet. Tell him your audience’s main language in your first message so that every volunteer can take part.
Any room where the audience can see the stage: an amphitheatre at the Palais des Congrès, a salon at Pavillon Gabriel near the Champs-Élysées, a company auditorium in La Défense or a hotel ballroom. Close-up mentalism needs no stage at all.
Yes. For les vœux, a short feature right after the leadership speech holds the room together; for a back-to-work seminar, it can open the day or bring energy back after lunch.
Yes, across Île-de-France and just beyond: Versailles, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Fontainebleau, Marne-la-Vallée, the hotels around Roissy, or Chantilly in the Oise. Any travel outside Paris appears in the quote.
By the format, the length of the performance, the number of guests and the date. Send the outline of your event and Isma replies within 24 hours with a proposal.
As soon as your date is fixed: Thursday and Friday evenings in December and the first weeks of January go first in Paris. Short-notice requests are still welcome.
Let’s talk about your event
Share your date, venue and programme for a quote, or ask which format would suit your guests.
Reply within 24 hours.
Across Europe and beyond: a selection of our recent dates.
