After some banter about Steve’s trip to Cabo San Lucas, offending more people, and talking about food, Kurt and Steve discuss a recent article by Psych Central. You know those random “aha” thoughts you get? It turns out they’re usually…
Blog Archives
Episode 129 – How Empowerment Increases Influence
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: aha, Donald Trump, ego, empowerment, inner voice, intuition, kurt mortensen, Laws of charisma, marco rubio, motivation, ronald reagan, self esteem, steve olson
Persuasion Tool #2 – Reciprocity
Reciprocity is also called pregiving and creates a feeling of obligation in the mind of your prospect. This influence tool opens the door to influence and can help you prove your worth. Persuasion Tool #2 – Reciprocity Persuasion tool…
Posted in Persuasion Tools Tagged with: compliments, gifts, kurt mortensen, maximum influence, obligation, persuasion tool, pregiving, reciprocity
Episode 128 – Is Your Presentation “Interesting” or “Persuasive?”
Have you noticed the dramatic changes that have evolved in presentations, communication, and training over the last twenty years? The basic focus used to be on education. Many people are still trying to educate and they always lose their audiences.…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: blinking light study, Charisma, david ludden, kurt mortensen, leadership, powerpoint blunders, self perception bias, steve olson, story selling, upward mobility
Episode 127 – Inner Qualities of Leadership
On episode 127 of Maximize Your Influence, Kurt and Steve start by discussing a recent article, the 7 Mental Blocks to Being Rich. They then transition to part two of their series on qualities of great leaders. Intuition is a…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: Competence, inner core qualities, intuition, kung fu panda, kurt mortensen, leadership, personal development, persuader, persuasion iq, project manager, steve olson
Episode 126 – 4 Characteristics of True Leadership
After speculating about good dining in San Francisco and briefly insulting their listeners there, Kurt and Steve discuss a recent article about whether great leaders are born or made. They then launch into a discussion about the qualities of good…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: arrogance, born or made, Charisma, cockiness, confidence, energy, fear, kurt mortensen, leadership, passion, persuasion iq, presence, steve olson
Episode 125 – Super Bowl Ads: Persuasive or Terrible
One of the aspects of the Law of Association is the use of affiliation. Persuaders want you to affiliate their company with positive images, feelings, and attitudes. Our surroundings and environment trigger feelings and we transfer those feelings to those…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: advertising, brain cycles, john m. grohol, kurt mortensen, marketing, mountain dew, puppy baby monkey, steve olson, super bowl commercials, time management
Episode 124 – Persuasive Politicians
On this episode, Kurt and Steve interview Tyler Page of the “Polite Politics Podcast.” The Polite Politics Podcast is “Dedicated to the proposition that there are honest, good, intelligent people on both sides of most political issues.” The podcast’s objective…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: apology is cheap, ben carson, Donald Trump, emotions, hillary clinton, marco rubio, polite politics, politics, ted cruz
Episode 123 – Turn No into a Yes
The Power of “Yes” Use questions that will create “yeses.” As you create your marketing and persuasive presentations, you must engineer the number of times you get your audience to raise their hands, say yes, or nod their heads. How…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: broncos, dissonance, kurt mortensen, lottery, maximum influence, patriots, persuasion iq, peyton manning, reframe, steve olson, superbowl
Persuasion Tool #1 – FITD
FITD is a persuasion technique through which a persuader helps a prospect comply to a bigger request by using a smaller request first. This concept was first researched by Freedman and Fraser. Persuasion Tool #1 Manuscript – FITD…
Posted in Persuasion Tools Tagged with: cognitive dissonance, fitd, kurt mortensen, laws of persuasion, maximum influence, self perception, sequential request
Episode 122 – Foot In The Door vs Sympathy
When we feel dissonance, we have to find a way to deal with the psychological tension. When the rubber band stretches, we cannot not live with this internal pressure. We will instantly try to find a way to relieve this…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: denial, dissonance, fitd, knox and inkster, kurt mortensen, laura kray, maximum influence, negotiation tip, steve olson, sympathy, uc berkeley, yes
Episode 121 – Get Prospects To Persuade Themselves
Leon Festinger formulated the “theory of cognitive dissonance” at Stanford University. He asserted, “When attitudes or beliefs conflict with our actions, we are uncomfortable and motivated to try to change.” Festinger’s theory sets the foundation for the Law of Dissonance.…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: cognitive dissonance, commitments, justify, kurt mortensen, Laws of charisma, leon festinger, maximum influence, rationalize, stanford, steve olson
Episode 120 – No Resolutions This Year
We are firm believers that we all have greatness within us. We believe that we each have within ourselves unwritten books, un-started businesses, brilliant ideas, great inventions, charitable ideas, and untapped energies. But sometimes we have a hard time knowing…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: dan jansen, goals, gratitude, kurt mortensen, maximum influence, new years resolutions, persuasion iq, steve olson
Episode 119 – Persuading Rude Prospects
The Hostile Prospect This person disagrees with you and may even actively work against you. For a hostile prospect, use these techniques: Find common beliefs and establish a common ground. Use appropriate humor to break the ice. Don’t start the…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: bully, control the sale, difficult prospects, esteem, grinch, handle difficult people, humor, office jerk, questions, rude people
Episode 117 – Your Missing Ingredient To Build Rapport
Humor can be a powerful tool to create rapport. Humor makes the persuader seem more friendly and accepting. Humor helps gain attention, helps you create rapport, and makes your message more memorable. It can relieve tension, enhance relationships, and motivate…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: black friday, cyber monday, funny, gratitude, humor, influence, kurt mortensen, mood, persuasion, sales, sellilng, smile, steve olson
Episode 114 – Persuasion, Touch, and the No No Zone
A recent article shows us where we like being touched, and where we don’t. And as no surprise, it all depends on who does the touching. Check out a link to the article here. Touch is another powerful part of…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: culture and touch, halloween, kurt mortensen, macaroni grill, no no zone, safe places to touch, steve olson, touch, touching
Episode 113 – Subconscious Triggers = 95% Of Persuasion
This episode’s article on brain science discoveries about happiness can be found here. To maintain order of the world, our brains link objects, gestures, and symbols with our feelings, memories, and life experiences. We mentally associate ourselves with such things…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: association triggers, bridge of spies, celebrity spokesperson, Daniel Goleman, emotion vs logic, emotional intelligence, endorsements, fomo, frontal lobe, happiness, Michael Jordan, mofongo, persuasion and colors, persuasion and music, persuasion and smell, persuasion and symbols, Puerto rico, Social validation, Steven Spielberg, subway, Tiger Woods, Tom Hanks
Episode 112 – Scarcity: Abused, Overused – How To Use
The Law of Scarcity plays a large role in the persuasion process. Opportunities are always more valuable and exciting when they are scarce and less available. We want to be the ones to own the rare items or to get…
Episode 111 – Do You Attract Or Repel?
For this episodes article, Kurt and Steve discuss the top techniques of hostage negotiators. Admit it, you’re thinking of the movie “The Negotiator” all of the sudden. Now that we got that out of the way, we can actually talk…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: attraction, frankenmuse, humor, negotiation tactics, neuroscience, police, rapport
Episode 110 – Solving the #1 Objection
The better you become at handling objections, the more persuasive you will be. The key to great persuasion is anticipating all objections, problems, or concerns before you hear them. Great persuaders are always able to accomplish three critical objectives during…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: children, dishonesty, handling objections, harvard business review, I need to think about it, jim gaffigan, lies, negotiations, objections, resolve concerns
Episode 109 – How You Create Resistance
We tend to rate our skills that we want, that we need or that we require higher than they actually are. To improve, grow and become more successful we have to know our weaknesses and be able to identify our…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: emotional intelligence, eq, influence, kurt mortensen, leadership, persuasion, resistance, self perception bias, steve olson
Episode 108 – Jedi Mind Tricks?
Are you good at flirting? Admit it, when we asked you rolled your eyes but were A LITTLE bit interested, deep down. As it turns out, flirting is related to your ability to influence. A recent article by Psych Central…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: fliriting, influence, kurt mortensen, mind control, negotiation, persuasion, steve olson, the secret, the secret movie, thoughts
Episode 105 – Engaged and Mentally Focused Prospects
Is Google rigging elections? On this episode, Kurt and Steve discuss a recent article that thinks so. Merely telling the masses that a candidate has a “high” approval rating tends to gender more support. So how much influence do the…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: fixing elections, influence, involvement, kurt lewin, kurt mortensen, leadership, motivation, negotiation, persuasion, politics, puppy dog close, steve olson, visualization
Episode 103 – Are Deeper Voices More Credible?
As we get closer and closer (even though it’s a long way away) to the 2016 presidential election, more and more persuasion blunders will be on display. A recent article shows that politicians who have deeper voices (yes, even women)…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: customers complain, DITF, Donald Trump, door in the face, emotional intelligence, expectations, fight on price, influence, influence and social media, kurt mortensen, law of contrast, law of expectations, leadership, maximum influence, motivation, negotiation, nlp, One Direction, persuasion, placebo, price, priming, reduce it to the ridiculous, social media, steve olson, sweeten the pot, twitter, value
Episode 102 – The Biggest Persuasion Blunder Of The Year!
You can’t visit a business web page without hearing “follow us on Twitter!” We’re certainly guilty of this too. Follow us on Twitter @influencemax! A recent article from Psych Central shows that when customers complain about a business on Twitter,…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: customers complain, DITF, door in the face, emotional intelligence, fight on price, influence, influence and social media, kurt mortensen, law of contrast, law of expectations, leadership, maximum influence, motivation, negotiation, nlp, persuasion, price, reduce it to the ridiculous, social media, steve olson, sweeten the pot, twitter, value
Episode 101 – Does NLP Work?
When you’re an entrepreneur or sales person, being mentally tough is key. If you want the rewards that come from owning your own business or being on commission, you need to put up with days that can be full of…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: emotional intelligence, influence, kurt mortensen, law of expectations, leadership, maximum influence, motivation, negotiation, nlp, persuasion, steve olson
Episode 100 – Shameless Bribery and Using Testimonials
It’s been 100 episodes! After inserting some canned applause and patting themselves on the back, Kurt and Steve discuss why disobedient kids may actually make more money as adults. They then proceed to insult people who don’t listen to their…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: building rapport, credibility, examples, facts, influence, kurt mortensen, leadership, motivation, negotiation, persuasion, persuasive presentations, presentation formula, rapport, statistics, steve olson, story selling, testimonials
Episode 99 – Wrong…Objections Are Good!
Whether you think you love it or not, you love to procrastinate. The brain thrives on it. The reason is that we tend to treat our “current self” much better than our “future self.” We give our future self way…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: entrepreneur on fire, influence, inoculation, john lee dumas, kurt mortensen, leadership, motivation, negotiation, objections, persuasion, procrastination, sales robots, steve olson
Episode 98 – Does Mindset Sabotage Your Ability To Influence?
Do you sort your mail over the trash can? Do you delete most emails before you even consider them? That’s the reality of advertising today. Messages to your prospects need to be compelling and grab their attention. To start this…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: discipline, influence, kurt mortensen, leadership, mindset, motivation, negotiation, persuasion, steve olson
Episode 97 – Interview With Influence Expert Brad Harker
After Steve gives the full report on his recent trip to Puerto Rico (including a priceless blunder by the Ritz Carlton resort), Kurt discusses this week’s “geeky article moment.” A recent article on Psych Central reveals the advantages of both…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: brad harker, influence, kurt mortensen, leadership, motivation, negotiation, persuasion, steve olson
Episode 96 – Non Verbal Habits of the Charismatic Person
To kick off this episode, the guys discuss what is likely the most offensive article they’ve ever featured on the show. Kurt insists that it’s Steve’s doing. We’ll let you read it for yourselves, but just know that “hand’s on”…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: bad habits, bad selling habits, Charisma, influence, kurt mortensen, leadership, motivation, negotiation, Nonverbals, persuasion, sales, steve olson
Episode 95 – The Latest Dirty Deeds of Negotiation
In our never-ending quest to become “legit”, we’re now on Facebook and Twitter! That makes us legit, right? Visit us on Facebook where we’ll post links to episodes, interesting articles, terrible persuasion blunders, and even the occasional secret shopping video! …
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: dirty negotiation tricks, good cop bad cop, influence, kurt mortensen, leadership, meet in the middle, motivation, negotiation, negotiation tips, persuasion, psychological tactics, steve olson
Episode 94 – Persuasive Voicemails
In persuasion, there are a few words and phrases that a lot of people say, but that they don’t really mean. In a recent article on Inc.com, 11 of these terrible sayings are reviewed. It’s an entertaining article and Kurt…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: how to leave a voicemail, influence, kurt mortensen, leadership, motivation, negotiation, persuasion, selling and voicemail, steve olson, zeigarnik effect
Episode 92 – Three Catastrophic Mistakes Veterans Make
If you’re like most people, you don’t really enjoy paying taxes. A study in the UK recently discovered how to vastly increase the rate of collected taxes, just by adding one simple sentence to collection notices. Kurt and Steve discuss…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: cnn, kurt mortensen, Laws of charisma, persuasion iq, sales mistakes, sales rookies, selling
Episode 91 – Which Motivation Works Best?
Nobody has a perfect self esteem. We all have insecurities in ceratin areas of our life. The same is true for your prospects. Raise a prospects self esteem and you’ll catapult your chances of persuading them! On this episode, Kurt…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: desperation, inspiration, kurt mortensen, motivation, pain, pleasure, psychology, punishment, reward, self esteem
Episode 90 – What Annoys Your Prospects Most
Do you know somebody who is always blaming other people for their problems? Is it you? The fact is, we all do it. And sometimes we’re right. A recent article, however, shows why blaming others is not productive…even when it’s…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: annoys prospects, blame, extroverts, introverts, kurt mortensen, slick, stereotypical salesperson
Episode 89 – Don’t Be A “Corny” Negotiator
Is optimism overrated? A recent study from the University of Utah thinks so. Kurt and Steve discuss the study and what it means for persuaders. Some of us are better negotiators than others. Some of us respond differently to different…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: Charisma, kurt mortensen, lame tricks, maximum influence, negotiate, optimism, persuasion iq, steve olson, tools
Episode 88 – Utilizing Introverted Persuasion Techniques
Do you know somebody who is always blaming other people for their problems? Is it you? The fact is, we all do it. And sometimes we’re right. A recent article, however, shows why blaming others is not productive…even when it’s…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: blame, extrovert, introvert, kurt mortensen, maximum influence, persuasion iq, persuasion tools, productive, steve olson
Episode 87 – Building Emotion
It’s always helpful to learn more about what successful people do in their daily lives. In this episode, Kurt and Steve highlight three key lessons we can learn form successful people. For this week’s Persuasion IQ question, Kurt and Steve…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: build emotion, credibility, emotions, influence, kurt mortensen, logic, persuasion, persuasion iq, presentations, rate of speech
Episode 86 – Is Your Prospect Visual, Auditory, Or Kinesthetic?
After discussing Kurt’s recent trip to Las Vegas, Kurt and Steve discuss an article that may be helpful if you’ve been to Vegas recently: “Are White Lies Good For Relationships?” You’ll be surprised at the conclusion! How can we tell…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: auditory, eye movement, kinesthetic, kurt mortensen, Laws of charisma, nlp, relationships, steve olson, visual, white lies
Episode 85 – What Clients Like Most About Top Persuaders
Have you ever witnessed an animal “sniff” another animal and thought “wow I’m so glad I’m human?” A recent study featured in The Economist shows that you might rely on smelling other humans. Check out the study here. On this…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: aroma, blunders, great salespeople, influence university, kurt mortensen, olafactory, smell, steve olson. laws of charisma, top persuaders
Episode 84 – When To Send Email Marketing
Do you rely on email marketing to generate leads? What about telephone prospecting? As it turns out, there are specific times of day and the week that are more effective…and it’s not quite what you think. Check out this episode…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: best time to persuade, color, copyrighting, email, generate leads, kurt mortensen, magnetic persuasion, steve olson, telephone prospecting
Episode 82 – Why We Do Things We Don’t Want To Do
A recent study published by Psych Central discusses how to make new habits stick. The article goes over a variety of techniques that will dramatically increase your chances of implementing new habits. Check it out here. On episode 82, Kurt…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: bad habits, cognitive dissonance, habits, influence, kurt mortensen, leadership, motivation, negotiation, persuasion, persuasion iq, sales blunders, steve olson
Episode 81 – Does Your Prospect’s Mood Matter?
Have you ever given a presentation and had a tough time connecting with the audience? Some audiences are just difficult. Other audiences can be connected with if you know some basic pointers. For this week’s article, Kurt and Steve discuss…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: attitude, connecting with audience, harvard business review, hbr, kurt mortensen, law of involvement, Laws of charisma, mood, sales, selling, steve olson
Episode 80 – How To Control Perceived Value
Have you ever encountered a prospect who had a skewed view of what they should pay for your product? Would you like to have more control about what your prospects think your product is worth? Tune into this episode for…
Posted in Podcasts Tagged with: cost, framing, kurt mortensen, law of contrast, maximum influence, perception, sales objections, steve olson, too expensive, value
Episode 79 – The Top Trait Of All Persuaders
On this episode, Kurt and Steve continue in giving you the “cheat sheet” for the Persuasion IQ test. You can find the persuasion IQ test by visiting www.maximizeyourinfluence.com and clicking “Persuaison IQ” on the bottom of the page. What do…
Posted in Podcasts
Episode 78 – Are “Fast Talkers” Persuasive?
We’ve all heard of the stereotypical “fast talker.” They come across as too slick and like they’re up to something, right? On this episode, Kurt and Steve discuss what the most persuasive rate of speaking is. They also discuss what…
Posted in Podcasts
Episode 77 – The BEST Way To Create Scarcity
With Valentines Day now over with, you likely know where you stand with your significant other. However, Kurt and Steve still find it fit to bring up a recent study that shows how you can tell if somebody loves you…or…
Posted in Podcasts
Episode 76 – Non-Verbal Deception Cues
Do you know people who are ALWAYS late, no matter what? Do you find yourself telling these people earlier times in an effort to get them to unintentionally show up? A recent article in the Wall Street Journal studied type…
Posted in Podcasts
Episode 75 – Verbal Cues to Deception
Have you checked out www.universityofpersuasion.com yet? Did you know that you can enroll in our 52 week persuasion course for as little as $7 a month? Shameless plug over. On this week’s episode, Kurt and Steve discuss a recent article…
Posted in Podcasts
Episode 74 – Vision Versus Worry
Welcome to episode 74 of Maximize Your Influence! On this episode, Kurt and Steve roll out an interesting article published in the Economist. More and more, governments and intelligence agencies are analyzing body language to determine if somebody is a…
Posted in Podcasts
Episode 73 – Door in the Face
Have you ever met the kind of person who is always stressed, has a negative attitude, and who nobody wants to be around? Oftentimes we later hear these people have major health problems down the road. In this weeks article,…
Posted in Podcasts
Episode 72 – Presentation Pitfalls
On this week’s episode, Kurt and Steve lead off with the “Geeky Article Moment” as well as some banter about food, NFL playoffs, and seagulls eating hotdogs. Yep. It happened. A restaurant in Pittsburgh has recently decided that it will…
Posted in Podcasts
Episode 71 – Achievable Goals For 2015
Happy New Year! We’re back with the first episode of 2015! If you we’re asked “do you have a rewards card with us” last time you were shopping, you’re not alone. Business are loading up on rewards programs like never…
Posted in Podcasts
Episode 70 – Persuasive Writing Continued…
If you have kids or employees (they’re kind of the same, aren’t they) you have probably used threats as a way to gain compliance before. When we are in a rational state, we can all agree that most of the…
Posted in Podcasts
Episode 116 – Online Reviews: Validation or Sabotage
Now more than ever before, prospects rely on reviews from their peers to make decisions. Leaving reviews is easy for prospects to do. Unfortunately, this doesn’t necessarily make things easy for business owners and sales people. On this episode, Kurt…