Kurt W. Mortensen is an international authority on charisma, negotiation, and building your social influence. Kurt has spent over 20 years researching influence, leadership, sales, persuasive presentations, and he teaches on the university level.
Kurt is the author of Persuasion IQ, Laws of Charisma, and the best-selling book Maximum Influence. His books have been translated into 28 languages. He is also the host of the popular podcast Maximize Your Influence.
Over the years, Kurt has taught hundreds of seminars and workshops worldwide. (Over 20 Countries) He has discovered most people have a great desire to succeed but many times fall short of their goals. Mortensen teaches that professional success, personal Relationships, and leadership all depend on the ability to persuade, influence, and motivate others. The key is to get others to want to do, what you want them to do and like doing it.
Recent Content
This episode delves into strategies for enhancing influence, motivation, and success, featuring elements like goal setting and mindfulness. Kurt Mortensen shares personal anecdotes, such as a dentist'…
This episode delves …
This episode delves into strategies for enhancing influence, motivation, and success, featuring elements like goal setting and mindfulness. Kurt Mortensen shares personal anecdotes, such as a dentist's poor follow-up, to highlight the importance of persistence. He discusses human motivation, emphasizing the balance between minimizing risk and maximizing reward in decision-making. Listening to audience feedback and personal motivation techniques are explored, including intrinsic versus extrinsic incentives. The episode also features a listener question on effective sales tactics, reinforcing th…
This episode explores the science behind effective goal setting and achieving maximum success. Kurt discusses common pitfalls like failing to set goals correctly and pre-excusing failure. He highlight…
This episode explore…
This episode explores the science behind effective goal setting and achieving maximum success. Kurt discusses common pitfalls like failing to set goals correctly and pre-excusing failure. He highlights the importance of mindset, motivation, and self-persuasion in maintaining goal pursuit. The podcast also covers practical steps for setting and achieving goals, such as writing them down, creating an action plan, and having accountability. Kurt illustrates these points with examples and studies, offering actionable advice for listeners to increase their influence, motivation, and overall success…
This episode explores techniques to understand and influence people by decoding their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Kurt Mortensen delves into methods like hot and cold reading used by psychics, …
This episode explore…
This episode explores techniques to understand and influence people by decoding their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Kurt Mortensen delves into methods like hot and cold reading used by psychics, explaining how these techniques can be applied in everyday persuasion. Going up against a rival makes us take more risks This episode also covers various studies on rivalry and risk-taking, body language cues, and the psychological principles behind effective communication and influence. Kurt also gives practical advice on boosting one's persuasive skills through better observation and understan…
In this episode, Kurt delves into the power of mindset and its critical role in success. Starting with insights from his recent four-day event on Millionaire Psychology, Kurt explains the fundamental …
In this episode, Kur…
In this episode, Kurt delves into the power of mindset and its critical role in success. Starting with insights from his recent four-day event on Millionaire Psychology, Kurt explains the fundamental differences between learned optimism and learned helplessness, concepts introduced by Dr. Martin Seligman. Listeners will learn the significance of adopting a millionaire mindset, improving persuasion and negotiation skills, and the importance of continuous self-improvement. The Power of Small Wins The episode also covers strategies for overcoming learned helplessness, implementing small daily vic…
In this episode, Kurt Mortensen explores the effectiveness of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and its techniques for persuasion, motivation, and influence. Kurt discusses handling emotions like fea…
In this episode, Kur…
In this episode, Kurt Mortensen explores the effectiveness of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and its techniques for persuasion, motivation, and influence. Kurt discusses handling emotions like fear, shares insights from recent studies on the brain's role in fear inhibition, and answers a listener's questions about NLP. He also introduces methods like mirroring, framing, future pacing, embedded commands, and anchoring, explaining how these tools can enhance personal and professional communication. Additionally, Kurt talks about public speaking Anxiety and compares NLP anchoring with exposur…
As a salesperson, you know how crucial communication is. But have you ever stopped to think about common mistakes that could sabotage your presentations and cost you deals? These aren’t just min…
As a salesperson, yo…
As a salesperson, you know how crucial communication is. But have you ever stopped to think about common mistakes that could sabotage your presentations and cost you deals? These aren’t just minor missteps - they’re the ones that can lose you a sale before you even realize it. Michael Bay Fails (Meltdown) CES - Walks Off Stage - heckled by Technology The bottom line: Be intentional with your communication, and don’t just rely on your product to do the talking. Your presentation is the first step in building trust - and that’s the foundation for every successful sale. Join me for …
Sales isn’t about an excellent presentation - it’s also about how you read your potential customers. Body language is one of the most powerful tools in your persuasion toolkit, and understanding…
Sales isn’t about …
Sales isn’t about an excellent presentation - it’s also about how you read your potential customers. Body language is one of the most powerful tools in your persuasion toolkit, and understanding it can be the difference between closing a deal and getting a NO. People are constantly sending signals with their bodies, even when their mouths are silent. So, how can you harness the art of reading body language to increase your sales and influence? Let’s find out! How Hope Beats Mindfulness When Times Are Tough Join me for this week’s podcast on Mimic, Mirror or Merge: The Science…
“Breaking the mirror” is a term used to describe how lawyers intentionally disrupt the psychological connection, or rapport, with a witness on the stand. That disconnect is also called antipathy.…
“Breaking the mirr…
“Breaking the mirror” is a term used to describe how lawyers intentionally disrupt the psychological connection, or rapport, with a witness on the stand. That disconnect is also called antipathy. During questioning, attorneys may initially mirror the witness’s tone, energy, rate, and body language to connect and build trust but then strategically break that alignment to create discomfort. This shift is particularly effective in creating pressure and undermining a witness’s confidence. Harvard Psychologist Ellen Langer Shows How Mental Attitude Can Potentially Reverse the Effects o…
The importance of the RAS in persuasion extends to various fields, from marketing and advertising to public speaking and Education. By leveraging the power of the RAS, persuaders can enhance their abi…
The importance of th…
The importance of the RAS in persuasion extends to various fields, from marketing and advertising to public speaking and education. By leveraging the power of the RAS, persuaders can enhance their ability to keep their prospect’s attention and motivate them to action. Understanding and utilizing the RAS is critical to involvement and making a lasting impression in a world overflowing with information. Latent Learning - How We Subconsciously Pick Up Information Join me for this week’s podcast on The First Gatekeeper - The Reticular Activating System (RAS). I will take a deeper dive into…
Influencers use closing skills to guide potential customers in making a decision. Effective closing skills ensure both the salesperson and the customer feel confident about the purchase, minimize re…
Influencers use clos…
Influencers use closing skills to guide potential customers in making a decision. Effective closing skills ensure both the salesperson and the customer feel confident about the purchase, minimize resistance, and create a smooth transition to get the YES. Closing skills also enable salespeople to address last-minute objections and encourage customers to commit to the solution. Deal or No Deal - The Role of Emotions in Negotiating Offers A little anger in negotiation pays What do your prospect’s hate about your closing skills? What repels them? What helps them? Join me for this week’s …
Credibility is based on 3 things: your knowledge, track record, and appearance. What it comes down to is that you are believable and have the expertise to make things happen or solve their challenge…
Credibility is based…
Credibility is based on 3 things: your knowledge, track record, and appearance. What it comes down to is that you are believable and have the expertise to make things happen or solve their challenge. The perception could be based on your demeanor, mannerisms, or dress. Rage clicks - Study shows how political outrage fuels social media engagement If you are experiencing any of the above, it is time to borrow credibility. What? Can you borrow credibility? The answer is absolutely. Join me for this week’s podcast on How To Borrow Credibility In A Low Trust World. Discover the secre…
Researchers suggest that willpower and self-discipline can weaken after doing sequential tasks, much like an overused muscle strained to fatigue or a battery that has lost its charge. The results pr…
Researchers suggest …
Researchers suggest that willpower and self-discipline can weaken after doing sequential tasks, much like an overused muscle strained to fatigue or a battery that has lost its charge. The results proved interesting in looking at the two groups—one that ate cookies (requiring no willpower) and one that ate radishes (exercising their willpower against the tantalizing cookie smell). Do you want more success? Increase your willpower? Have unlimited confidence? Join me for this week’s podcast on Get Your Game On With Dre Baldwin. I will interview Dre Baldwin, who will give you more …
Praise and compliments can backfire or be disbelieved for several reasons, especially when perceived as fake or insincere. Here are the top 4 reasons why praise could backfire on you. That ‘Complim…
Praise and complimen…
Praise and compliments can backfire or be disbelieved for several reasons, especially when perceived as fake or insincere. Here are the top 4 reasons why praise could backfire on you. That ‘Compliment’ Might Actually Be Offensive Praise must be genuine, specific, and aligned with reality to be effective and credible. Overpraising or manipulating through praise can make people uneasy or skeptical, undermining its intended effects. Join me for this week’s podcast on Why Your Compliments And Praise Backfire And Seem Manipulative. We will discuss the trend of people rejecting praise, wh…
Identifying whether someone is a narcissist requires looking for key behaviors and personality traits that align with narcissistic tendencies Why You Should Sleep on it Before Making an Important De…
Identifying whether …
Identifying whether someone is a narcissist requires looking for key behaviors and personality traits that align with narcissistic tendencies Why You Should Sleep on it Before Making an Important Decision Finding a narcissist involves looking for patterns of behavior that revolve around self-importance, lack of empathy, and manipulative tendencies. Want to know how to persuade a narcissist? Join me for this week’s podcast on How To Persuade And Earn The Respect Of A Narcissist. Discover why a narcissist thinks the way they do and what to do if they are in your path and you need to pers…
Numerous studies have been conducted on the impact of scent and fragrances on association. A study conducted among undergraduate students found that female students wearing perfume were rated more att…
Numerous studies hav…
Numerous studies have been conducted on the impact of scent and fragrances on association. A study conducted among undergraduate students found that female students wearing perfume were rated more attractive by male students. Scents were even found to improve scores on job evaluations. Of course, offensive odors can also be used (and have been used) to evoke a negative response. Sensory Marketing; The Smell of Cinnamon That Made Me Buy Want to know more about sensory marketing? Get your prospect more involved using their sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. Join me for this week’s p…
This Law of Persuasion states that the more skillful a person is in the use of language, the more persuasive they are. Words affect our perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, and emotions. Language mis…
This Law of Persuasi…
This Law of Persuasion states that the more skillful a person is in the use of language, the more persuasive they are. Words affect our perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, and emotions. Language misused will trigger the wrong response and decrease your ability to persuade. All words have emotional meanings that are different from their dictionary definitions. Understanding words and their emotional triggers will enhance your ability to persuade and influence. Facts alone fall short in correcting science misinformation By carefully listening to a prospect's pronouns and adjusting your la…
Fear comes from uncertainty, financial challenges, past experience, or the fear of making a wrong decision. So, how do you switch them from fear to focus? Horror films offer a psychological thrill ri…
Fear comes from unce…
Fear comes from uncertainty, financial challenges, past experience, or the fear of making a wrong decision. So, how do you switch them from fear to focus? Horror films offer a psychological thrill ride When you shift the emotional energy from fear and doubt to confidence and anticipation, you will close the sale and leave your prospect feeling good about their choice. Join me for this week’s podcast on Science Of Horror Movies - Turning Prospect Fear Into Focus. You will discover the science of fear and how to use it to influence. Find out how to harness the fastest motivation tool you…
Whether you’re meeting someone for the first time, closing a business deal, or deepening a personal relationship, your body language is crucial in establishing rapport and trust - or inadvertently c…
Whether you’re mee…
Whether you’re meeting someone for the first time, closing a business deal, or deepening a personal relationship, your body language is crucial in establishing rapport and trust - or inadvertently causing resistance. Understanding and mastering these nonverbal signals can transform how you connect with others. Here’s how to recognize the signs that show you’re making a connection and those that indicate you are triggering distrust Jobs That Need People Skills Are The Most Recession Proof Want to dive deeper into the fascinating world of nonverbal communication? Join me for this week…