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Ten Common Obstacles That Limit Your Persuasion Success

Kurt W. Mortensen

There are things you are doing right now that cause people to resist you and your message. My research shows that there are ten common obstacles mediocre persuaders make that limit their success and income.

OBSTACLE #1: THE WOBEGON EFFECT
Radio humorist Garrison Keillor coined the term "Lake Wobegon Effect"
to describe the tendency most people have to see themselves as better than average. In his book, Lake Wobegon Days, Keillor depicts a town where "all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average." Like the Lake Wobegon folks, we all have a natural bias to see ourselves as above average. It's really hard to admit it when we just don't cut it, especially when it comes to skills that we regard as basic or common. Psychologists call this tendency "cognitive bias," or the "better than average effect." It is also called "The Wobegon Effect."

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