Doug Theis Leave your comfort zone.

Lying to yourself—or self-deception, as psychologists call it—can actually have benefits. And nearly everybody does it, based on a growing body of research using new experimental techniques.

Lying to yourself — or self-deception, as psychologists call it — actually has benefits sometimes. Based on a growing body of research using new experimental techniques to induce and analyze self-deception, researchers are finding that most people lie to themselves at least some of the time. Sue Shellenbarger explains on Lunch Break.

Self-deception isn’t just lying or faking, but is deeper and more complicated, says Del Paulhus, psychology professor at University of British Columbia and author of a widely used scale to measure self-deceptive tendencies. It involves strong psychological forces that keep us from acknowledging a threatening truth about ourselves, he says.

Believing we are more talented or intelligent than we really are can help us influence and win over others, says Robert Trivers, an anthropology professor at Rutgers University and author of “The Folly of Fools,” a 2011 book on the subject. An executive who talks himself into believing he is a great public speaker may not only feel better as he performs, but increase “how much he fools people, by having a confident style that persuades them that he’s good,” he says.

The Case for Lying to Yourself – WSJ.com

Word of mouth plays a big role in creating a positive brand image and prompting prospects to make that final leap into making a purchase or patronizing a service. The web has a plethora of review sites… most of which are open to anonymous users that have become problematic due to trolling competitors and false reviews. These sites are overrun by competitors hoping to damage your reputation.

Businesses are surprised to find out how different our client, Angie’s List, is. On Angie’s List, your business account is free. Your reputation is built from a 1.5 million strong subscriber base, all of them registered and usually paid subscribers, eliminating the chances of bogus or biased reviews. Angie’s List even provides a mediation service to ensure issues are reported accurately. The service has become so popular to its users that people often search for Angie’s List + the service and city!

Angie’s List is the nation’s premier provider of trusted reviews on contractors and doctors in over 550 categories, like roofers, plumbers, house cleaners and dentists. More than 2 million members check Angie’s List to find the best local service providers and save on projects with exclusive member discounts

Marketing Tech Blog – Service Industry Marketing Must Include Angie's List