How often do you allow others to deceive you?

How often do you allow others to deceive you? What if this was a reflection of your own self-deception?

Some years ago I sat in a workshop awaiting a presentation by one of the delegates.  She rose to the stage to begin her speech, saying to the tutor that she was unprepared, knew insufficient of the subject and was going to offer a mediocre presentation. 

The presentation she gave was excellent and I recall the tutor’s question to her at the end.  She said ‘Why did you chose to deceive us?  By playing small you tried to shape the way in which we perceived your talk!’

Think about this for a moment. Is modesty a virtue or is it an an attempt to deceive others – including yourself- or a way of relinquishing responsibility for any associated discomfort we may have as a result of feedback from another.