Testimonials & Social Proof

Customer testimonials, reviews, and success quotes are maintained as one canonical registry on the public website. Don’t re-type or paraphrase testimonials into new pages, decks, or ads — pull them from the registry so attribution and wording stay consistent.

Canonical source: src/lib/testimonials.ts in the scienceofpeople-com repo.

That file is synced from the official Testimonials Masterlist Google Sheet: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cg6S7Ix…. The Sheet is where new testimonials are collected; the .ts file is the cleaned, code-ready copy (Amazon rankings, short/generic praise, non-English, and duplicates removed). It also includes a handful of book and speaking endorsements not in the Sheet.

This page is the in-repo reference. The Google Sheet → testimonials.ts pipeline is the source of truth.

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What’s in the registry

Roughly 490+ testimonials across 11 tags (the file header reads “477 testimonials,” last synced 2026-03-19 — several People Coach and training testimonials have been added since, most recently Karen Stahl in PR #892 on 2026-06-23).

Tag	Count	What it covers
general	107	General praise for Vanessa / Science of People
cues	99	Cues book
captivate	90	Captivate book
people-school	79	People School graduates
courses	50	Online courses (Lie Detection, Udemy, LinkedIn Learning, Conversation)
speaking	34	Keynotes and corporate training
people-coach	16	People Coach Certification graduates
social	11	Social media mentions
favorite	4	Hand-picked all-time favorites
creative-live	2	CreativeLive classes
newsletter	1	Newsletter

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Shape

Each entry follows this TypeScript interface:

export interface Testimonial {
  name: string;            // attribution (person or handle)
  quote: string;           // the testimonial text
  tag: TestimonialTag;     // one of the 11 tags above
  source: string;          // e.g. 'People Coach Certification', 'Lie Detection'
  role?: string;           // optional title/role
  frequentlyUsed?: boolean; // flagged for high-traffic placements
}

Components import testimonials, filter by tag, and render through the site’s Testimonial.astro component. The same data feeds product/course JSON-LD (reviewCount, Review objects) for SEO.

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How to use it

• On the website: import from src/lib/testimonials.ts and filter by tag. Never hardcode quote copy into a page.
• Adding a testimonial: add the row to the Masterlist Google Sheet first, then sync it into testimonials.ts (PR against scienceofpeople-com). Keep the Sheet as the collection point so nothing gets lost.
• In marketing copy: testimonials are the “receipts” layer described in Voice & Tone → Marketing Copy. Names live in the proof/receipts section, not in headlines. Don’t edit a customer’s words beyond light cleanup, and don’t imply outcomes the quote doesn’t state.

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Frequently used

Flagged frequentlyUsed: true for high-traffic placements — safe defaults when you need a quick, vetted quote:

• Rich R (People School): “The whole course is simply amazing and full of nothing but useful info. What I liked the most is the mindset of taking small solid steps in order to start and keep moving…”
• Ivan (People School): “I used to focus on purely communicating the message when I talked to others, but I realized now that I have to choose words that convey a balance of warmth and competence…”
• Alyssa G (People School): “My biggest aha moment was in realizing that I have unnecessary uncertainty that comes across in some of my emails. My action step is to simplify my communication…”

All-time favorites (favorite tag)

• Trina Martin: “Today, I can look at body language, not as a ‘tactic’, but really as a tool to align with other people… This is ‘the secret’.”
• Mary Russo: “Vanessa Van Edwards… has been inspiring me this year to be a better version of myself. Through her book and YouTube tutorials, she is teaching me how to improve my interpersonal communication skills and confidence.”
• itsjennywood: “Loved this conversation with you, @vvanedwards. You always add so much new value to ideas.”
• Steve Watkins: “I watched your series on Wonderium and… You have inspired me to learn more and take my passion to a more formal level.”