Complex language vs credible intelligence

In the book “Thinking, Fast and Slow“, author Daniel Kahneman offers this nugget of wisdom:

If you care about being thought credible and intelligent, do not use complex language where simpler language will do.

It seems almost counter-intuitive, but we’ve all seen it before. More often than not, when someone is spouting a bunch of “ten-dollar words”, they know the words but can’t speak much beyond them.

If you can indeed speak deeper into those words, you still might have a problem if people can’t understand what you’re saying, because they then won’t be able to appreciate your insights.

I think this is a reason that people like Seth Godin are so well-respected. He posts daily about incredibly insightful topics, but he writes in a way that everyone can understand the point he’s trying to make.

Maybe Kevin from the office was right when he said “why say lot word when few word do trick?” ??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_K-L9uhsBLM

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This article first appeared at: https://www.mickmel.com/complex-language-vs-credible-intelligence/