Step away from the thesaurus.

HAHAHAHAHAHA.

So now there's a study supporting something that I've believed in for a while: that unnecessarily using big words and complicated language just makes you sound dumb.

The researcher, Daniel Oppenheimer, gathered a selection of writing samples--some written in normal, simple language, and others modified to use overly complex language and bigger words. Then these were handed to students to a group of evaluators. Guess what: the more complex and flowery the language of the sample, the less intelligent the students perceived its author to be.

It's not really that surprising when you think about it. It's true, having a large vocabulary can indicate that a person is knowledgeable. But the unnecessary use of big words and difficult language--which, let's face it, a lot of people do for the sake of sounding important or intelligent--can sacrifice fluency and clarity. Basically, it doesn't matter how impressive you think your two-dollar words are--if you cram them in it to the point that the language becomes unnatural and unclear, then you're doing it wrong. (“The chief virtue that language can have is clarity.” – Hippocrates)

There's a lot more to be said about being able to express complex ideas in simple language, not the other way around.

And personally, really, I think using big words to sound impressive is just lame. It always just sounds like you're really, really trying. xD

Here's a blog entry that briefly explains Oppenheimer's study (which is titled "Consequences of Erudite Vernacular Utilized Irrespective of Necessity: Problems with Using Long Words Needlessly". LOL.); and here's the actual study in PDF.