I’ve always had an extremely high verbal IQ (which is genetic) but I realized most don’t, so I do this thing when Im speaking where I use the “fancy” word (the appropriate word) and then immediately give its definition without interrupting the flow. So something like… “a hard fork is a bifurcation of the network, it splits it into two parts” that little coda at the end really helps bring 90% of the audience in and doesn’t offend the 10%. Many smart people will just say the “fancy” word and then continue on not realizing they just lost the majority of the audience. Conversely when I do not want to be understood by the majority, I will crank up the language dial to 11 and speak exclusively in S.A.T words. This becomes a cypher for the majority of speakers and they quickly tune out. This is useful for controversial or sensitive topics.
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The fact that you can do this, recognize it in yourself, and articulate it says even more.
Skills > tools
(they’re also perishable!)
I usually speak around the 5th-grade level, with various dialects and slang and a bit cursing. Also, idioms, poetic speech, patterns, that sort of thing. And speaking in intentionally-wrong grammar.
More funner.
Another thing I do, to keep myself entertained, without losing my audience, is use a lot of metaphors and similes. They're like audial memes.
I tend to not debate or argue with anyone IRL, unless they're unusually confident and quick-witted.
But I write however I like. I need some outlet where I can just say precisely what I mean and where I don't have to pretend to be vapid and avoid confrontation.