The Hidden Impact of Jargon: How Language Reveals Status and Intentions

Study participants were asked to present an entrepreneurial idea. Some were told they would be competing against famous alumni or MBA graduates. And in those instances, Galinsky found the study subjects were more likely to present a pitch that contained more jargon. Similar results occurred in the study when they observed conversations between two

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To test this hypothesis, the researchers examined 65,000 dissertations. They defined three types of jargon — linguistic complexity, acronyms, and legalese — and screened the titles for it, weeding out technical language and slang. The researchers then cross-referenced the students' universities with U.S. News & World Report rankings and found a

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