Communication is about transferring information from your head to another person's head. Someone with good communication skills has an intuitive understanding of the level of language complexity and the vocabulary they should use when speaking to different audiences. It would be stupid to talk to a five year-old in the same way you'd speak to your college history professor, and most people understand that they'd come across as a patronising jerk if they ever did the reverse of that.
Having said that, keeping things as simple as possible is always the best approach. Richard Feynman undoubtedly had a very large vocabulary, but he became famous for his ability to express hideously complex concepts in theoretical physics in a way that most reasonably intelligent people could grasp. On the other side of that coin, there are those who try to impress people with their huge vocabulary and others who use their linguistic abilities to deceive.
Don't be one of those people. If you get in the habit of trying dazzle with your vocabulary, sooner or later you're going to use a word incorrectly in the presence of someone smarter than you, and you'll end up feeling like a fool. If you use language to bullshit people, you can be sure that they will eventually see through the smokescreen you've put up.
Is it normal to have a situationally large vocabulary?
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Communication is about transferring information from your head to another person's head. Someone with good communication skills has an intuitive understanding of the level of language complexity and the vocabulary they should use when speaking to different audiences. It would be stupid to talk to a five year-old in the same way you'd speak to your college history professor, and most people understand that they'd come across as a patronising jerk if they ever did the reverse of that.
Having said that, keeping things as simple as possible is always the best approach. Richard Feynman undoubtedly had a very large vocabulary, but he became famous for his ability to express hideously complex concepts in theoretical physics in a way that most reasonably intelligent people could grasp. On the other side of that coin, there are those who try to impress people with their huge vocabulary and others who use their linguistic abilities to deceive.
Don't be one of those people. If you get in the habit of trying dazzle with your vocabulary, sooner or later you're going to use a word incorrectly in the presence of someone smarter than you, and you'll end up feeling like a fool. If you use language to bullshit people, you can be sure that they will eventually see through the smokescreen you've put up.