--- title: What Do the Words You Use Say About You? description: How much does your vocabulary determine your success? canonical: https://time.com/3380533/what-do-the-words-you-use-say-about-you/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-09-16T04:01:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:49:38.569Z article:section: Ideas og:title: What Do the Words You Use Say About You? og:description: Speaking positively and using words related to “insight” is associated with outstanding achievement og:url: https://time.com/3380533/what-do-the-words-you-use-say-about-you/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9367ae84c1fd5373/698858103c16399666458874/172782883-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=506&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 506 og:image:height: 285 og:image:alt: speech-bubble-chalkboard og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What Do the Words You Use Say About You? twitter:description: Speaking positively and using words related to “insight” is associated with outstanding achievement twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9367ae84c1fd5373/698858103c16399666458874/172782883-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=506&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What Do the Words You Use Say About You? > Sponsored content. 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A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=8ccc055e-8e47-475f-a674-e9b0aa39c294&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Game Changer: Amy Cuddy, Power Poser [Watch (HLS stream): Game Changer: Amy Cuddy, Power Poser](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ZUGEf6U2.m3u8) (5:58)  _Published 2012-03-19. Using a few simple tweaks to body language, Harvard researcher Amy Cuddy discovers ways to help people become more powerful_ by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Sep 16, 2014 4:01 AM UTC  speech bubble drawn on a blackboard speech bubble drawn on a blackboard Getty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Sep 16, 2014 4:01 AM UTC A lot. Your personality can be determined just by looking at the way you [text message](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/01/what-can-people-tell-about-your-personality-f/). You can make accurate judgments about your favorite author’s personality [just by reading their work](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-you-tell-an-authors-personality-just-by-r). You can probably tell a great deal about my personality [from the words I use in my blog posts](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2010/08/what-can-you-tell-about-my-personality-by-the/). Word choice can predict whether you’re [depressed, suicidal or lying](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/01/can-your-choice-of-words-tell-me-if-youre-dep/). Swearing [makes you more persuasive](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2010/08/does-swearing-make-you-more-or-less-persuasiv/). It’s true, asshole: --- > “” --- Word choice changes [when you’re lying](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2010/07/what-are-clues-someone-is-lying-via-im/): --- > “” --- Things that are easy for our brain to process [feel more true](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/08/does-easy-to-understand-true/) than concepts that are difficult to process. This is one of the reasons we tend to like the familiar more than the unfamiliar. It’s also why we may fall for the glib and specious versus more accurate but challenging explanations. It’s also why [small words are more effective than big ones](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/11/ten-rules-effective-language/) and why [trying to sound smart actually makes you seem stupid](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/05/does-trying-to-look-smart-make-us-seem-stupid/). Words affect our decision making. When crime is described as a “beast” people favor police and jails, [when it’s a “virus” the public supports social reform.](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-much-of-a-difference-do-your-metaphors-ma) **But can words really predict behavior?** Boxers who spoke positively and referenced health and work before a match [were more likely to win](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/08/can-your-words-be-used-to-predict-your-succes/). Those who spoke tentatively and talked about social factors lost. Speaking positively and using words related to “insight” is associated with [outstanding achievement](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/07/which-words-predict-outstanding-performance/). The way employees gossip about a company can predict its success or failure. Via [The Secret Life of Pronouns: What Our Words Say About Us](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1608194809/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- Which CEO’s are going to run a company into the ground? Count the number of times they use the word “I” in their annual letter to shareholders. Via [Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591842948/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- That word “I” can be very telling. [Powerful people don’t say it much](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/08/what-does-your-use-of-the-word-i-say-about-yo/). Less powerful people say it the most. People use “I” rarely when lying in order to psychologically distance themselves. By the same token, “we” can be [extremely powerful](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/04/can-the-frequency-of-one-word-tell-you-how-he/). Just saying it can make people feel more positive toward you and [create a feeling of familiarity](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/07/how-can-you-create-an-instant-feeling-of-fami/). Couples who say “we” often when describing their relationships are more satisfied. Use of the word “you” is a bad sign. Using “we” can even predict whether you’ll survive a heart attack. From [The Secret Life of Pronouns: What Our Words Say About Us](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1608194809/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- Mimicking another person’s word choice [improves negotiations](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/08/what-are-the-first-words-you-should-say-in-a/). In fact, similarity in word choice [can predict who will fall in love](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/08/what-does-your-use-of-the-word-i-say-about-yo/). Examining the words of speed daters was more effective at predicting who would get together than watching them interact. **Words aren’t everything though** Your body language may be eight times as influential as your words. Via [The Most Human Human: What Artificial Intelligence Teaches Us About Being Alive](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307476707/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- (More on body language [here](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/04/what-quality-makes-a-man-smarter-faster-and-a/).) And in case you were curious: just like you get words stuck on the tip of your tongue, deaf signers get words stuck [on the tips of their fingers](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2010/02/do-deaf-signers-ever-get-words-stuck-on-the-t/): --- > “” --- **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/)**_._** **Join over 100,000 readers.** Get a free weekly update via email [here](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD). Related posts: [What are the ten rules you need to know to communicate effectively?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/11/ten-rules-effective-language/) [What are the 18 secrets to giving a presentation like Steve Jobs?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/10/18-secrets-giving-presentation-steve-jobs/) [Does PowerPoint make you stupid?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/09/does-powerpoint-make-you-stupid/) _Read next:_ [_5 Body Language Secrets to Get Yourself Ready for Anything_](http://time.com/3927549/body-language-secrets/?iid=time%5Freadnext) [_Listen to the most important stories of the day_](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/autoplay/?xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ## Transcript Power is expressed through these highly specific, evolved, nonverbal displays. [ MUSIC ] I think it's interesting to look at images of Obama where he will be leaning back with his feet up on his desk, and, you know, really spread out, when he's sort of in his own space. Powerlessness, on the other hand, is expressed through the very opposite nonverbal displays. When that comes to mind is an image of Michelle Obama on the cover of Vogue where she's all sort of crossed up in making herself really small, which to me doesn't even fit her, it doesn't suit her. [ MUSIC ] I'm Amy Cuddy and I'm a social psychologist and Professor Harvard Business School. [ MUSIC ] My main collaborator in this research, Dana Carney, and I we're having a conversation after teaching MBA students at two different schools. One of the things that we noticed was that the students who were participating a lot had different body language from the students who were not participating a lot. Who intended to be women and non- white men. What we were really interested in knowing was whether or not you could change their body language and actually change the way they felt and behaved. Testosterone is known as the dominance hormone. It's associated with confidence and assertiveness. Cortisol, on the other hand, is known as the stress hormone, and that's associated with an inability to adapt in highly stressful situations. [ MUSIC ] People looking at primate hierarchies notice that of one member of the hierarchy becomes more powerful. Within a short period of time that members testosterone level rises and his cortisol level drops. So, we started wondering if you pose as if you have power, will your body and your mind change in a way that looks as if you have power? So in short we're really asking, you know, can you fake it till you make it. So to test the predictions, we had people come into the lab we took a saliva sample to get their baseline hormone levels. After that we randomly assigned them to one of two conditions. [ MUSIC ] It was a high- power- pose condition or a low- power- pose condition. So what we found was that after just two minutes of high- power posing or low- power posing. You get these changes in testosterone, cortisol, and risk- taking behavior in ways that are consistent With actually having power in the real world. [ SOUND ] The lab is set up for psychophysiologicall studies. So we're measuring things like heart and respiratory rate in addition to the hormone measures. [ SOUND ] What we know is that sitting or standing in these high power poses causes these changes that are consistent with having power. What we want to know now is how far does that go outside the lab? You know, what can you do with that? Where can you take that? Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right. What we were interested in is not turning Gordon Gekkos into bigger Gordon Gekkos. What we were interested in. Were these students who are sitting quietly? Even if they were really smart but lacking the confidence to really get in there. And we knew that would be a problem for them, not only in the classroom but after they leave school in job interviews, leading team meeting, just sort of in life in general. [ MUSIC ] If you think about what people are doing before a job interview, what you picture, probably, is somebody sitting in the chair and they're sort of hunching over their iPhone or their BlackBerry. And they're making themselves small. What we're finding so far, and this is ongoing research, is that the people who sit. [ MUSIC ] Or stand in these high powered poses for just a couple minutes. They're evaluated more positively overall. And they're more likely to get the job. So you can go ahead and put your hands behind your head like this. People st, started asking us, are you recommending that we just, you know, put our feet up on our desk and our hands behind our heads, and we're in a job interview? We weren't recommending any of those things. You know, this was not about what you do during the interaction, this is what you do before the interaction. They should be finding a space, even if it's a bathroom stall, to expand and make themselves as big as possible. Walk up and down the hallways swinging your arms, stand on your toes. [ SOUND ]. I've heard from a World- Class Violinist, who now power- poses before he performs and he says it's dramatically improved his performances. [ MUSIC ] I've heard from an older person, a retiree who uses power poses before she goes into talk to her doctor. I, I can't believe the range of applications. I'm learning so much. [ MUSIC ] When I was 19, I was in a really bad car accident and had a very serious brain injury. I had doctors telling me, you probably aren't gonna finish college. [ MUSIC ] The neuropsy testing was sort of suggesting the same thing, that I had lost IQ points, you know, significant percentage of my IQ points. And I finally decided that the doctors were just wrong I didn't have to accept things as they appeared to be. So I think it's that same irrational and stubborn optimist in me that led me to belive that you could make this kind of change This is a really tiny tweak. This is something so small that you can change and get a pretty big effect. I mean we don't know how long it lasts, but it's a big effect. What are the other tiny tweaks that you can make that can change and improve your life, and other people's lives? ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3380533/what-do-the-words-you-use-say-about-you/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3380533/what-do-the-words-you-use-say-about-you/"},"headline":"What Do the Words You Use Say About You?","datePublished":"2014-09-16T04:01:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:49:38.569Z","description":"How much does your vocabulary determine your success?","url":"https://time.com/3380533/what-do-the-words-you-use-say-about-you/","keywords":["Psychology","advice"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9367ae84c1fd5373/698858103c16399666458874/172782883-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Barker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-barker/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9367ae84c1fd5373/698858103c16399666458874/172782883-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"speech-bubble-chalkboard","caption":"speech-bubble-chalkboard","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/psychology/","name":"Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3380533/what-do-the-words-you-use-say-about-you/","name":"What Do the Words You Use Say About You?"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Game Changer: Amy Cuddy, Power Poser","description":"Using a few simple tweaks to body language, Harvard researcher Amy Cuddy discovers ways to help people become more powerful","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/ZUGEf6U2/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2012-03-19T13:26:52.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ZUGEf6U2.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3380533/what-do-the-words-you-use-say-about-you/","duration":"PT5M58S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3380533/what-do-the-words-you-use-say-about-you/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```