Why What You Say Reveals More Than You Think

From Thomas Jefferson’s "All men are created equal" to John F. Kennedy’s "Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country," simple words strung together in distinctive ways have the power to move people. But imagine if Jefferson instead said, "Each person is not worse than the next," or Kennedy rephrased to "Don’t just take for yourself but give to your country" — would these quotes have become just as famous?

Academics tackled these and other linguistic analysis questions at the recent interdisciplinary "Behavioral Insights from Text Conference," organized by Wharton’s Risk Management and Decision Processes Center. Beyond a theoretical exercise, the multi-university research presented at the conference showed how word choice can have deep implications for people, business and society by examining the subtle psychology behind them.

How What You Say Reveals More Than You Think