>>>>Well, some people, many, in fact, just simply find it difficult, if not hard, to merely say in very few words and phrases what they intend or mean when many will work, if not just as well, then at least not significantly worse than the few in which the statement might have been made if they had wanted to be somewhat more concise, not to mention terse than they became when the statement was finally uttered, typed, written, or mimed.
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>>>I am convinced that many people think using more, longer words makes them sound more impressive. I'm also convinced that the opposite is true.
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>>Yes, people who use long words when they aren't necessary are probably a bit insecure.
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>>I feel perspecuity is essential. ;)
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>OTOH, the people who speak in short words only aren't necessarily doing so out of any care for their personal psychological self-image. My guess is that, quite frequently, the most probable reason is that they don't know the long ones.
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>I would agree with Tamar in the case of those who try to keep it simple while talking. It does take more thinking to simplify and clarify the thought, and the effort merits any appreciation it can get. Was it Voltaire who apologized for not having time to write shorter (hm... deja vu?)?

I think it depends entirely (like most things) on the context. Who is the audience, and what kinds of words are appropriate in the situation. Some people might find words that I think of as obscure and 'big' as quite ordinary, and vice versa.

Sesquipedalia doesn't have to be evil. ;)