Why do some words stay with us but others fade away? Ada Aka, an assistant professor of marketing at Stanford Graduate School of Business, is determined to find out. “Words are incredibly powerful. Think about this: they shape how we perceive the world around us, but also how the world stays with us over time,” Aka says.

Aka’s research examines what makes words memorable and how language impacts our perception and decision-making. She and her colleagues recently conducted an ambitious study in which hundreds of undergraduates performed recall and recognition tasks over the course of 25 sessions. The results? Some words, regardless of where or how they appear, are simply stickier than others.

“Certain words are intrinsically more memorable,” Aka tells Think Fast, Talk Smart host and Stanford GSB lecturer Matt Abrahams. Concrete words, like “mountain,” are more likely to be recalled than abstract ones. Emotional words, particularly those related to loss or social connection, also stand out. Even informal language, like “oops,” can increase recall.

Aka’s research also explores how different communication styles affect the information we retain, including what we learn from AI-powered large language models. Her findings reveal a surprising tradeoff: The more conversational and engaging an LLM sounds, the less likely people are to remember precise details of what it says.

“If you’re teaching something quite technical, for example, it’s not good to use things like, ‘Let me tell you how this works,’” she says.

Aka’s work also extends to branding, where the most effective slogans blend creativity, humor, and psycholinguistic variables like emotionality. “Alignment and fit between a brand’s personality and values – as well as the message that this little multi-phrase or singular sentence slogan gives and how those two fit with one another – seems to be one of the more important factors,” she says.

For anyone crafting a message, Aka’s research proves that choosing our words carefully can be the difference between being heard and being forgotten.