The optimistic language Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett uses to discuss his business may be the secret to his success, according to a CNBC report.
Data scientist Michael Toth performed a sentiment analysis on Mr. Buffett's annual letters to his shareholders from 1977 to 2016. A sentiment analysis is primarily used to identify and quantify the overall sentiment of a particular text.
To conduct the analysis, Mr. Toth split each letter into a set of distinct words and identified the most commonly used positive, negative and neutral words the billionaire used throughout his letters.
The top six words Mr. Buffett used include:
- Loss
- Gain
- Worth
- Significant
- Debt
- Outstanding
Mr. Toth said while some of Mr. Buffett's most-used words may have a negative connotation, the billionaire used those words in a positive context. For example, in Mr. Buffett's 2017 letter, he used the word "debt" to discuss how the company's multiple profit sources allowed it to "significantly lower [its] cost of debt," according to the report.
"Even when things are going badly, like in 2008 when everything was falling apart, [Mr. Buffett] is still measured in his approach in speaking to his shareholders," Mr. Toth wrote in a blog post. "Things are not always going to be perfect and I think [Mr.] Buffett's ability to still communicate and inspire confidence during those bad time periods is important."
To view a word map of Mr. Buffett's most-used words in letters to his shareholders, click here.