Speaker Reading Level
The grade-level reading difficulty of the speaker's language, computed from the transcript. Higher values mean more complex vocabulary and longer sentences; lower values mean more conversational, accessible speech.
Political content has to choose between sounding authoritative (high reading level, policy-wonk language) and sounding like a real person (low reading level, conversational). YouTube audiences consistently reward the conversational end — every grade level down from the speaker's baseline is a measurable views gain.
Average Video is the effect on a typical video. Top 10% Video is the effect on the videos that broke out (top decile of views) — so you can see whether a factor helps most videos a little, or pushes the top performers much higher.
When present
Dense, policy-grade language with longer sentences and formal vocabulary.
A Senate floor speech with legislative terminology and complex clauses
When absent
Simple, conversational language that anyone can follow.
A direct-to-camera explainer at an 8th-grade reading level