With the speech and retch of modern communications, new words and usages spread rapidly across the country. A plain old word, 'affect,' would work just as well or better. We've been using computer jargon, like asking people for their 'input,' for years. Such computer talk is a reflection of life in the 1990s, but it isn't the only culprit in inhibiting our ability to talk clearly and effectively. The human ego gets in our way, too.
People seem to think that bigger words make their subject, and themselves, more important.
People today 'perceive' things instead of 'viewing' or 'seeing' them. Others 'utilise' things instead of 'using' them. One of the most succinct commentaries I've come across for encouraging plain talk came from an executive who told his staff, 'Don't utilise utilise. I try to avoid pompous language. Some people use it as an oral status symbol to impress others.