It's interesting, I would have thought something different. I'd have thought that people who are more capable of adapting to the communication style of their peers had a subtle advantage (though that may not reveal pecking order).

I've always thought of a person that can hold a high level, technical conversation one moment, then adjust their vocabulary and speaking style to communicate with some neighborhood children the next, then adopt a pidgin to communicate better when dealing with a non-native speaking friend, then switch to a local drawl when getting their car fixed by the local mechanic, to have a special sort of power w/r to communicating effectively with their audience.

People who don't seem capable of adjusting their patterns based on audience seem more..."brittle" somehow.