How To Increase Your Vocabulary
In last weeks conversation tip, we talked about the value of having a good vocabulary. It was established that a good vocabulary is one of the tools
needed to make good conversation. Well, that leads us right into this week’s topic, which is how to increase your vocabulary. Actually it’s quite easy. Here are a few suggestions.
Read A Good Book
There is no easier way to increase your vocabulary than by reading. Of course, books and other reading material that can be classified as “light reading” may not have much in the way of words you don't
already know, but if you pick up a more literary work, you should find plenty of new words to add to your vocabulary. The beauty of learning new words as you read is that you already have an example of
how it should be used in a sentence, which helps clarify the meaning of the word even more than just a dictionary definition alone.
Make a Game Out of It
There are many different word games that you can play that will help increase your vocabulary. If you have the completive spirit like I do, nothing will give you more motivation to learn new
words (particularly words that contain the letter “z” or “w”) than the desire to win. I owe a good portion of my vocabulary to “game night” with my family where we ate popcorn and played Scrabble, Boggle
and a host of other board games.
The “Word of the Day” Calendar
There are many calendars on the market today that help you increase your vocabulary by featuring a different word and its definition for every day of the year. If you make an effort to use the “word of
the day” in your conversations, you will increase your vocabulary by 365 words in no time.
Read the Dictionary
Okay, I admit this sounds strange and exceedingly dull, but if you are lover of words and of language like myself, you might find reading the dictionary appealing. When I was around 10 years old I began opening
the dictionary to a page at random and reading the definitions I found there. One of the things I found most interesting is the additional definitions that exist for words I already knew. If you love trivia, reading
the dictionary to increase your vocabulary might be something you'd like to try, at least once.
Dust off The Thesaurus
Another wonderful way to increase your vocabulary is to use your thesaurus to find synonyms to the words you use most often. Several times in this Conversation Tip I used the word “increase” to describe what you can
do to your vocabulary. There are several other words I could have used, such as boost, enlarge, expand, enhance, improve, and the list goes on and on. The thesaurus is a great tool to use if you want to augment your vocabulary.
As you can see, there are many ways you can enhance your vocabulary. Give one or two of them a try, and as your vocabulary grows, your ability to make good conversation will improve exponentially.
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