Improving Your Vocabulary

As a speaker, teacher, or leader, it’s important to be eloquent. It’s important to always have exactly the right word to explain the emotion or thought you are trying to convey. Here are some tips for improving your vocabulary. As a speaker, when it comes to language, you need to have the biggest arsenal. Remember that it takes more than learning a word to remember it. Language is built through repetition and use. Once you find new words, you’ve got to get into the habit of using them. Otherwise they’ll never truly “stick.” Also remember not to “flaunt” your newfound knowledge. Everyone likes speaking with someone who is knowledgeable and well-spoken, but no one likes someone who comes across as pompous or a show-off.

Read. This is important. Be it trade publications, novels, newspapers, or online… the more you read, and the wider the scope of genre, the more words you will be exposed to in your day-to-day life. Reading is processed very differently by the brain than listening is, so I recommend you steer away from podcasts or audiobooks in favor of the written word. Make sure to use a dictionary if you need to. Also keep a keen eye on the context of the words surrounding the words you learn. It’s as important to know how to use the words as it is to learn them.

Use a journal or blog. This doesn’t need to be expensive or time consuming, but writing down a few of your thoughts daily is a great way to capture thoughts and ideas, but can also allow you to try out new words you learn, to work them into your regular vocabulary, and to get used to using them.

Write letters or emails to friends, family, coworkers, and acquaintances. Keep the words fresh in your mind as you reach out to important people in your life. It will be as good for your social life as it is for your vocabulary!

Learn a word a day. Either via app, website, calendar, or dictionary, this is a great technique, and very effective. To make it part of your routine, try tying it in with something else you do every day. Like learning the word while brushing your teeth.

Spend time with a thesaurus. Look up your favorite words, or the words you use the most often, and there you will find synonyms, similar words that can be used in many of the same circumstances.

Learn a language, or study root languages. Latin and Greek are the basis of many words in English. Once you understand the root words, it’s easier to make connections between words and use them yourself. The history is important. Language for English-speakers in influenced by many cultures, so learning another language can also be beneficial.
Play games. Crossword puzzles on the train, Scrabble with friends, or even games you can download to your phone or computer are great ways to unwind and pass the time, while still strengthening the muscle of your vocabulary. This is having fun and working at the same time! Challenge your peers, find new games, stretch your limits.

The Speaker’s Dictionary A – H

This is the first in a series of quick, no-nonsense tips and how-tos for being a better speaker, leader, and teacher. The alphabet of professional speaking.

Audience – It’s fitting that this comes first, as this is the most important thing to remember in any speech or workshop or lecture you give. What matters isn’t you, what matters is your ability to connect with people. To get them to understand what you’re trying to convey. Make sure that you always keep your audience at the forefront of every decision.

Blocking – This is a theater term that is also useful for presentations. It’s your movement on stage, how you use the space. This is also the position of equipment on stage, like microphones or podiums. Make sure you know the blocking ahead of time, or a least a good idea of what your space is like and how you intend to use it.

Concise – Make sure to keep you lecture, presentation, or speech short, sweet, and to the point. Keep in mind that the simple ways of speaking often allow for more emotion and power in what you say.

Data – Information you use to build your speech and present to back up your words. Make sure you know how to use this properly. The best way to handle data is to use as little of it as possible. Stories are better than facts. Eye contact is better than slides. Sometimes you need data, but try to keep it to one slide per three minutes of speaking.

Eloquence – It’s not always about using the most obscure words, or having the largest vocabulary. Sometimes, paring down a thought to it’s bare bones poetically is the most eloquent a speaker can be.

Focus – Always make sure you know what your core message is, and always make sure that you know why your audience will care about your core message. If you keep your focus on those two questions, and you keep your on-stage focus on the audience and connecting with them, making eye-contact with them, you’ll never veer off course.

Gestures – Make sure that you use them powerfully, but in moderation. Don’t be a “hand-talker” because that is distracting, and don’t keep your hands stiff at your sides, or you’ll seem cold and closed off. Keep a balance and be mindful of it.

Heckler – Sometimes, depending on your crowd, you will get someone who is angry or tired or who thinks they are funnier or smarter than you. These people may sometimes yell out in the middle of your speech. Like schoolyard bullies, it’s usually best to ignore them. Responding could set you off course and make you lose the thread of your speech, and joking and being mean back will undoubtedly backfire. Just don’t let them change your demeanor.

Stay tuned for upcoming posts with the rest of the alphabet!