‘Vocabulary is a matter of word-building as well as word using’
A person’s vocabulary is like his closet. Some words are recurrent, in conversation with friends, typing chat messages, casual emails, etc.
And then, there are some words used occasionally, exclusively on special events, like in resumes, email to new business clients, application to the dean of the college, etc.
Some words are so outworn that the communication becomes ineffective and boring. To catch the reader’s or listener’s attention, one needs to incorporate new words. Hence, an elaborate vocabulary is impactful.
It might seem tough, but enhancing the vocabulary does not require any special expertise or need to dedicate time. With correct use of words, you can pass on the exact meaning of your sentence; no more, no less.
Here are some quick tricks which are easy to incorporate and give strong results.
1. Befriend the Newspaper
It is the best habit an avid reader can adopt. Newspapers keep a person updated, and they teach some strong writing styles. If one crawls through the editorial page of a newspaper, he can see how different people experiment with different styles of writing.
The best newspaper in India recommended for increasing your intelligent quotient, general knowledge and English is The Hindu.
2. Become grammar-savvy
Extensions like Google Dictionary and Grammarly can be a person’s right and left hands. One must not forget to set the language according to the English followed in the region. For example, in India, people generally follow British English, unless stated otherwise. One can look for more appealing synonyms through these extensions. For mobile phone, a person can easily get a dictionary app that works both offline and online.
3. Date back to ancient era
Not advocating the literal meaning, but revisiting the past is rewarding. Long dramatic stories can seem threatening looking at the classical way of writing, but it will help the person understand how words evolved. These words can find usage in college projects, office presentations, in the form of quotations or to give the monotonous writing a break.
4. Add variety to the bookshelf
Even if a person’s field does not demand the knowledge of technical stuff, or is away from non-fiction and sci-fi stuff, it is advisable to read articles that fall in these categories. One might not have to speak about the latest technology to be used in the KTM’s next bike, however, a conversation about the software used in the new iPhone is casual. One must keep oneself updated about the jargons used in some common domains.
One can not be a jack of all trades, however, to grab as much knowledge as possible does no harm. Sometimes, the other person might be a wordsmith, the other times, the one with decent English knowledge. In both the cases, one must not be bumptious. A smart person will gauge the situation and the subject and then toss the words to make a greater impact.
