How To Expand Your Vocabulary

 

How To Expand Your Vocabulary and Add Power to Your Conversation

 

Double the beauty of your conversation. Learn to understand the vocabulary in the right context and use it appropriately.

 

Vocabulary or the ‘Bank of Words’ or the ‘Stock of Words’ that you have plays an important role in the impact you will create or not create in your conversation or speech. While speaking to your audience if you are not able to stir the emotions of your listeners then you need to learn to expand your vocabulary to add power to your conversation.

Any individual can gauge the amount of knowledge you hold just by listening to the words that you use to explain anything or even while having a casual conversation.

Most of us live in a world where we keep on using the limited vocabulary that we learned since our childhood, not even realizing that there are so many words and phrases yet to be discovered and used that can catapult my career to a new height.

It happens because we live in a state of ignorance, and it is rightly said – ‘Ignorance is bliss.’ This state of bliss of ours does not allow us to explore the ocean of words and go beyond what we know.

 

Enhance English Vocabulary, Communication, Effective Conversation: It's Not as Difficult as You Think

Here’s How To Expand and Enhance Your Vocabulary and add Power to Your Conversation

If you are convinced of what I am talking about and are saying – ‘Yes Rakesh, I agree with you. I do need to develop my vocabulary because I need to create an impact with my communication.’

The question that comes to mind is – How do I know which words to include in my vocabulary so that I come out as a great speaker?

Here’s What You Can Begin With

What you need to do is identify the words that take your audience from being in the normal state of mind to an energized state of mind. 

Look at the sentences below -

Sentence 1:

 ‘I am happy to be here.’  

Sentence 2:

 ‘I am excited to be here.’

Here’s another example -

Sentence 1:

‘I am fine.’ 

Sentence 2:

‘I am awesome/unstoppable / just tremendous.’

Which sentence do you think has more power? I trust you have chosen the second in both examples.

What you have done is you have replaced the good word ‘Happy’ and ‘Fine’ with great words ‘Excited’ and ‘Awesome/Unstoppable/Just tremendous’.

When you use these bang-up and energized words, you are not only raising your emotional level to a new height but also pulling your audience to rise to your level of vigor.

So, what you need to do is put your antenna up and start hunting for those great words, also known as Power Words.

“Power Words are words filled with energy waiting to be used by people. When you make it an integral part of your conversation, it triggers an emotional response. These Power Words are so very persuasive that your listeners can’t resist being influenced by you.”

Power Words have the potential to turbo-charge your confidence and put you at the center stage from where you can command great admiration and recognition.

You can start your search for the Power Words on Google. Just type “power words” in the search area of Google and press enter. You will get millions of sites offering you free content that present you with treasures of Power Words.  

Don’t get drowned in the ocean of these Power Words. Initially select only those words that have immediate application in your day-to-day conversation.

And then all you need to do is maintain a diary exclusively for Power Words and start jotting down all the words along with their relevance, meaning, and examples.  Slowly and steadily, over a period of time, you will have a great collection of Power Words.

Don’t get super excited and in one day don’t list down twenty-five or fifty power words in your diary.

Instead, make it a habit that you do every single day. Every day identify two power words and write them down as explained above. Consciously keep thinking about the words and it’s meaning. Try to make new sentences with them. Use them in your daily conversation if you can.

Once you experience the Power of Power Words, it will get you all excited and charged up.

Now, you are ready to accelerate the process of building your Vocabulary of Power Words.

Let’s get into some Real Action.

5 Ways to Completely Revamp Your  English Vocabulary, Communication, and Have Effective Conversation

Here are My Tested Tips to Improve Your Vocabulary:

Here is what I did and still do to improve my vocabulary:

 

1. Read English Novels, Specially the Dialogues:

I love reading. So, I pick up some great modern-day novels and start reading them. I, most of the time skip those long descriptions or just scan through them and jump to the page where there are dialogues. Whenever I come across a dialogue that has an interesting phrase or a word, I stop reading ahead and focus on the word or phrase. I dive deep into it to understand its meaning in various contexts. I make my own sentences using the words or phrases to see how it sounds.

Finally, I write it in my Vocabulary Journal and move ahead.

2. Watch English Movies, but not without a Pen and a Paper: 

I love to watch Hollywood movies, especially the ones with subtitles. You might find it funny, but I watch Hollywood movies with a pen and my diary. I focus on the dialogues being spoken by the characters and if I find something interesting being said, I pause the video and immediately write it down in my diary. After the movie is over, I go through what I have written and again follow what I explained in the first step – I create my own sentences and work out the situations where I can use them.

3. Read English Newspapers or Magazines, but not to improve your English Conversation:

Most people suggest that one should read English Newspaper or Magazines to improve their English.

Why I don’t recommend the same is because Newspapers and Magazines follow written English format. There is a difference between written and spoken English and we don’t speak the way we write. 

Read the Newspaper Clipping below and you will understand that we don’t speak the way the news is being delivered. Instead, we can go through the news and have a good discussion on the nail-biting finish of the match with our friends.

 

 

 

I recommend reading Newspapers and Magazines for increasing your knowledge about what is happening around you. Use this information to have an interesting conversation with your friends and colleagues.

4. Listen to English Songs with Lyrics in Your Hand:

I usually don’t understand what the singer is singing unless and until I have the lyrics in my hand. (Anybody sailing in the same boat with me?)

When I have the lyrics in my hand, I am able to relate to what the singer is singing and also to the emotions portrayed in the song. If you are like me, you also need to have the written lyrics in your hand so that you can sing along or can identify the words being sung.

If you find a phrase or a stanza of the lyrics very interesting and catchy, write that down in your diary and then visualize all the situations in which you can use that word or phrase from the lyrics in your conversation. This will make you sound appealing and out of the ordinary, also it will add some musical rhythm to your conversation. 

5. Practice, Practice, Practice: 

Finally, using whatever new words or phrases I have captured in my diary, I practice using them in my mind by having a fictitious conversation with fictitious people. This helps me to prepare myself to use words and phrases whenever such a situation arises. If the situation doesn’t come, I deliberately create a situation where I get the opportunity to use that particular phrase or word.

I always ensure that I use in my day-to-day conversation the words that I have written.

When you develop a powerful vocabulary, your focus shifts from ‘what to say’ to ‘how to say’ it. This is what makes your conversation or speech attention-grabbing and impressive.

Never miss an opportunity to participate in a conversation. This will keep you immersed in the language and also you will be exposed to a number of situations to practice using the power words that you have learned.

Next time when you read anything, keep an eye on finding valuable power words. You need to make this a habit. This will only be possible if you keep a target and a schedule to learn a certain number of words daily. As suggested above, start with two power words a day.

REMEMBER: Words do Change Your Life!

Keep track of your daily Actionable. Every night before retiring for bed ask yourself – ‘What new power words did I learn and use today?’

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