A Few Helpful Hints

You may think that improving your vocabulary will carry a high profit margin. You can make an impression with important people. People at parties will view you as erudite, smart, someone to know and admire. Right?

Not exactly.

The aim of a strong vocabulary should not be to impress other people. The goal of building a powerful vocabulary is to find the words that say exactly what you mean in a manner that can be understood by those who are listening to you.

Here are some hints to help you avoid the pitfalls of an expanding vocabulary:

		You don't need to use a word others won't readily understand in order to sound intelligent. True intelligence comes across when smart thoughts are expressed with clarity, and for the most part, brevity. It's the old "less is more" philosophy.
		A well-used, simple word will be as effective as a properly used, fancy word, pronounced correctly to the right person.
		And whatever you do, use only those words which you are completely sure of the meaning.

Wordy	Concise
at this point in time	now
in the days and weeks preceding	before
subsequent to	after

Don't be redundant. Example:

Redundant	Concise
the unfortunate problem	the problem

Explanation: What problem isn't unfortunate?

Be forceful. Use the active voice. Verbs come in two voices, active and passive. Generally, active sounds more forceful. Example:

Passive	Active
The new speed limit was passed by Congress.	Congress passed the new speed limit.

Avoid clichés and jargon. Example:

Cliché	Jargon
You look as pretty as a picture.	We intend to designate new parameters for optimal employee participation.

Now you try it...

		Grammar Builder
		Vocabulary Builder
		Expression Builder