How to improve vocabulary?

[Small_Fryz]

Simple question.

As some may know I do sales for a living, in fact I would almost go so far as to say I have a career in sales. I'm also one of those people who probably should of paid a lot more attention or at least handed in more assignments at school. While I did pass school it is a safe bet to say I grossly under achieved. I never furthered my education outside of high school. In saying that its not that I couldn't have or wasn't "smart" enough, I just never liked to do school work and I could not see myself lasting in university/college.

Just as some people like red and others blue, some are brilliant at maths and others are brilliant at English. I was brilliant at Maths and average to decent at English (compared to my math skills, my English was nothing). As such English was a subject I did enough to pass (which took some effort) but certainly didn't go out of my way to do more than I needed (compared to advanced Maths in which I could ace by merely bothering to do the assignment).

Getting to the point... I can see a real need in gaining a higher vocabulary, which will translate to more success and more money in my choosen profession. I fully back myself in my ability to learn and self teach however I thought that some here would have or are finding/been through similar and I wanted to hear some suggestions or even stories about how you increased or gained your decent grasp of the English language. Many posters here are highly proficient and I would very much like some tips.

Cheers.

 

[Danny]

Read more. Read everything you can. Read publications. Read novels. Read public service announcements.

And look up any unfamiliar words instantly before you forget them, then try and use them more in your day to day life if the opportunity presents itself.

 

[Aldo]

Read lots of books. Read lots of newspapers.
If you are really bored, trawl through the dictionary

 

[daan]

If you are really bored, trawl through the dictionary

and a thesaurus

which isn't a dinosaur...

 

[Beliall]

Read more. Read everything you can. Read publications. Read novels. Read public service announcements.

And look up any unfamiliar words instantly before you forget them, then try and use them more in your day to day life if the opportunity presents itself.

Thats pretty much what i was going to say, mainly i would learn one word a day, then use it 3 times in a sentence that day

 

[Cap'n Jack]

Go back in time to high school and join the drama class. 9th-12th grade Drama did more for my vocabulary, writing and speaking skills than high school English ever could, that's for sure.

But seriously, get a thesaurus. I use the dictionary/thesaurus application on my computer regularly.

 

[exigeracer]

If reading novels sounds stale to you (although it doesn't have to be), there is always the internets. With the blogosphere being so vast, you can surely find a couple dozen blogs surrounding a subject that you like that you can spend hours and hours reading. There are also some very interesting general-interest blogs that can be fascinating and enlighten you in ways that you never thought. Check out sites like bOINGbOING, Wired or Slate, which regularly carry really interesting, well-written and thought-provoking material that for some is more appealing than reading a book.

I've got a blogroll of over 60 sites that I check daily, I'm usually "that guy" that always has a story or reference to add in a conversation about something I read about recently.

Read lots of books. Read lots of newspapers.

If Aus is anything like North America, your newspaper will do zero for your vocabulary. Typical dailies write at the level of a 7th grader, which will do nothing for your vocabulary. I understand it is different abroad, especially like countries like Japan, but at least North American content is written at an inanely low level.

 

[Small_Fryz]

Thanks for the input guys! 👍

I do a lot of talking so I need to incorporate the vocabulary into my speaking while appearing completely natural as well as appropriate. I also need to be able to do this on the fly and unscripted. I don't want to come off as someone using big words just to sound smart, but rather someone who is capable of elegantly describing a situation with well selected words. Sales is one area where you can say 2 words that roughly mean the same on paper, but when used on the fly can generate different results. In the off chance I do need to write something I do go through some effort with the computers thesaurus to improve it, however I find this doesn't always translate to spoken.

 

[Solid Lifters]

There's no 'community college' in Australia? They're also called Jr. College. You go for two years, and the credits apply to a regular college, saving you money.

We have a lot of them here in the USA. They're like a high school but with ashtrays and you can call the teachers by their first name. Take some basic English courses and then some basic writing skills courses.

You go for two hours a day, for two or three days a week. Night courses so you can work during the day. Cheap, too. People often go just to learn, so you have a lot of old, retired people. You even have kids as young as 15 because their parents forced them to go to get some basic college credits out of the way.

 

[Omnis]

Read more. Read everything you can. Read publications. Read novels. Read public service announcements.

And look up any unfamiliar words instantly before you forget them, then try and use them more in your day to day life if the opportunity presents itself.

Noooooo! Don't just read any old crap. You need to read good writers.

Aside from the words and vocabulary, read people who write with great style like HL Mencken.

 

[Neal]

Word of the Day toilet paper?

Joking aside read books and non-tabloid newspapers plus everything others have said.

 

[Max Powers]

Crossword puzzles are great for vocabulary.