Intelligent Reasons for Expanding Your Vocabulary, and How to Do It.

“A man may take to drink because he feels himself to be a failure, and then fail all the more completely because he drinks. It is rather the same thing that is happening to the English language. It becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts.” — George Orwell

It happens to the best of us. We’re in the middle of a conversation and the exchange is flowing nicely when all of a sudden the specific word we’re looking for eludes us. We stop and search frantically. As we fumble over synonyms and similes, our conversation partner joins us on the search. And often they experience just as much frustration as we do. But why?

In dealing with other people we all want two things: To understand and to be understood. It’s about communication and connection. It’s about identity.

Our ability to effectively communicate our ideas, thoughts, and feelings to another is intrinsically connected to the choice of words we have at our disposal. The more choice we have, the more accurate, precise and felicitous the representation of our experience will be. The more accurately we are able to represent ourselves, the more likely we are to be understood. When our point of view is clear, it increases the chances of eliciting empathy and forming a connection with another person.

If you were going to paint a picture that told the story of your life, wouldn’t you want to use as many colours as possible? I like to think of words and our use of them in the same way. Putting it differently: If your only tool is a hammer then every problem looks like a nail.

Taking this idea of communication a step further, I believe it is truly impossible to completely understand another person and their experience, regardless of how precisely they may communicate their ideas or how intelligent or empathetic we may be. Many of the experiences we have in life, especially ones that are on the mystical, religious or transpersonal spectrum, are purely ineffable. No matter how linguistically adroit or verbose we are, there are just some experiences in life and aspects of ourselves that we will never be able to put into words.

That being said, there is a lot of middle ground between what’s communicable and what isn’t. It is specifically this territory that we navigate via our use of language. Our shared experiences are what make us human, and the better we can communicate what we have in common, as well as what we don’t, the more fruitful our interactions will be.

There are many types of intelligence that we all use on a daily basis without giving them a second thought. There’s musical intelligence, spatial intelligence, creative intelligence, numerical intelligence, to name a few. But there is one we use and depend on more than any other: Verbal intelligence.

Here are five benefits of expanding your vocabulary

1. You appear intelligent: This is the obvious one. People who utilize a greater variety of words and who are more precise with their speech tend to come across as intelligent and well educated. This goes a long way if you’re applying for a job, making deals at a business meeting, or you just want to create a good first impression. Speaking more articulately may be just the thing that gives you the leading advantage over other applicants at a job interview.

I can’t tell you how many times people have asked me what university I studied at because I am “…obviously, very well educated.” I have worked in jobs where all my colleagues either had or were working on their PhDs, and I was the only exception. I’m not saying that I’m not well educated (informally). But I certainly don’t have a doctorate in post-structural linguistics, or in anything else.

2. A boost in confidence. A change in personality: Everyone admires intelligence. People will often treat you differently when they think you know something they don’t — even if it’s just a couple of words. When people begin to comment on your elocution (style of speaking) and you notice more occasions in which people are asking for your advice, you will start seeing yourself in a new light.

I’m not suggesting that we should prop ourselves up with inflated and pompous speech, simply to impress people and to generate a grandiose self-image. But focusing on a new skill like this can be especially helpful if you are like many and suffer from social anxiety or have low self-esteem.

Many great and charismatic speakers are able to capture the attention of their audience by grand gestures, body language, and tone of voice. If you tend to be more introverted, or typically monotone when speaking, speaking carefully and articulately is a great way to counterbalance the skills you lack.

3. It will influence how you see things: Without getting into too much philosophical speculation and abstraction, the language you speak and the words you use shape your perception of the world. The concept of Linguistic determinism suggests that language determines and limits our capacity for knowledge, perception, and thought. This quote from Ludwig Wittgenstein is certainly thought-provoking, regardless of your interpretation or philosophical position:

“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.”

When you consistently discover and learn new words, it can engender a new understanding of old ideas. It can lead to reconceptualizing old views and thinking in new ways.

Let’s revisit our visual analogy.

Imagine only being able to see the world in a few colors, with a limited amount of shades and tones. Now imagine being able to see every nuance, shade, and tone in the entire color spectrum available to us. That’s language.

4. Your general knowledge will increase: This one is simple and somewhat related to the point above. The more words you understand, the more you’ll understand. If you’ve ever had the experience of reading a book, article or paper on any given subject and found yourself skipping over long and challenging words, you’ll know what I mean. When you can understand and interpret every word on a page, you’ll glean a lot more than someone who can’t. Sometimes it can be a redundant adjective that imparts nothing profound, but sometimes it can be a word that represents a narrow concept or helps elucidate the entire context of whatever is your reading.

5. It will save you time. It will turn you into a great speaker: We all know someone that has an ability to prattle on. They speak in circles and although they’re talking a lot, they’re not saying much. It’s said that empty vessels make the most noise. There’s a word for this type of speech: Circumlocution. It means using many words when few will suffice. If there is one thing that will test a listener's patience, it’s this.

People who are able to summarise their ideas clearly and concisely are valued and often regarded as powerful speakers. When you can say what you mean with a few well-articulated phrases it packs a punch. Your listeners don’t have to audibly sift through a superfluous and convoluted stream of words. Your message is clear and unambiguous.

A caveat. Knowing your audience and catering your use of language to whom you are speaking is a crucial aspect of being a great speaker. But the greater our repertoire of words, the more versatile, dynamic and relatable we will be.

How to Achieve all of this

1. Active reading. It’s almost not worth mentioning, it’s so obvious. But by this, I mean reading with the intention of learning. Something I tend to do when I read is to keep a separate notebook just for keeping track of any words I am unfamiliar with. I’ll look up their meaning and enter them into my notebook, revisiting the list periodically until the word is cemented in my brain.

2. Watching powerful orators. Because effective, powerful speaking and verbal intelligence are so closely linked, I always find it helpful to watch speakers who have mastered the art of what they do. It’s not just about what words you know, but knowing when to use them. Ted Talks and political speeches are great for this.

3. Word of the day and vocabulary builders. When I lived in Toronto I used to commute every day on the subway, twenty minutes each way. I used this time to play word games. For the rest of the day, I would incorporate what I’d learned into my typical conversations.

4. Curiosity and etymology. Getting inquisitive about your language is a great way to learn old and foreign words that might rarely be used today. Books like The Horologicon and The Etymologicon are great resources to start with.

Here are a few wonderful words you might not know.

Groke: Someone who stares at you whilst you eat, in the hope that you’ll share your meal with them.

Petrichor: A pleasant smell that frequently accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather.

Vellichor: The strange wistfulness of used bookstores.

Komorebi: The interplay between light and leaves when sunlight shines through trees

Mangata: The glimmering, road-like reflection that the moon creates on the water.

5. Spend time with new people. Everyone has their own idiosyncrasies, the things that make them different. And most often this will be reflected in how they speak and the words they use to describe their own experiences. When we hang around the same crowd all the time, we tend to become more like them. The idea that we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with is not a new one and it has far-reaching implications. If you want to build new habits and develop new skills, changing your environment and mixing with new people should be a prerequisite. It could be something as simple as grabbing a book and finding a new coffee shop to read in, or attending a free lecture or talk at a local university or art gallery.

As you can see, increasing your vocabulary doesn’t have to be a painstaking process of staring at textbooks, nor does it take a lot of time. And reaping the myriad benefits happens organically when you make slight adjustments to your life and set the intention to expand yourself in new ways.

Thanks for taking the time to read this article. Hopefully, it will lead you to a better version of yourself. Follow me for more related content. Tips are always greatly appreciated.