Four Ways To Learn New Words That Will Make You Sound Smarter

We all use language to communicate with our fellow humans, but when you want to tell the world you mean business, it’s your vocabulary that can distinguish you – or extinguish you. The List spoke to Career Expert Kerry Sanderson to bring you different ways to build a working vocabulary that will help you on your next career move.Show more

Check out the video above to find out what exactly are word of the day emails; why being a good listener will come in handy for you; why you should practice new words on a notebook instead of a smartphone; and why repetition should be your best friend when it comes to learning new words.

To boost your word power, variety is the key. This boosts your credibility. However, be sure not to use “big words” just for the sake of using them if you are not going to use them correctly. Sometimes this can backfire because you will alienate people.

First, to become a better speaker, you need to be a better listener. This practice is also true for reading and writing. Avid readers are almost always going to also be stronger writers than those who read very seldomly. Reading on a regular basis also will undoubtedly raise your vocabulary skills immensely. Many people learn hundreds of new words a year just from reading on a daily basis, and they don’t even have to try to memorize any definitions. When a person reads, they are engaging so many parts of the brain at once, and the brain will pick up on rhetoric nuances and word meanings automatically.

Another tip from this video is to carry a notebook. Putting pen to paper and handwriting will exercise your memory much stronger than putting the word into a smart phone or other technological device. Finally, try to use the word at least a few times a day. The more you use it, the better you will remember it.

The next section of this video focuses on things around people every single day, all day long that are filthy. Hang tight, because you’re guaranteed to be surprised by some of the things on this list! Bacteria hides everywhere. The number one item is the all important cell phone! It is recommended that all cell phones should be disinfected at least once a day. Another common item is a purse!

This can be cleaned easily with a baby wipe, which will not damage leather and other materials. Women put their purses down everywhere, including floors of restaurants and other common areas that are infested with bacteria. It is not something many people think about very often, but purses certainly need to be cleaned on a regular basis. Don’t forget the handles!
The last item is game controllers. These collect germs from all over the place.

Eating while playing games is one of the reasons these items get so bacteria ridden. The cleaning expert recommends using hand sanitizer placed on a cloth used to wipe down each controller and all of the buttons.