Hi there

This month I want to talk in some depth about clarity and the effective use of language as well as two ongoing self-development tactics to help you with both.

I talk a lot about Emotional Intelligence or EI. I also train and coach extensively on the topic of EI.

EI is an especially important topic and one all self-developers should embrace and work on.

In my world EI comprises self-awareness, self-regulation, understanding others and managing relationships.

Regarding the two “self” or internal elements, your language matters in terms of content and intention but as it’s you you’re talking too you can use any language which works for you. No one else is going to hear it or judge you.

It is in the externally located elements of understanding others and managing relationships where your language “rubber” really hits the road.

Clarity of Message Matters

Clarity of expression is key to your success (or failure), so it makes sense to work on your language skills. People who are extremely clear communicators are also articulate communicators.

Articulate communicators can express their ideas or feelings clearly and effectively in speech and/or writing.

Spoken and written language starts with words.

Improve the quality, accuracy, and range of the words you use, and you will improve your clarity and effectiveness as a communicator. This will help you ask better questions and better understand the answers. This will help you learn faster and develop more fully. This will help you manage relationships.

This will improve your EI.

Estimates vary widely but it would appear that the average UK adult, like their US counterparts, knows and uses a range of between 20,000 and 30,000 words. This is a small fraction of the English language, which boasts over a million words in total, with around 170,000 words in current use. So, despite the vast number of available words, most communication relies on a small vocabulary.

Clarity often depends on nuance. Therefore, having a limited range of words at your disposal sometimes limits how precise you can be when articulating your messages.

In my experience the solution is to increase your available vocabulary and I have two tactics for your consideration:

Learn One New Word a Day

I would never expect anyone to sit down and start reading a dictionary. I wouldn’t and I love words.

The secret is “baby steps” and I recommend starting by adding just one word a day to your overall vocabulary. You can obviously do more if you want but one a day is a great foundation.

You could use an actual physical dictionary (yes, they still exist – I have several) and select a suitable word at random. You might also consider signing up to a curated “Word of the Day” website and they’ll send a useful word right to your inbox.

Practice using it and look for suitable opportunities to add it to your daily conversations.

Make the Thesaurus Your Friend

The next tactic is looking for variations on words you currently use a lot. We all have “go to” words which we use for every descriptive situation. For example, the word very” is in frequently use.

A thesaurus is a source of alternate words which, when used appropriately, mean something similar. This can create variety in your messages but more importantly it can add great nuance and subtlety. This then increases your clarity.

If you are brave record yourself discussing something or read some of your written work. If you notice certain words in use all the time, consider exploring useful substitutes.

There are physical thesauruses (or thesauri if you prefer) and there are online ones too. You can also search Google for word synonyms which are words which have a similar meaning or usage. E.g. “Give me synonyms for the word very.”

Again, start with one word a day and build up slowly. You'll get your vocabulary muscles fit, flexing and fabulous in no time.

Whenever you hear or read a strange or unfamiliar word, look it up. Can you make use of it yourself? What other words are similar?

Wherever you are with your vocabulary, start right now. Make growing your vocabulary an ongoing self-development project.

Hopefully that's offered you some food for thought.

Have a good one and I'll see you next month.

All the very best to you and yours

Andrew D Pope.