In this world of text messaging, IM, email and blogging, our ability to communicate via the written word has become an essential part of our everyday lives. Improving your vocabulary, learning to use fewer words to make your points and perfecting your organizational skills are all prerequisites for clear communication.
Improving Your Vocabulary
What small parameters we create if our vocabulary limits our ability to fully communicate. It's time to learn more words! Playing scrabble, doing crossword puzzles, reading books and scanning the internet are all useful ways to improve vocabulary. Additionally, you could get a list of 50 words; pick ten you don't know and search for the meaning in the dictionary; use each word in a sentence or make up a whole scenario.
Making Your Words Count
As a writer, I'm always searching for the perfect words to convey my thoughts! If we're gifted writers, our words will empower others. Granted, not many of us will ever have the profound impact of an Abe Lincoln, John Kennedy or Martin Luther King but we do have the power to make our words count. In academia, we're taught to use numerous superfluous words. Teachers, for the most part, require 3000 "words" to be submitted instead of our best thoughts in the most succinct form. One exception I encountered was my "Modern Drama" professor who scribbled snowmen in the margins of my compositions when I used too many extra little words or digressed too frequently. Edit your writing; for instance, take the word "that" out of your writing if the sentence makes sense without it.
Organizing Your Thoughts
When you're writing articles for the internet, you need a compelling word of phrase for the title of your article, preferably three words of less. Every article should have an introduction, a body and a conclusion. Keep it simple; three main points are enough. For example, in this article the three main points are: learning new words, using concise powerful words and organizing your material. Your introduction would be a brief synopsis of what you are going to say in the body of your article; your conclusion would be a reiteration of what you've said in your article.
Learn some new words every day; use clear concise sentences and develop the ability to organize your ideas so you'll be one step closer to embracing "the power of words."
