"Give them the gift of words"

Jun
1st

5 Ways to Set Yourself Apart Using Vocabulary

Categories: SAT Vocabulary, Vocabulary Building Words, Vocabulary for Success, Vocabulary Improvement Tips | Tags:

Whether you’re trying to impress your professors with your abilities or working hard to bring yourself to management’s attention so they’ll consider you for a new job or promotion, you need to make sure you stand out from the crowd. One of the best ways to do this is to use the power of your vocabulary to constantly communicate in the most effective and efficient way possible. Here’s why vocabulary study is the key to making you the center of attention and the one person who succeeds:

1. You’ll be able to consistently show excellence.

A good vocabulary allows you to smoothly and easily communicate, both verbally and in writing. We’re always transmitting information and it’s important that your speech and writing has a uniform quality. People will know they can count on you to be clear and articulate, no matter the situation.

The word uniform comes from the Latin roots uni- (“one”) and forma (“form, shape”).

2. Good communicators are able to get people to agree with them.

Clear and persuasive speech is only possible with an excellent vocabulary. If you’re looking for a promotion to a supervisory position, you’ll need to be able to get people to work in unison in order to get things done, and your vocabulary skills will definitely help.

To make the word unison, add the Latin root sonus (“sound”) instead; unison means “having one sound.”

3. Vocabulary knowledge keeps you from being confused.

Fluency in speaking is important, but you also need to know the definitions of words so you can use them precisely. By studying vocabulary, you’ll know better than to make unilateral assumptions about meaning. This means you won’t be confusing other people, either.

The Latin root latus means “side” so unilateral means “one-sided.” For example, you might assume that because words like unintelligible and unimproved also start with the letters UNI, they also use the root word meaning “one” – but they don’t. These words begin with the prefix un- which means “not” (i.e. “not intelligible” and “not improved”).

4. No matter what field you’re in, vocabulary is a valuable resource.

Frankly, we can’t think of any profession (except perhaps that of mime, or Trappist monk) that doesn’t rely on words. Communication is a universal requirement in any field. Start with improving your basic and advanced English vocabulary, and then go on to the terminology specific to your area of work or study.

Take the root words uni (“one”) and versus (“to turn, to become”) to create the whole of existence, all things turned into one: the universe, a universal constant.

5. Good vocabulary makes you stand out from the rest.

You might be only one applicant out of hundreds for that perfect job you’ve been looking for. Your vocabulary skills will set your job application apart from the others and you’ll quickly come to the interviewers’ attention with your unique ability to express yourself.

The Latin word unicus (“sole, single”) became the French word unique, and entered the English language in the 17th century.