Expressing yourself with confidence and finding the right words for any situation can help you to get along in the world, and get ahead. If you’re not a natural reader who’s often found with your nose in a book, expanding your knowledge may feel like a bit of a challenge for you. If you find yourself struggling to express how you feel, or people seem to misunderstand you, expanding your vocabulary may be a good place to start. We have a few ideas that can help you to be heard and make your points clear.

One way to help you expand your knowledge and become a confident communicator is to learn one new word every day. Make sure and try it in a sentence too. There are a variety of word games available through apps on your phone too. Sometimes, it’s difficult to imagine how you would EVER use that word in a sentence. It can feel foreign or fake. Over time though, through dedicated effort, eventually these words will become treasures that color your speech. People will want to listen to you.

If you’re raised in a healthy family that taught you how to use your words to communicate, to get your needs met, you are probably pretty good at advocating for yourself. If however, you are from a family that didn’t communicate in healthy ways, and you didn’t feel like your contribution in communication counted, it’s possible you feel shut down or not effective when sharing your feelings or ideas. This could hurt you if you are a single female with few resources. If the latter is true, you have the opportunity to change this unfortunate story, and here’s how:

1. Whenever you hear a word you don’t understand, whether reading in an article, hearing it on the news, or watching TV, take the time to look it up. Commit to this. You won’t be disappointed.
2. If someone uses a word you don’t understand, ask them what that means. It’s OK to not know what a word means, but it’s not OK to pretend you do, when you don’t.
3. Grow your understanding of the English language, the various parts of language, and how words are used. Try .https://7esl.com/
4. Own a dictionary so you flip through page by page and find interesting words. You’ll learn much more than just using an online app.
5. Get a thesaurus for related words. This is good for alternating usage.
6. Get audiobooks for yourself and your kids from the library on subjects you are all interested in. This will naturally expand your vocabulary. Remember to pause and look up words you don’t understand. This will help you with understanding the meaning the author intended. Teach your children to be inquisitive and ask questions when they don’t understand words.
7. Try Miriam Webster’s Word of the day: ttps://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day.
8. Keep a word journal which will help with memorization of new words.
9. Play Word Games like Scrabble with your kids too! Keep the dictionary on hand if you are stumped and need help. Do not just play to win, learning should be fun.
10. Practice new words in sentences. Your friends will be impressed, and you’ll surprise yourself too.

Remember, when you only have a few minutes to make a first impression, make it count by using just the right words, at just the right time. It will feel like music to your ears, and to the person who is listening to you too. Best wishes for growing up with knowledge.

Birthright is here for you, and we are cheering you on.