| What made Shakespeare the greatest writer in | | | | opposite effect, people will switch off if they think |
| English literature? His stories were good, for sure - | | | | you are being pompous.3. Get your message across |
| but a lot of them were simply re-workings of | | | | more effectively. Many people believe that the word |
| historical events or legends. His rhythm and rhyme | | | | 'synonym' means 'another word for the same thing'. |
| were good, too - but everyone else was doing the | | | | This is not true. If two words meant exactly the |
| same. What made Shakespeare great, and what can | | | | same thing, we wouldn't need them. Synonyms are |
| make you great too, was the size of his...Vocabulary! | | | | similar words, but not the same. Having a good range |
| It is believed that the average person is able to | | | | of synonyms can add not only richness to your |
| recognise between 10 and 15 thousand words. | | | | speech, but also make you communicate more |
| Shakespeare used 35,000 words in his plays and | | | | effectively. The nuances that you create in your |
| sonnets, thus making him the ultimate communicator | | | | choice of vocabulary will hit the nail on the head as |
| in history.What are the benefits you can derive from | | | | far as your listeners are concerned. They will go |
| improving your vocabulary?1 Greater understanding | | | | away knowing exactly what the message was, not |
| means being better informed. So it's easy to read | | | | just some vague idea.The best way to improve your |
| comic books but a bit more tricky reading "the | | | | vocabulary is get a thesaurus and start adding words |
| Times". Want the edge on your colleagues or | | | | to your active vocabulary. Using mind maps is great |
| competitors? You must be at ease with your | | | | way to organise your ideas: write a word in the |
| language, and have a good understanding. it can be | | | | middle of blank sheet of paper and use colors and |
| embarrassing and even destructive to find yourself in | | | | images to build associations. If you've never used |
| a situation where everyone is using a word that you | | | | mind maps before, now's the time to get started. |
| don't know. Knowledge is power!2 Add spice to your | | | | You can see some examples at my site.Jonathan |
| public speaking. Using the same words over and over | | | | Lewis teaches English as a foreign language in the |
| gets boring. Having a large vocabulary will always | | | | south of France. He offers lots of practical advice |
| keep your audience keen. Be careful though, using | | | | about learning languages on his site. |
| long words just to impress will always have the | | | | |