As a writer, and especially as a blogger, your words will be seen by dozens of eyes and evoke positive or negative reactions. If you have a knack or a love for writing as I do you want your words to be able to speak over the chatter of others and make a difference. You want to be heard. So how do you do that? Well besides having a gift you need to pay close attention to your word choice and over and under tones. A writer’s choice of words and overall vocabulary is huge in how a reader will relate to and enjoy the piece as a whole so it’s important to expand your reach with words. Think about times when you hear prominent figures speak or read things they’ve written, it’s easy to pull memorable quotes and points from it because it is so strongly written. Here are a few ways you can beef up your own vocabulary,

Read, read READ!

Reading is an excellent way to expand your word bank. Try and pick up things you wouldn’t typically go for like picking up the Wall Street Journal over the post and instead of reading ABC online read CNN or fox. The larger the publication and the topic the more likely you are to encounter new vocabulary words.

Befriend a thesaurus

Growing up we all learned what a thesaurus was and how to use it but how many of us actually still do? Another way to boost up your word bank is to write an entire blog post and then go back and read it over selecting five or six words you can swap out for another word that will explain it better.

Relearn your skills

This may sound silly but it works. Take up a new understanding of something you’ve become familiar with and relearn how it works. Doing this will help you explain things in a new light and with new words. Being able to explain things in multiple ways makes your vocabulary stronger too.

Overall your choice of words can make or break your piece. If a piece is too choppy or the vocabulary is too loose it makes it hard to read. Think about the things you dislike when you’re reading something and make points to avoid them. Effort in your writing shows and readers will appreciate it, so making your vocabulary bank wealthier can only benefit you.