A rich and extensive vocabulary opens social and professional doors and makes it more rewarding to converse, read, listen to the radio, watch TV and attend the theater. Studies show that a large vocabulary can be a pretty accurate predictor of success. Nearly everyone can enrich and enlarge their vocabulary, regardless of age; here’s how:

Keep reading. Read periodicals and books by authors new to you. Most magazines introduce new words occasionally but ones such as Atlantic Monthly or Business Week are replete with interesting words.

A word a day. Merriam-Webster’s free subscriber service emails a word daily with its definition, derivation, history and a sample of how it's used. Visit www.startsampling.com/sm/wod/register.iphtml.

Use words you learn. This imprints them in your memory.

Be a word detective. Try to figure out an unfamiliar word’s meaning from the context in which it's used then check a dictionary to see if you’re right.

Note a word’s roots. This builds vocabulary as many words share the same root. Richard Lederer, PhD, teacher and linguistics lecturer offers these examples:

• Anthrop, meaning "human being," as in anthropology and misanthrope.
• Chron, meaning "time," as in chronic and synchronize.
• Fides, meaning "faith," as in fidelity and perfidy.
• Ped, meaning "foot," as in pedal and biped.
• Vert, meaning "turn," as in convert and vertigo.

Learn a foreign language. It raises awareness of the origins of English words.

Play word games. Ones such as Scrabble and crossword puzzles are a challenging and fun way to use new words.

Use flash cards. Write unfamiliar words and their definition on a flash card. Study them during your lunch break, in lines, on public transportation; anywhere you can look at them.

Use a Dictionary as part of a vocabulary-building program:

• Own a dictionary - Keep it where you read at home and will most likely use it.

• Circle words you look up - Your eye moves to the circled words when you flip through the dictionary, giving you a quick form of review.

• Read the entire entry - Words often have more than one meaning, and the one you need may not be listed first.

INSTRUMENTS OF UNDERSTANDING
A large vocabulary helps you better understand others' ideas and effectively get your thoughts and ideas across.

“Why do large vocabularies characterize executives and possibly outstanding men and women in other fields? The final answer seems to be that words are the instruments by means of which men and women grasp the thoughts of others and with which they do much of their own thinking. They are the ‘tools of thought’."

Johnson O’Connor

According to O’Connor, whose foundation offers a vocabulary development program, the larger your vocabulary, the easier it is to connect a new word with ones you already know, and thus remember its meaning. So your learning speed should increase as your vocabulary grows.

Vocabulary building is a matter of regularly reviewing words you look up to fix them in your memory. Fifteen minutes a day brings better results than half an hour a week. But if once a week is all you can spare, it’s a move in the right direction.