Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Here’s an interesting concept.  If you cannot talk about things, then how can you think about them?  Most of us think in words, so without the use of vocabulary, how are we expected to get our points across?  One of the biggest challenges to effectual communication is the ability to make one’s self clear.  To do this requires a relative grasp of vocabulary.

Yesterday, I came across a national statistic that stated the average person reads, and this is on the high side, 2-6 books per year.  Per year?  Holy goodness!  How’s it possible to read that little?  I consume a minimum of 1200 pages (3-4 books) per month.  And that’s on the low side. 

I affirm that reading’s the gateway to broaden one’s horizon.  I gained this mentality from my great grandmother who made it a point to always have a wealth of books at our fingertips.  She, as do I, believed that even if a person doesn’t have the resources for higher institutionalized education, reading can gain them much of the information, insight and philosophies they’d absorb while sitting in a college classroom, working towards a degree.

Another great advantage to reading is how it manages to increase one’s vocabulary.  I have a favorite reading activity I engage in with every book I’ve read, unless it’s borrowed from another.  Whenever I come across a word that intrigues me, whether or not I know the meaning, I draw a rectangle around that word.  If I don’t know the meaning, it’s then that I look it up, assuming I can’t grasp the meaning through context. 

An additional reading activity I favor, again engaging in with every non-borrowed book, is to underline passages, phrases or couplings of words that tickle my fancy.  Could be that I just like the way the words sound arranged as they are.  Or I might be intrigued with the poetic style in which a particular visual image was created.  Could be that I loved the sentiment conveyed.  Or I could just as easily be captivated by how clearly a thought was imparted.

According to the national statistic, I have a voracious appetite for reading.  Course, I didn’t need a statistic to enlighten me.  But I was a bit shocked at how little effort folks put into broadening their vocabulary, understanding of communications skills and overall horizons through the magic of reading. 

So I’ll return to the concept with which I began this blog.  If you cannot talk about things, then how can you think about them?  Most of us think in words, so without the use of vocabulary, how are we expected to get our points across?  Since it’s inevitable that we’ll need to effectively communicate with others at some point, doesn’t it make sense to give ourselves the best possible tools with which to pull that off?  In my humble opinion, reading is one of the most effectual manners to improve upon one’s vocabulary and subsequent communication skills.  So if one has the desire to be better understood, then they’re going to have to put in the effort required to gain greater vocabulary skills.