How can I improve my vocabulary...

[ItDontMeanAThing]

I read a lot and I know plenty of words. However, when I speak I use such a tiny percentage of the words I know, I bore myself! I use varied language in an academic context, but it feels so unnatural for me to speak in this way. My mother was not the brightest and the language used at home and in my immediate social circles was always quite limited. Going through university, moving to a new area, and mixing with other people, I've realised how limited my vocabulary is. I'm not talking about long, fancy words, but modest words that add a bit of colour and spice to shake things up a bit.

I know the answer people usually give is read more, but I read so much. The words are in my head but I just don't seem to be able to use them,

Join a debating or toastmasters society, or find somewhere else where you can socialise with erudite and well spoken people

Hopeful bump 🙂

Reading books of all sorts. Including non-fiction. Watching documentaries.

Thank you. I guess the issue I have is not knowing and understanding words but using them in every day conversations. When I write say in an academic context I think my language is quite varied but when I speak I know 10 year olds with more diverse vocabulary!

I have the opposite problem. I tend to talk quite formally. Due to this I am an excellent academic writer but I think can sometimes sound a bit too formal in more casual written contexts. Maybe the contexts you are in don't demand more diverse vocabulary? Maybe you could associate in some groups that promote a higher level of language? I've never been to Toastmasters but someone suggested that above. Could work?

I think your issue is more about confidence than anything else, so I would suggest seeing if there is a games cafe near you that holds evening socials. Our nearest one does, and you're guaranteed to meet interesting and colourful people who enjoy playing with words.

I was going to say read - but I see that you do. Ensure you are reading books that are well written. Why not try writing as well? I'm not saying you should write a novel, but try writing in a journal when you feel like it. Use some of that language you know but don't use when you speak. Get comfortable with it.

However, remember that language needs to be comprehensible by those to whom you are speaking, otherwise you might as well be speaking ancient Greek! So there's no point in your using words to your family that they won't understand. You can introduce more difficult words to your own children, but not much point in doing that with your mother.

I wrote some silly poetry years ago. My father was in hospital for a long time and I wrote him silly poems (think Edward Lear style) every week. It's a way to keep your language brain active.

It would behove you to interpolate into your various confabulations multitudinous paradigms of sesquipedalian locutions.

a book club? Local history society? Signing up to public lectures at local museums / universities? Studying something new? Joining some sort of local quiz team or league?

I speak like a Victorian novel sometimes which I think is because I read lots of the classics as a teenager. Think of your brain a bit like a thesaurus and try to use more interesting words. My DF used to hate the word lovely so we always had to try to come up with another word instead.

Well, to whom are you speaking when you deploy this limited vocabulary? Is their vocabulary similarly small? If so, find more articulate friends.

Do you have impostor syndrome?
A feeling of lack of confidence because of your home background?
A sense that "people like you" shouldn't use wider vocabulary?

Internalized ideas about class can do a number on personal presentation.

Do you read books with a lot of dialogue? Try voicing dialogue out loud as you read.
Could you read aloud to yourself from the books of, say, Evelyn Waugh, or P.G. Wodehouse?
Would you consider joining an am dram group or doing a theatre workshop?

It might help to hear yourself speaking someone else's words just to get used to the feeling of using words you rarely use.

Read one book by...
Jane Austen
Henry James
Virginia Woolf

Why don't you chose 1-2 words a week and challenge yourself to use them in conversation. Once you've used them a few times, you will grow with confidence and the words will fall into your regular vocab.
My practise in your head first?

I created this post a long time ago. It's quite interesting to look back on it. I've just been through a process that required me to be articulate. I surprised myself at how well I spoke when the situation demanded it. I think came down to the fact I was confident and truly believed in what I was saying. I was using language to ensure my voice was heard.

On the other hand I think posters are right when they say my real problem was one of confidence - not trusting my own opinions, beliefs, ideas.

On reflection, it's not so much that I have a limited vocabulary but a confidence issue! I've worked on that over the past few months and am starting to see an improvement in my interactions, albeit with the occasional fumble (some things never change!! 🤦)