How Minnesotans Can Be Gooder at Sounding Smart

Are you struggling with not sounding like a dumb-dumb? There's probably a gooder word for that, but I'm too lazy to Google it.

Reader's Digest is tired of 'Mericans talking like we have a limited vocabulary...because, according to Reader's Digest, despite the English language having over 170,000 published words, we only use between 20,000 and 35,000 of them.

Efficiency's good, but personal growth is gooder.

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How To Sound Smarter

Basically, learn and use more words. Aim for more than two syllables once in a while.

Tip #1: Read Out Loud

Read to your kids, your nieces, your nephews...volunteer to read to kids at the library. You'll be practicing public speaking while using words that are (usually) not difficult to pronounce.

Tip #2: Listen to the Radio

This is a real tip from Reader's Digest, not a shameless plug for my job.

Tip #3: Don't Skip the Hard Words

If a word looks like gibberish, look it up. If you're reading on a tablet, there's probably a feature in the app that lets you highlight a word to get a definition.

Tip #4: Become an Expert

Don't just become an expert in anything; become an expert on something you're interested in. Having an interest in something certainly helps hold your interest in learning about it.

Tip #5: Read the Articles, Playboy

Pictures are nice; some pictures are nicer. However, try reading the article, too.

Tip #6: Go on an Adventure!

Get out of the house and go to a museum, or just somewhere you've never been to.

H/T: Reader's Digest