All of us use a few words incorrectly. Or we mispronounce common words. Your vocabulary and grammar skills can help you get a better job or keep you from moving up in your career.

Do you talk like a business executive or do you talk like someone working the midnight shift in the warehouse?

Most importantly: Where do you want to be working in five years? Start working on your skills now and you will be ready when a new opportunity comes up.

What They Don’t Tell You
Your supervisors or coworkers are paying attention to how you speak and are making decisions about how well you present yourself (and the company) to customers and business partners. No matter how good you are at your job, some coworkers wrongly think that people with foreign accents or who don’t talk like a corporate executive are not qualified for high-level or high-skilled positions. Prove them wrong by continuing to do good work and acting as if you are just as comfortable in the boardroom and working with high-profile clients as anyone else.

 

Useful Tools

• Vocabulary.com (website): Online quiz to learn more words
• 25 Ways to Improve Your Writing Vocabulary (article)
• Words with Friends (game):  Popular app from Zynga where you can challenge people or you know or strangers to a crossword puzzle-type games.
• 7 Tips to Improve Your Grammar (article)
• Grammarly.com (app): Add on for MS Word that makes writing suggestions.
• FreeRice.com (website) The more grammar quiz questions you answer correctly, the more rice is sent to the World Food Programme (allegedly). Other quiz subjects include English vocabulary, science and geography.