How to sound Smart In English? Watch this.

One of the biggest challenges of speakers of English as a second language is that we settle. We settle for a word that is not the right word, but it's close enough. We settle for being general than being specific. And we settle for not sounding as intelligent and sophisticated and witty as we may be in our native language. And the reason why that happens is mostly vocabulary. Now, if you haven't watched my video about how to enhance your skill speaking vocabulary, then I really recommend that you watch it. After watching this video, I'm going to put a link to it in the description. But what I said there is that usually when communicating, we have a circle of basic words that we retrieve rather easily that are really easy for us to use in a conversation. We don't need to think much and we don't have to hesitate before using them. And then there is another circle of words. That circle is the words that you know but you don't use, also known as passive vocabulary. And that's like a really broad and incredible list of words that when we hear those words, we know exactly what they mean, but we never seem to be able to pull them out when we need them. And what I recommend in that video is to focus on those words. And the last circle is words that you don't know and you don't use. And a lot of times people put all their efforts into learning words that they don't know and they are less likely to use, and that is counterproductive. So what I recommended in that video was to focus on taking all that passive vocabulary and turning it into active vocabulary. So basically growing the smaller circle. What I'm going to offer in this video and in the series of videos, vocabulary upgrade is a list of words that are basic words are probably easy for you to retrieve, but I'm going to offer different words for you to use instead of those words. So these are probably words that you know or phrases that you know but you tend to never use. So I would just point out those words to you and at the same time, at the end of the video. So stick around till the end. At the end of the video, I'm going to share with you the technique and strategy to integrate it into your speech because it's all nice and fun when you see a video and you're like, oh, yeah, these words. But then you never use it. So we want you to see results. So at the end I'm going to share with you how you can actually do that. So stick around. If you are new to this channel, welcome. And I want you to know that this is the right place for you if you want to improve your confidence, your clarity, and your fluency in English. And we are going to make you feel super happy about who you are and how you speak in English, even if English is not your first language. Let's get started with the first word. So the first word is I think. We use I think all of the time, and that's totally fine. You are a human being and human beings think, and you want to share that. But then you find yourself using I think, I think, I think, I think, I think all of the time. And sometimes you just want to vary it a bit or you want to sound smarter to yourself. Again, it's not necessarily about the other person and how they perceive you. It's about how you feel yourself, expressing yourself, hearing yourself, using the same word over and over again, that's the frustrating part. And as you feel more varied, it also boosts your confidence. And when you're more confident, obviously, the words are more accessible in general, because nerves and judgment and anxiety, all of these things just shut down your fluency, and we don't want that. So I think if you constantly say I think, here are a few phrases that you can use instead. I often use I feel that, okay, it's a little different because I feel and I think are two different emotions. But a lot of times I would use I feel instead of I think. I feel that we really need to consider all our options first before making a decision. I feel instead of I think, or it seems to me that you are not really paying attention to what I'm saying. It seems to me that now, yes, of course, there are nuances. It's not exactly the same as I think, but this is yet another way that you can use instead of just saying I think, it seems to me that, you know, this might not be the right decision for us. Another phrase, if you ask me. So I could say, I think it's a little too soon, or I could say it's a little too soon, if you ask me. Or if you ask me, it's a little too soon, as far as I can tell. That's another way to say I think, I think that no one will forget this time, as far as I can tell. No one will ever forget this time, as far as I can tell. To me, things really need to change. To me, I think. I think things really need to change here. I think things really need to change here. To me, things really need to change here. So you can also say that the next word is hard. This word pops up really easily whenever we experience this emotion or we want to use this word. But it's. If you don't want to use hard, and hard is also a harsh word, then in some situations or in some context, and it's very direct. So you could use other words like challenging. It doesn't have the same connotations. And also, that's another word, a fancier word for the word hard. It's a really challenging project. It's been really challenging for me lately instead of it's been really hard for me lately. Now, I'm not saying you can't use hard, but if you want to have that extra edge or you feel frustrated with the fact that that's the word that you go back to every time you want to express something with that idea, then these are your options. It's tough, right? Things are tough right now. It's not that simple, or it's not so simple or it's not so easy. That's another way to say hard, but in a different way. Okay, so, yeah, you're not using fancy words here, but it's just another way of expressing something that is immediate that we constantly use and constantly express. Right. It's tricky. I don't know. The situation is really tricky instead of hard. Right? It's a tricky situation. It's a tricky decision. So it takes the edge off of it. So if something is really hard. Oh, use hard. But tricky is a little more subtle, so you might want to use that. That's the thing about English and about becoming fluent and about enhancing your vocabulary. A lot of times we look for those really nice fancy words. Look, those big words. And that's great, too. And I'm probably going to add those in this video series. But I want to tell you that sometimes the basic words that we use can be polished a little bit, and we could use different variations for each word because these are very, very frequent words and we don't want to get repetitive for ourselves. The next word is happy. What a great word. We don't want to delete this word from our vocabulary. Not at all. So sometimes if we want to be a bit more expressive, we could just add an adjective to it. I'm genuinely happy for you. Or I'm so incredibly happy for you. Right. So we can upgrade it a little bit by adding an adverb that supports it and enhances. And we can also use other words like I'm thrilled. I'm thrilled to be here. I actually love the word Thrilled. Because I know for some of you it may sound a little over the top, but in American English it is frequently used like, you don't have to be, oh my God, I'm so thrilled to use this word. Right. I'm thrilled to be here with you. That's cool too, right? Instead of saying I'm happy to be here with you. So don't feel like you're turning into like a really, really excited teenager when you use the word thrilled. And if you go to youglish, for example, you will see how often it is being used in videos. If you don't know, you glitch, you should. I'm going to put a link to it in the description as well. Another word you could use is excited. Again, it's not exactly the same, but it's another way of expressing something like happy about something or excited about something. And yes, excited is also a little overused. But if you don't use it that much, then you can definitely start using it more. I agree. If you want to agree with something, you could say yes or I agree or sure. So these are the basic words that we use to show agreement with someone, but here are a few more options. Absolutely, definitely. Oh, I definitely agree with you. You can even still use the word agree, but you added something to it. That's the upgrade I'm talking about. And then you feel a bit more expressive. Yeah. So it's not yet you using academic language. Okay, but is that really the goal? You want to be conversational and you will notice that great speakers, they don't use fancy words, they don't use words other people don't understand or words that are rarely used in the language. Because when you use that in speaking, it feels like you're a little stuck up or maybe patronizing. It feels like you're positioning yourself above others. So the purpose is not to find those fancy things. Ten syllable words, just like something that is a little different. 100% or 100%. I love that 100% I. It's like, that's it, that's enough. You don't have to say much if you really agree with someone. I was just thinking the same thing or my thoughts exactly. Or I feel that way too. All of them express I agree. Important. That's a word that we use a lot. For example. It's important that you remember that you need to practice these words at home before you use it in a conversation. It's crucial that you practice these words at home first. It's essential for you to Practice these words at home first. It's imperative that you learn the pronunciation of these words first before you try to use them in a sentence. Crucial, Essential. So these are a few examples of how you can upgrade the word important. The word worried. I'm worried that we're not going to be there on time, right? An easy word to tap into. And the state that I'm constantly in. I'm worried that we're not going to be there on time. I'm concerned that we're not going to be there on time. I'm concerned or I'm afraid that we're not going to be there on time. So two more words to use instead of the word worried. I want. This is such a great word. It's a primal word. We use it all of the time. You do not want to delete it from your vocabulary. We want to use it want, want, want. I just said want like 5 billion times. But here are two other ways to say I want just to make it more interesting. I want. I feel like instead of I want to get some coffee, I feel like getting some coffee or I feel like drinking some coffee, right? I feel like. Or I would love to. I'd love to go home after this instead of I really want to go home after this. So instead of adding the word really want, I'd love to. The word good. Good is a great word, but what if we say valuable instead? Right? It doesn't really change the meaning. It's just. It makes it a bit more varied, maybe a little more sophisticated. I don't know why I always go to like that British enunciation when I say the word sophisticated instead of it's a good idea. It's a valuable idea. It's a helpful idea. It's an exceptional idea if you want to say something that is really good. Right? It's a helpful feature. It's worthwhile. So these are just a few other words to use instead of just saying that something is good. Now, what is the best way to start using those words in conversation or freely? So here's how I see it. First of all, all the words, all the other words that I suggested are not challenging words either to pronounce or to remember. These are not like long words or they're not that rare in the conversation or in the language. So the thing is that you just need to use it a lot. What I recommend is to take one substitution for each word and just one. Don't overdo it. This is why I didn't give you a list of 6, 7 different synonyms. I mean, for that, you can go to the dictionary and look for it. I gave you common words that I know would not be too challenging to say, and that will make it easy for you to use them. So choose one word or one substitution that maybe you use, but you don't use that often, or maybe you don't use at all. And write it down. So now you have a list of eight words. Then I want you to say each of those new words and out loud, like five, six, ten times. If you're not sure about the pronunciation, then Google it and come back and say it. Make sure you know exactly how to pronounce each syllable. And if one part is exceptionally challenging instead of really hard. Have you noticed what I just did here? So if one part is exceptionally challenging, then you want to repeat that part again and again and again and again. Okay? So that is about developing the muscle memory of saying that word, because your mouth is not used to saying it that much. So you want to practice just saying it out of context. Then you want to use it in context because you know the context in which this word should be used. Then I want you to just create 5, 6 sentences for each of those words and use it and say it out loud. Do not think. Think it in your head. You can't practice English in your head. You just can't. It's not going to be the same. It will be helpful, but it's not going to be half as helpful as saying it out loud. Because we really discover the challenges when we say it out loud. We discover when we get stuck. We discover when something's not working, when something does not sound right. This is why I want you to say it out loud in context, like I did. It's imperative that you pay attention to the small details. It's crucial that you follow your morning routine, so on and so forth. So you. For each word. And remember, just choose one. For now, please just choose one. I know you. You want to get it all down. You want to practice everything. Choose one. But that one word. Drill it in five, six different sentences. The next step is to choose three words out of the eight and use them consciously and deliberately in a conversation. So you are aware of them and you try to use them. Because, again, these are very, very common words. So you are very likely to end up using a few of them in almost every conversation. If you don't have a lot of opportunities to speak in English, then I invite you to join our community on Facebook. I will put a link to it in the description because there you'll get a ton of opportunities to speak. And it's totally free. We have weekly discussions where we encourage you to post a video answering one of the questions that we post. We have weekly activities and most importantly, we have group conversations. It's called the Speaking Club. It's on zoom. We break into small groups so you have the opportunity of speaking with three, four different people. And we have like four speaking clubs a week. And again, it's totally free just for you. A great opportunity to practice. So I highly encourage you to come and join us only with the best intentions, only with being fully supportive. And don't forget to answer the questions at the beginning because we do not approve people who don't answer the questions. Just so you know. Okay, that's it. Thank you so much for watching. If you have more ideas for word upgrades for the words that I've shared with you in this video, let us know in the comments below. And if you haven't yet, subscribe to my channel and subscribe to the notifications so you get notified when I release a new video that is aimed at helping you. Feeling freaking awesome about your English? Yeah, I said freaking awesome instead of good because it is freaking awesome. Have a beautiful week, stay healthy, stay safe, and I'll see you next week in the next video. Bye.