1. Read quality works, such as newspapers, educational literature and classical literature.  These types of writing are filled with diverse language that can help you expand your vocabulary.

2. Teach yourself a new word each day.  Subscribe to a daily email through dictionary.com, buy a word-a-day calendar or even pick a random word from your dictionary.  And make sure you use your daily word to process it from your short-term to long-term memory.

3. If you hear someone use a word that's meaning is unclear to you, ask them to explain or jot it down and look it up in your dictionary later.  Others' vocabulary is a great source of new words.

4. Scrabble, word finds and cross-word puzzles are a fun way to study.  These games will familiarize you with new words without becoming tedious.

5. Make flashcards or keep a list of new words you've learned in your briefcase or purse for easy access.  Review them while you're sitting in the doctor's office or waiting to pick your child up from school.  Utilize your free time.

6. Say them, write them, and use them.  If you want to remember new words, you need to use them in conversations, letters, etc.  The more you use them, the more they become habitual and move from something you are learning to something you've already learned.

7. In school, teachers make students write and rewrite words with their definitions in order to remember them.  It works so try it!

8. Learn a variety of words; you should not just jot down words at work because people in a certain environment will tend to assimilate and use the same language.  Pay attention at the grocery store, the gas station, family functions and anywhere else you go.  Everyone has knowledge to share.

9. Improving your vocabulary is an ongoing event so you should not schedule a specific time to focus on it.  Make it a part of your life and never cease learning.

10. Don't overdo it.  If you bombard your brain with too much information, your memory will evade and refuse you.  Be reasonable.  Don't expect to learn pages of words in 1 day; focus on 1-2 specific words and really learn them.