Learn what literary genius William Shakespeare knew about communication and how you can "get it" inside your head!

William Shakespeare was a truly awesome 17th Century literary dude! He saw life as theatre and theatre as life. His works are phenomenal, ranging over the entire spectrum of human experience and emotion. And what's more, he left us plenty of clues to his genius... now you can use his techniques to build extremely powerful communication abilities for yourself.

Here's a Shakespearean showdown on getting smart:

1. Develop a large vocabulary
The average person uses slightly more than 1000 different words in general conversation, slightly less than 1000 words when writing and can recognize approximately 5000 words. Shakespeare used over 25,000 different words in his writings - that's more than any other English writer has ever used!

The best way to develop your vocabulary is to get a really good dictionary and pick 5 or 10 new words a day and learn what they mean, the different contexts in which they can be used, and what fields they would most likely be used in.

You can get free vocabulary lessons sent to you by email:

2. Play with words
Get some poetry books and read them and savour the way the words are woven together. Make your own poems, try and make connections between words... the more unlikely the better. Take two words at random and try to think of all the ways they might connect.

For starters:
egg + bell
tube + dog
anchor + church

Keep a few pages of your journal for recording words that you really love the sound of. Delight in the form of words and the magic of meaning. Words can convey so many different levels of meaning. Words can evoke feelings, emotions, states of consciousness and inspiration. Words are magic spells and by becoming a master of them, you can become a virtual magician, able to sway and move people with your speech and your writing. Shakespeare's writing has swayed people for hundreds of years.

3. Invent new words and phrases
Shakespeare is responsible for inventing so many words and phrases that are used today in popular parlance. It takes a wonderful twist of creativity to invent new words and phrases and we do it all the time. Our lives are littered with invaluable jargon and catch phrases.

The children's author J.K.Rowling is a genius at inventing new words. In Harry Potter's world and now ours, 'Quidditch' is as real as football. While all over the world, kids are pointing their pencils at belligerent teachers and thinking silently to themselves 'obliviate' in the hope that their teacher will forget that homework is due!

Like Shakespeare and Rowling you can invent new words and phrases to describe your ideas, your experiences and what you do. Often new words can be built out of 2 or more existing words. Or by running an existing word backwards. Or by slinging any old combination of letters together until they sound right!

The test of your new word is using it and getting others to use it too. You'll quickly discover that new words and phrases come most quickly in the area of slang, humour and vulgarity. It was the same in Shakespeare's day! His work is full of highly creative insults, jibes and bawdy jokes and references to sex and the sexual organs.

4. Develop the common touch
Shakespeare had a phenomenal talent for giving the public what it wants: blood and guts; sex, lust and love; tragedy and triumph. He wrote about what matters to people - the things they experience and relate to in their own lives. Of course, he threaded that in amongst some of the most moving and powerful stories ever told.

You too can learn to convey powerful ideas wrapped in a sugar coating so that they will be swallowed that much easier. People don't mind being stretched as long as it is fun. Laughter is the grease that keeps us moving through the ups and downs. Humour makes the journey that much lighter and smoother.

Shakespeare's works are full of hidden insults and "insider jokes" aimed at those who crossed him!

5. Read great literature
Dive into the works of William Shakespeare! Learn from the masters. Every genius has had mentors and teachers. To be a powerful communicator read the works of the great writers. Some of the great wordsmiths of the last century have actually been marketers and copywriters - people who have spent a life time studying how to convey and sell an idea and get immediate emotional "gotta buy it" responses from the audience.

6. Study the great orators, actors and the popular
Shakespeare was an actor as well as a playwright. His words were so alive because he had practice in reciting them on stage. The power of verbal communication is exemplified in the speeches of people like Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King and JFK. Look at the easy command of language that Bill Clinton had - he used it to woo the voters as well as the ladies and his charm offensive carried him through scandals that would have sunk other men.

Watch a master communicator like motivation coach, Tony Robbins - there's a man who can command an audience. Learn from the charmers, the friendly, the powerful, the persuasive - study their speech patterns and the way they communicate. Shakespeare studied people like a hawk and was able to pin-point every thing about them.

7. Live with passion
Shakespeare was an emotional passionate man, as depicted in the movie, "Shakespeare in Love".  As with all great artists, poets and writers, he let his passion guide and inspire his writing. Who do you love? Who do you lust after? Let your love or your lust guide and inspire you to great acts of romance.

Compose a song, poem, essay, letter, painting, or melody to convey the depth of your feelings. Imagine if the person you love was dying or had died. How would you feel? Pour your feelings out, express them as eloquently as you can in whatever format you feel most drawn to.

Who or what do you hate? What drives you mad? When are you most afraid? Negative emotions can inspire great works of genius too. Use the fuel of emotion to drive your genius.

Read Shakespeare's Sonnets or read "Romeo and Juliet" to understand passion and how to express it... 
 

8. Write, write, write!!!
Writing is the first and last tool of genius. You write to get ideas and you write to express and share the ideas you've already got. Needless to say, Shakespeare wrote prolifically in his short life and we can thank god that he did!

Intelligence is a process of making connections between diverse ideas, experiences, sensations and all of your mental processing. The way we learn as children and adults is through the feedback loop of trial and error. Writing gives us the ability to reflect upon our thoughts by externalizing them and making them concrete. This reflection process is like a turbo-charger when it comes to accelerating learning and understanding.

You must write. You must write a journal. You must write poetry (yes, you!). You must write jingles, jokes, insights, ideas, stories. You must write letters. Say it with me: You must write!

Be prolific. Keep your pen moving. Keep that keyboard dust free!

All geniuses write prolifically. Write.

Further Resources:

Write A Book Now! - Learn to write a book in 14 days or less, get an agent in 36 hours, and have publishers salivating over your work!

http://the-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/ - The complete works of William Shakespeare.

http://www.mrfire.com - learn how to communicate hypnotically from marketing genius Joe Vitale.

http://www.faithpopcorn.com - futurist Faith Popcorn is great for inventing new buzz words and phrases.

What Would Shakespeare Do? Personal Advice From the Bard by Jess Winfield

Harry Potter stories!

Write A Book Now! - Learn to write a book in 14 days or less, get an agent in 36 hours, and have publishers salivating over your work!

Got Feedback? I'd love to hear from YOU! Email me: wily[at]wilywalnut.com

Wily Walnut is the headbrain at http://www.WilyWalnut.com, your top resource for unleashing the genius within, becoming infinitely creative, intelligent and brilliant in all that you do!

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