You need to know the difference between the loo and the lift if you go to Britain.

Take Merriam-Webster’s The Great British Vocabulary Quiz to see whether you know some British terms.

These are the words I grew up with in England. Needless to say, I got full marks. 

I wonder how you manage. 😉

Have you watched the Oscar-winning animated film “Shrek”? If so, did it teach you any lessons?

In this short video clip, two young sisters were asked what the movie’s message was. Their answer was, “To have confidence and be yourself, and to be okay with that”. 

Wise words for two young ladies, don’t you think?

You don’t think you’re making progress?

Focus on the present and see what you can do now.

It only needs to be a small step.

And small steps taken consistently add up to incredible progress over time.

Each small step will bring you closer to what you want to achieve.

Perhaps it doesn’t feel like much at first. You might not even notice it. But as consultant Alan Weiss says, “Improve by 1% a day, and in 70 days you’re twice as good.”

So what could you do today to improve your English? Why not start by learning at least one word a day.

Try Paul Smith’s OWAD service. I’ve been a loyal subscriber for years!

Don’t we all have words we use more often than others?

Jane Austen, one of my favourite authors, loved to write ‘with all my heart’. J. K. Rowling loves the phrase “dead of night”. And James Patterson loves to use “believe it or not”.

I know that I love using the word ‘love’, and that I seem to use the word ‘right?’ fairly often when speaking. 🙃 

Do you have a favourite word or phrase?

You don’t know?

Try this Word Frequency Counter.

“Do your little bits of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good together that overwhelm the world.”
Archbishop Desmond Tutu

We might not be able to change the world, but we can change the world for at least one person.

Perhaps we can even do that today!

I was asked this recently and found it fairly difficult to explain. So I looked for a simple explanation and found this short animated lesson.

Sociology researcher and storyteller Dr. Brené Brown’s 3-minute video clip gives us some quick insights into the difference between empathy and  sympathy, and explains why empathy is much more meaningful.

Could this help you explain the difference now?