Communication happens on many levels: when you’re talking to someone face-to-face, you’re noticing each other’s facial expressions and tone of voice, and reading what’s known as “body language” to get subtle and often unconscious clues about what the other person’s thinking. When you’re writing to someone, you can use visual clues to provide emphasis that mimics spoken language – for example, you CAN learn to effectively use capitalization to draw attention to words, and don’t forget that bold font can also be a useful textual choice (Note: Don’t over-use any of these features, however, or it will just be distracting).

In addition to all of these other aspects of communication, you need to make decisions about the words you choose to use. Communication is a skill like any other, and as you practice it you’ll be better at selecting the appropriate vocabulary for any situation. The goal of effective communication is to create a connection between people, and to use that connection to transmit information. One of the ways to strengthen that connection is to use words that have meaning for people, or that provide some sort of emotional impact, or pique their interest in some way. The vocabulary words you choose can help you create those points of interest, and the more words you know the better you’ll be able to tailor your communication to the specific people you’re addressing.

One of the ways to draw people in and attract their interest is to incorporate idioms and metaphors into your presentation. The reason this works is that when someone’s listening to you they may only be focused on the sensation of hearing, and using only one part of their attention. If you engage their other senses, those of vision and feeling, they’ll be more attentive and will retain more of what you’re saying. In a sense, you’re using your words to reach out and touch your audience. With that in mind, here are some common English idioms using the word touch that you might find useful in the future.

to touch on
To mention briefly.

touch-and-go
Describing a situation where failure and success are equally likely.

I wouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot pole
Meaning “I don’t want to have anything to do with it.”

to have the Midas touch
From Greek mythology, where King Midas was blessed (or cursed) with the ability to turn anything into gold with the touch of a finger. You might also hear “everything she/he touches turns to gold.”

Stay in touch and tell us what you’re thinking about regarding English vocabulary issues!