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Does anyone want to share their offer for a CSM role at a SaaS company? Base, comp, RSU? Final rounds are next week and was told offers would come fast so trying to do research now. Been with my current company in many times and a lot has changed! All help / advice is appreciated. ZoomInfo Gainsight Inc
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Mentor
Someone else posted about this recently and someone suggested just… reading more! Seems so simple but it makes sense!
Read. Read. Read.
Agree. I always look up words while I read.
I have a running list of key marketing terms. Whenever I’m in a meeting with a well spoken colleague, I jot down some words I can reference next time I’m in a meeting or writing an important email.
Agree with all above but would also like to recommend a book that really helped me. I still remember certain things I learned despite reading it years ago and I still refer back to it. I also really enjoyed it - it didn’t feel like studying or anything for me, it just felt interesting. Called The Verbal Advantage
https://www.amazon.com/Verbal-Advantage-Steps-Powerful-Vocabulary/dp/0375709320/ref=asc_df_0375709320/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312242453238&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9850223020296506337&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9004351&hvtargid=pla-433657380462&psc=1
Johnson O’Connor Institute (google them) gives you free “word books” after you take an aptitude test with them! I’m glad you brought this up because I need to actually use them myself. TLDR; there are books out there to help boost your vocab 😊
Tbh i was the same.
Use the same verbiage that your leaders us during meetings. And when in doubt, dictionary/google is your friend.
Agree with Reading. You’ll get much more than just a vocabulary from it.
That said, no need to feel pressure to learn marketing buzzword bingo. Your focus should be on CLEAR communication. The simpler, the better and I think you’ll find (as will teams and clients) that you don’t have to fill your monologues with meaningless jargon.
What’s Clear is Understood. What’s understood gets done. 😉
Read some old classics, they have a great vocabulary and context to go with it
I can relate, I’ve actually thought about this on a daily basis lately, and get this, I’m a journalism major with a masters in education. I think for me, my native first language is starting to resurface even though I’m fluent in English and it’s tripping up my vocabulary. The other part of it is I’ve recently joined a company with extremely smart and talented folks who articulate themselves very well and I’m anxiously comparing my client emails to theirs to the point where I feel like I am unauthentic in my communication. However, as others have recommended, reading, reading, and reading + professional dev podcasts and brushing up on any free training courses you can take, especially public speaking, will help you regain confidence. It all comes down to confidence in the long run, even if you have to fake it til you make it.
If you Subscribe to the dictionary they send out the word of the day which is usually a word not used in every day vocabulary. I have learned many new words from this. Also reading does wonders for expanding your vocabulary.
Reading is key. I used to feel this way but reading and keeping a journal of industry terms has helped me so much.
Reading is key. Pick a topic or genre you’re interested in and get an unabridged dictionary and thesaurus. I highlight words I’ve not seen before or questioned the usage in context.
Reading the English Literature canon helps a LOT in the US. I also have the kindle app which tells you the definition of a word when you click on it (it’s a setting you can change)
Also reading poetry helps quite a bit if you’re more into short-form text
You should not be self conscious about asking this question - I think a lot of people can relate.
Do you mean more “everyday” vocabulary, or industry/business jargon?
If the latter I would not worry at all as that comes with time (and honestly should be used choice fully to avoid sounding like a buzzword drone).
If the former, I’d echo people here and say reading, and/or listening to podcasts. I’d recommend nonfiction, on topics that interest you *outside* of the industry. Having some familiarity with the topic but earnestly wanting to learn more about it will keep your attention, help to contextualize the language for you, and ideally give you interesting things to talk about at happy hours.
Read more and when you read, keep a dictionary handy. You can look up words you don’t know the meaning to. It works, I have done this too. Good luck!!
First, I realize my full name is displayed but I am just too excited to pause to fix it before commenting. AS, I think you are EXCEPTIONAL for asking for advice on what is a sensitive topic for not only yourself but so many others. Only fools don't take the initiative to increase their knowledge in subject areas in which they feel vulnerable. I think you will surprise yourself with how quickly you progress in increasing your vocabulary. You're open to learning and I'm sure you can see from the responses that you are not alone in feeling like your vocabulary could use a little bolstering. Unless one's last name is Mirriam or Webster, we all have something new to learn regarding vocabulary :)
Echoing the others, most definitely increased reading. Read everything and anything! Read the news while listening to the news to absorb the different auditory and written words used to convey the same story.
Try reading out loud to get a feel for the verbal use of the words. Oh, my goodness, that was completely by coincidence but case in point, "reading out loud". Do you know how many times I have seen "reading allowed" when "reading aloud" is meant? I hope there was a point in there somewhere. It's getting late. Haha!
When I was quite young, around eight or so, I came across the word "chaos" in a novel. As I scanned the sentence, I knew the meaning and grasped the overall message of the sentence but until I said it out loud, I didn't realize in my head I was saying something that rhymed with lows, "kows". But by forcing it to be said my brain transformed it into how it's supposed to be pronounced "k'aos". Which incidentally was the name of the first club I ever went to on my 18th birthday. I will never forget this word for the rest of my life! Haha! Again, I am hoping that was an illustration of how reading a book out loud could help with the retention and understanding of certain words.
Oh, and use Grammarly for your emails or in Word. If you're trying out an unfamiliar word, it will let you know if the word is being used incorrectly. It is so helpful!
I think I'll end there with my babble. Oh, a side note, learning the etymology of unfamiliar words can be really interesting too, as well as knowing the Latin root of a word. Such as the word babble which comes from the story of the people of Babel/Babylon who were cursed for trying to reach the heavens. They could no longer speak one common language but many different languages creating confusion and the inability to understand one another. Hence, babble. :)
Learning some basic Latin is useful too. Before I studied it in university, I constantly forgot which tumor was the one that was non-cancerous, a malignant tumor, or a benign tumor. In Latin malign essentially means bad and benign means friendly. Easy peasy to remember now. Okay, for real I'm done.
ps. Please, please never write "a lot" as "alot". I will have to punch you in the face. Haha! Just kidding!! But just don't do it.
Read more! Will make a huge difference. Get a kindle. When you come across a word you don’t know you can look it up right there. Try listening to educational podcasts or tv
Was just going to suggest this! I love that feature of Kindle. Also OP- is it conversational language in general you are concerned about, or is it more industry-specific jargon you feel tripped up on?
Reading is always great, but I do find it challenging to carve out time to read. Another suggestion is to listen to podcasts about subjects that you find interesting and also feature people who have high verbals skills or are leading experts in their area of expertise. Authors, college professors, journalists, doctors just to name a few. Museums often have free talks that are great, too.
Read. I promise it’ll work
Read some books about advancing your career! So many great ones! Audible counts!!!