At some point over the last eight mont
hs or so, I began making a conscientious effort to eliminate using the word “just” in work emails and conversations. This decision came on the heels of reading an article. There have been several on the topic. Jezebel featured a piece on ditching the word titled, “Google Exec: Women, Stop Saying ‘Just’ So Much, You Sound Like Children”.
Ouch.
A piece on words to eliminate from your vocabulary posted to the muse summed up “just” nicely: “It’s a filler word and it makes your sentence weaker, not stronger. Unless you’re using it as a synonym for equitable, fair, even-handed, or impartial, don’t use it at all.”
It never dawned on me that I was taking power away from my messages when I used “just” in a sentence. But now that I’m enlightened, I see it all around me – in emails and conversations – people are coming across as contrite by accident. Everyone is “just” following up or “just” seeing how a project is progressing when in reality, they aren’t sorry for asking. Wanting to know if a deadline will be met or the outcome of a meeting doesn’t require the linguistic equivalent of tiptoeing.
Just is a hedge – “a mitigating word or sound used to lessen the impact of an utterance”, according to Wikipedia. I certainly don’t want to diminish any of my thoughts or questions to colleagues, clients or anyone else with whom I am communicating. I want to know things. I am checking in. And I am not sorry for doing any of these.
I’ve removed “just” from my business vocabulary and encourage you to do the same. What words or phrases have you stopped using to make you feel more empowered?