I recently read an article about how women use the word “just” in work life and personal life more than men do because we feel we need to apologize or make whatever we have to say quick. “I’m just writing to say…” “I just want to know…” “Just checking in…”. It seems to trivialize what we have to say.
Don’t apologize or feel you need to make little of what you are saying. Say it with intention. “I’m writing to tell you this…” “I want you to know…” “I’m checking in to make sure…"
Since reading the article I’ve become aware of how much I was adding “just” so soften what I had to say, whether it needed to be softened or not. Say what you have to say with confidence and intent. without apology. what you have to say, no matter what it is, is important.
Mmmmm I hate seeing stuff like this about the way women talk– and how women need to STOP doing things like upspeak and glottal fry and saying “like” or “just” or “sorry” if we are ever to be respected in the workplace. And honestly it is such crap– for one bc these kinds of articles fail to address the actual cause of these vocal tics, and more importantly they do not consider the fact that women face MUCH harsher stigma in the workplace for not being seen as accommodating than men do(theres a study but i dont feel like looking it up). All these things are vocal strategies women use, consciously or not, to seem more approachable and accommodating. It may or may not be a useful strategy but i wish the linguists and speech therapists and bloggers writing about this stuff would think a little harder than “women need to stop talking like this and Be More Confident”