This might sound familiar.
When it comes to email etiquette, there’s plenty of advice for what you should and shouldn’t include, especially when it comes to professional correspondence.
You want to come across as cool, calm and confident but it’s easy to fall into the trap of repeating yourself and/or putting yourself down without even realising it.
Thankfully, The Muse has some tips to ensure your email is the best it can be and interestingly, there are some words you should never ever include.
Number one on the list is ‘just’ as it immediately puts you on the backfoot and makes your request seem less urgent and/or important.
This advice was once given by Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs, co-founders of Food52 who believe that it can come across like you’re not confident in your ability.
Think about it.
How many times have you said ‘I’m just looking for’, ‘I just want to discuss’ or ‘I just need to ask’ which can appear like you don’t even believe in what you’re saying.
Speaking to Monster, a global employment website, Kate Gremillion CEO and founder of Mavenly + Co said:
“‘Just’ downplays the importance of the task or work item being discussed; it implies the item should not be prioritized or doesn’t require significant skill, time or attention”.
Other words best-avoided include hopefully (better to have a can-do attitude), probably (you don’t want to sound uncertain) and maybe (it can come across as apprehensive, not how you want to be portrayed).
You can check out the list in full here.
