I met Nancy Williams following my heart. With my new intention to spend more time involved with 1:1 networking meetings, I was delighted to be introduced to Nancy by a mutual friend.

Through that introduction, Nancy approached me via email inquiring about the use of my ‘banned words’ which she discovered by browsing my website articles. Nancy used my materials in a talk she gave at a large conference over the summer. I love sharing ideas, and her expansion of this one delighted me.

As we continued to communicate virtually, a bond was forged, and we met a few months later. What a connection! Through the intimacy of a shared lunch, we discovered mutual interests and ideas that may never have surfaced at a larger event.

My banned words are a series of stand-up tent cards I bring to all of my group meetings. It creates awareness of what I call ‘minimizers.’ I display them in order to discourage their use. Whenever I hear amazingly successful businesswomen use these words: try, just, little, should and can’t afford, I shudder. We downplay our own enormous accomplishments by applying these adjectives to feats like creating an art catalog, presentation or article for the press.

You’ve heard them all, but probably don’t react because they cause a subliminal shift in perception. Your mind begins to discount the value of what you’re being shown or told.

I love the way Nancy used this information and re-named them Discouraging Voices. She even elaborated on a few and expanded their impact. Zoom in on her article. Well worth it!