Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 416, Finding a Niche in Business.
This is English as a Second Language podcast, episode 416.
I'm your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan.
Thank you.
Thank you.
This episode is called Finding a Niche in Business.
It's going to be the words of someone who is talking to a college class, a businessman, about finding your particular area or specialization in the business world.
Let's get started.
Hello business students.
I'm here today, at your professor's request, to talk to you about the importance of finding your own niche in business.
Conventional wisdom says that people in business need to diversify their skill sets so that they can be the most flexible in whatever field they decide to enter.
While there is some truth to this, that's only half of the picture.
Those who diversify too much run the risk of being a jack of all trades and master of none.
Not having a focused set of skills is may also be seen as indecisive from the standpoint of a potential employer, and your application may fall by the wayside as a result.
Having a niche will help you stand out in the crowd.
In business.
It's a balancing act between having the general skills that any company will want and also possessing specialized skills that will make you the go-to person in your organization.
Keep this in mind when And you'll go far.
We listen to a business person, a businessman, who is talking to a college class.
He begins by saying, I'm here at your professor's request.
When you say at someone's request, you mean you are doing something because someone asked you to do it.
So he is there because the professor asked him to be there.
He asked him to talk to the students about the importance of finding their own niche in business.
A niche, N-I-C-H-E, is a specialty.
It's something that you can do better than other people can.
It's something you are particularly good at.
Conventional wisdom, he says, says that people in business need to diversify their skill sets.
The term conventional wisdom means something very similar to common sense, or what most people think and believe.
Conventional wisdom says that people in business need to diversify.
To diversify, or diversify means means to have a lot of variety, to have many different kinds of things.
They say that when you are investing your money for the future, you should consider diversifying, putting a little money in stocks, a little money in savings accounts, and so forth.
The noun for diversify is diversity.
He says that business conventional wisdom states that you need to diversify your skill sets.
A skill set, two words, is a group of things that you are able to do, things that you are good at.
It really just means the same as skills.
But for some reason now in the business world, people say skill set instead of just skills.
Things that you can do.
Why do you need this diversified skill set?
Well, Conventional wisdom says that you need to be flexible in whatever field you enter.
To be flexible means to be able to do different things, switch between different things easily.
He says, meaning this is partially true.
That's only half of the picture or half the picture.
Half of the picture means you don't have the whole idea.
You have incomplete information.
You don't understand everything, the whole thing.
We would say the whole picture.
A picture, of course, is something that you put on a wall...
It might be a painting by a famous artist.
That would be a picture.
Monet, for example, the famous French painter.
A picture can also refer to a photograph.
But here, it just refers to the situation.
He continues by saying those who diversify too much...
Run the risk of being a jack of all trades and master of none.
To run the risk of something means to do something knowing that there is a possibility that something bad will happen as a result.
If you drink alcohol and then you decide to drive, you run the risk of hurting yourself and others in an accident.
The expression a jack of all trades and master of none is an old expression to refer to people who are able to do many things a little bit.
That is, they know a little bit about a lot of things, but they're not very good at any one thing.
This is a criticism, a negative statement about someone.
If you say, she is a jack of all trades and master of none.
Trades here simply means different skills.
Master would be the person who is in charge, who is able to do a lot.
So if you have too much diversity in your skill set, you may be a jack-of-all-trades, but master of none.
Not having a focused set of skills may also be seen as indecisive.
Indecisive means you can't decide.
Again, it's considered a negative description, a criticism.
He's indecisive.
That means he can't decide what he wants to do.
He says, may be seen as indecisive from the standpoint of a potential employer.
The expression from the standpoint of someone means, from someone's perspective, considering the way that someone will think about a particular situation.
We might also say from someone's viewpoint.
So, from the standpoint of the person who may be hiring you, the potential employer, this is not a good thing.
Because of this, your application may fall by the wayside as a result.
To fall by the wayside W-A-Y-S-I-D-E.
One word means to not be used or stop being used because there are too many other things.
There are too many other important things.
He says, Having a niche will help you stand out in the crowd.
The expression to stand out in the crowd means to be different from the people around you, to be different from other people, to be noticed.
If you have pink hair, you will stand out in the crowd.
People will notice you.
He continues, He continues and also possessing specialized skills that will make you the go-to person in your organization.
A couple of expressions there.
The first is a balancing act.
A balancing act is when you try to do two things at the same time, often two opposite things or two very different things.
Or you're trying to make two different people happy that have two very different ideas or interests.
This is a balancing act.
The word balance has several meanings in English.
Take a look at our learning guide for some additional explanations.
So if you are applying for a job, you need to have general skills and specialized or specific skills.
You have to have specific skills, specialized skills, to make you the go-to person in your organization.
The expression a go-to person is the person in an office or an organization or business who seems to know everything.
He or she is the person that everyone goes to when they need help or information.
Keep this in mind and you'll go far, he concludes.
To go far here means to succeed, to do well in life.
If someone tells you you'll go far in life well, that means you will be successful, and I hope you are.
Now let's listen to the speech, this time at a normal speed.
Hello, business students.
I'm here today, at your professor's request, to talk to you about the importance of finding your own niche in business.
Conventional wisdom says that people in business need to diversify their skill sets so that they can be the most flexible in whatever field they decide to enter.
While there is some truth to this, that's only half of the picture.
Those who diversify too much run the risk of being a jack-of-all-trades and master of none.
Not having a focused set of skills may also be seen as indecisive from the standpoint of a potential employer, and your application may fall by the wayside as a result.
It's a balancing act between having the general skills that any company will want and also possessing specialized skills that will make you the go-to person in your organization.
Keep this in mind and you'll go far.
Dr. Lucy Say.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thank you for listening.
Come back and listen to us next time on ESL Podcast.
English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
This podcast is copyright 2008.
