Effective Listening

Throughout my University experience sometimes I found myself struggling to follow some conversations related to the film industry. Initially I thought that this was mostly because English is not my first language. However, after watching this video I realized that this might have not been the case. As I learned from this online course, listening is a skill that can be learned and the only way to get better with it is to constantly practice. Depending on the context, people use different methods to listening in a more effective way. For instance, one of the most common practice is to recall details and focus on every little detail when someone is speaking. I perfectly relate to this way of listening because this is the one I usually use whenever I am listening to a lecture or whenever I am introduced to someone new. This way of listening can certainly be effective. However, I believe that, in my specific case, it just creates a disadvantage because (sometimes) paying attention to every detail distracts me from understanding the bigger picture (and also the language barrier doesn't help). I have to say that since I moved to the UK I feel way more confident about my language skills and I feel like everyday I am improving, but it still can be a struggle from time to time. The other method of effective listening I want to talk about is being able to understand the bigger picture. Sometimes the overall vision is more important than recalling the details, and here is where I believe I am lacking with. In conclusion, to be a better listener I need to practice using this last method more and combine it with my skill to recall details. Doing so I will be able to deliver better projects and be sure I am following the right path.