The medium of podcasts is not a new form of media, however, it has gained popularity rapidly in recent years. This is contributed by the fact that as the world continues to get busier, you just don’t have the time to sit down and read a book all the time. This is something I can personally vouch for. I rarely have enough time to sit down and read a book or news article. The ability to listen while I multitask allows me to indulge in a topic that I find interesting without having to set aside time in my day.
To maximize the effectiveness of the medium, I like to use a multitude of different listening strategies. The best learning strategies that work for me and my learning style are, note-taking, listening, and summarizing.
Note Taking
To maximize the amount of crucial information I can retain I began to jot down key points in the podcast and time stamps to make it much easier on myself when looking for evidence to support my answers on the questions tied to the podcast. I have found this is a great strategy it allows for me to continue to enjoy the podcast from a listener’s perspective which I think is crucial to truly maximize the effectiveness of the medium. As well, it allows me to make informed and educational answers to the questions based on the notes I had taken beforehand.
Re-Listening
Re-listening is another way to truly seek out hidden messages within the medium. By pausing and rewinding and re-listening it allows for a deeper analysis of the information being presented to me. The ability to rewind and re-listen is a great skill for trying to get through an idea that is hard to comprehend and it also provides the ability to clear up the confusion that may happen within other learning strategies like note-taking. I do not find this strategy very effective when I am listening. I can interpret the information given to me while staying focused on the podcast.
Summarizing
The final major listening skill I use is to summarize. To do this effectively, I take all the information I gather in the other listening skills and combine them. This allows for the major ideas behind the podcast to be laid out in plain light with information from both sides allowing me to make a clear and informed judgment based on the information provided. I can decide where I stand on issues. This became of the case of Adnan Syed. I found this strategy very effective in making conclusions as it allowed me to collect my thoughts in a way that would be impossible without summarizing.
Podcasts are meant to be both informational and enjoyable to listen too when time is tight. I believe the listening strategies I use when I listen to podcasts for my enjoyment also worked very well for the “Serial” podcast. My listening strategies allow me to take in information and provides for a fun and enjoyable experience by not ruining the medium so that I would never want to hear a podcast again. Moving forward, I would like to experiment with more listening strategies to try to connect better with the topic of the podcast.
Works Cited
Ben. “Why Are Podcasts so Popular in 2020?” Brandastic, 24 June 2020, brandastic.com/blog/why-are-podcasts-so-popular/.
Palmer, Rebecca. “TESOL Connections – June 2014.” Commpartners.Com, 2014, newsmanager.commpartners.com/tesolc/issues/2014-06-01/3.html.
Koenig, Sarah. “Season One.” Serial, 2014, serialpodcast.org/season-one.
Duncans Thoughts 
I enjoyed reading your thoughts on different listening strategies and your thoughts as to why each is important. One very unique thing about podcasts is that they can be listened to on the go. However, this makes strategies like taking notes much more difficult. If you were to listen to a podcast such as Serial while, for example, walking to a destination, what other listening strategies would you use to ensure that you understand the content of the podcast?
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Hey Duncan, first of all, great job on this blog. I think it is a neat piece of writing. I especially liked the way you prefaced your opinion by explaining the appeal of podcasts to a busy audience. Having practiced the listening strategies you have described, I completely agree that summarizing, taking notes and revising are great tools to enhance a listening experience. Since you mentioned multitasking while listening; have you ever had trouble understanding an audio text because you were dividing your attention between multiple tasks? If not, I would love to learn how you have trained yourself to maintain an unwavering focus while juggling various activities.
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