No Concentration while in a group

LegacyUser

Hello all,

When I am talking to someone one on one I have no problems with concentration and am in fact a very good listener.

However when I am in a group of people I can find it very hard to hear and follow a conversation unless the people involved are talking directly to me.

Therefore I do not contribute very well to these conversations and I want to change this.

Can anyone put me in the right direction as to what I should be doing please?

brayblue24

absoleutelynore wrote: »

Hello all,

When I am talking to someone one on one I have no problems with concentration and am in fact a very good listener.

However when I am in a group of people I can find it very hard to hear and follow a conversation unless the people involved are talking directly to me.

Therefore I do not contribute very well to these conversations and I want to change this.

Can anyone put me in the right direction as to what I should be doing please?

Yes. Staying in

snowdaze

a possible hearing problem, or concentration problem?

bluefinger

you might need to learn about group dynamics. one on one's are generally easy because whoever you are talking to gives you their attention. in a group it's gonna be different because everyone's competing for the attention of the group as a whole and not just one person. maybe google group dynamics or learn about turn taking in groups. also, remember that not everyone communicates well in group situations.

good luck:)

Wibbs

brayblue24 first and only warning. Read and abide by the charter or post elsewhere.

LegacyUser

Sounds like me and I have ADHD.
I can't be with a group of people and enjoy myself, just too much going on and it ends up frustrating me. I was out last week and ended up just zoning out when several conversations were going on at once, when I was talking one to one I was fine.

vincenzo1975

more ADD rather, not sure if the Hyperactivity is present, sounds like a patient person rather then fidgety.

How do you find yourself in other social situations, do you feel a bit of panick when faced with large groups and lots of noise such as disco's/cinema/fairground etc, or do you find yourself falling into fairly strict routines that you dont like others interupting, are you a bit obsessive about your work or personal stuff.....

It may be that you are just not good in groups, but if you can identify other traits, it may be a mild form of ADD or something like that.

eskimo

OP I feel your pain in a way. I think the problem with me is that I get so bored in big groups because everyone's fighting for attention and nobody's actually saying anything interesting, so I tend to drift off.... I find small groups of one-on-one or two or three far more stimulating and interesting, so I tend to pay far more attention.

Maybe you just crave more mental stimulation than groups of people fighting for attention can provide. If that's the case, then this isn't a medical problem. You just crave a more interesting situation.

brayblue24

Wibbs wrote: »

brayblue24 first and only warning. Read and abide by the charter or post elsewhere.

In my defence I attempted to locate this thread as soon as I had posted and have only stumbled upon it now.
I wish to apologise to the OP for trivialising their problem. It was a spontaneous and ill advised post. Sory for that.

biko

Some people with hearing problems can have difficulties sifting through the "white noise" of several conversations at a noisy club or similar setting.
Perhaps a check with an ear specialist can help. Or stay away from scenarios where you can't hear properly.

LegacyUser

biko wrote: »

Some people with hearing problems can have difficulties sifting through the "white noise" of several conversations at a noisy club or similar setting.
Perhaps a check with an ear specialist can help. Or stay away from scenarios where you can't hear properly.

+1

My hearing is horrible with background noise. It's fine without. Tho this makes it difficult to have a one on one in a loud club as well.

AARRRGH

Like you OP, sometimes when I'm in a pub I find it hard to follow group conversations if I'm not being spoken to directly. It's like my brain can't switch off the background noise and focus on what's in front of me.

I don't have a hearing problem or probems concentrating.

I think my problem is that I take in everything around me, so this kind of dilutes my attention on the group in front of me as my focus is spread out around the pub.

Are you like this as well? Would you generally be more aware of things around you than the average person?

LegacyUser

Going unregged here:

I have had this problem for much of my life. I've had grommets and been to more than one consultant about hearing, but it hasn't helped. I went to an ear function test at age 13 which came out perfect, but I was frustrated at that. I copped on that it was worst when there was background noise, especially with group situations.

I'm thinking of going to the doc about it, it's a constant source of anxiety. I hate having the TV on in the background when I'm talking to people. I hate a lot of nightclubs and sometimes I get freaked out when there's people around me in every direction. And being slagged for going off on random tangents in the middle of conversations is not nice:(

LegacyUser

I have the exact same problem i have ADD personally its a little fuastrating so i feel your anoyence's
i hate going to shoping centers because all i here is this noise of humans.

what i try to do is not concintrate keep my mind of what im useually trying to do and somethime's it works orther times it dont but i really dont know how to solve it and ive never thought about tyring to get help, but it can get very freaky sometimes...

Sprouts

I can understand what your saying OP, if i'm in a large group and everyone is being loud just to be heard and competing to say their piece, I tend to get a headache if I try to follow the scatty conversation. So if possible I remove myself from the situation and leave them to it.