Q: Choosing between two possible 'translations' to reported speech Once ago I was trying to translate a quote into reported speech, I don't remember the exact words but was something like:

He said: "I started to listen the people around me. That was what has made me more humble."

And I wrote:

He said that listening to the people around him has made him more humble.

But I don't know if it's acceptable to write something like that. I could also write:

He said he has become more humble since he started listening the people around him.

which I see a bit more natural. But I'd like to listen your opinion, because I don't see a big difference between the two sentences.

A: Yes, you have understood the fundamental fact about reporting speech.  You report the meaning, not the content.  This means that there can never be a mechanical process to "convert" direct speech to reported speech.
The second sentence does indeed communicate the same idea and I agree that it seems more fluent.  Good job!
As for what is "acceptable" - that is more difficult, since some tests expect the mechanical conversion:

He said that he had started to listen to people and that was what had made him more humble.

To pass the test, you might need something like this.
On the other hand, to speak English, your sentence is better.
