Which are strategies for effective active listening?

• A. Eye contact, paraphrasing, and asking clarifying questions.
• B. Interrupting to share your own views.
• C. Checking your phone during the conversation.
• D. Rushing to respond before hearing everything.

Answer: (A)

Active listening hinges on showing you’re truly engaged and ensuring you understand what the speaker means. Eye contact signals attention and helps you pick up on nonverbal cues like hesitation or agreement, which adds valuable context beyond words. Paraphrasing—repeating back the speaker’s message in your own words—confirms you heard them correctly and gives them a chance to correct any misinterpretations. Asking clarifying questions then goes a step further by inviting more detail and preventing assumptions, making the conversation clearer and more productive.

These practices form a reliable loop of communication: you stay present, verify understanding, and request specifics when needed. That’s why they’re the best approach for effective active listening. Disruptive habits like interrupting to share your own views, checking your phone, or rushing to respond before hearing everything break that loop. Interrupting stops the speaker’s flow and shifts focus to your thoughts; checking your phone shows disengagement and breaks connection; rushing to respond can lead to missing important information and misreading the speaker’s intent.