Which active listening technique is illustrated by the phrase 'You sound really angry about that'?

Which active listening technique is illustrated by the phrase 'You sound really angry about that'?

• A. Paraphrasing
• B. Summarizing
• C. Emotional labeling
• D. Questioning

Answer: (C)

The technique shown is identifying and naming the caller’s emotion. Saying “You sound really angry about that” labels the feelings behind the words, which validates what the caller is experiencing. This kind of empathy helps reduce defensiveness, can calm the situation, and makes the caller feel understood, which in turn makes it easier to gather information and guide the conversation. This differs from paraphrasing, which would restate the message in your own words (focusing on content), and from summarizing, which would condense the main points of a longer message. Questioning would involve asking for more information or clarification rather than naming the emotion.

The technique shown is identifying and naming the caller’s emotion. Saying “You sound really angry about that” labels the feelings behind the words, which validates what the caller is experiencing. This kind of empathy helps reduce defensiveness, can calm the situation, and makes the caller feel understood, which in turn makes it easier to gather information and guide the conversation.

This differs from paraphrasing, which would restate the message in your own words (focusing on content), and from summarizing, which would condense the main points of a longer message. Questioning would involve asking for more information or clarification rather than naming the emotion.