A technique that might be used by an active listener is to

Active listening means showing the speaker that you have understood them, and paraphrasing is the standard tool for this. When you restate the speaker's words in your own language, you check your understanding, signal attention, and keep the conversation centred on the speaker rather than on yourself.

Why the others fail:

• A) Describing the situation is an observation about the setting, not a listening response.
• B) Expressing anxiety makes the listener the centre of the exchange, which is the opposite of active listening.
• D) Offering a point of view often is advice-giving or argument. Option D also has a typo in the paper ('Office' for 'Offer'). Active listening defers judgement until the speaker has finished, and the word 'often' is the giveaway.

Core concept: empathetic, non-judgemental listening, which is the basis of counselling and of good interpersonal skills in administration. For Mains (GS IV, ethics), this links to empathy as a competency for public servants dealing with citizens.

Trap: Students pick D because offering a point of view sounds like good communication. The question asks what the listener does, not what the listener should say.