During a Gram Panchayat coordination meeting on rural drinking water supply, an elected village representative angrily asserts that previous pipeline allocations were biased against his locality. To demonstrate active listening without committing funds or escalating conflict, which of the following responses should the Block Development Officer (BDO) choose?
- Restate the representative's underlying concern in a calm, neutral tone to confirm accurate understanding of the grievance before addressing the policy details.Answer
- BImmediately order a disciplinary enquiry against the representative for disrupting an official administrative proceeding.
- CInterrupt the representative forcefully to declare that past allocations strictly followed guidelines and cannot be questioned.
- DAttribute the representative's distress entirely to acoustic noise in the hall and request that the meeting be adjourned.
Answer
Restate the representative's underlying concern in a calm, neutral tone to confirm accurate understanding of the grievance before addressing the policy details.
Active listening involves capturing both the verbal content and emotional context of a speaker's message, then reflecting it back neutrally. Restating the representative's concern confirms that his message has been accurately received, de-escalates hostility, and builds a constructive foundation for policy-based problem solving.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Active Listening and Paraphrasing in Public Administration
Estimated Time:45s