Which choice best shows a person that you are listening and that you respect his or her perspective?

a. you stand motionless, listening quietly and intently.

b. you stare down at the floor so that the person feels free to speak.

c. you continuously offer your opinion.

d. you ask for clarification of what the person is saying.

I believe the best answer is letter D. you ask for clarification of what the person is saying.

Explanation:

If you stand motionless or stare down at the floor, as suggested in letters A and B, the speaker may feel as if you are just pretending to listen or as if you are not interested, respectively. Those approaches would certainly encourage them to stop talking instead. Now, if you continuously offer your opinion (letter C), you'll be constantly interrupting the speaker. Not only will he/she be annoyed, but such behavior may be considered rude and inadequate.

The best option is letter D. When you ask for clarification, you make it clear that, not only were you listening, but also paying attention. If you ask for clarification, that means the subject interests you. You are curious enough to want to know more about it. That will encourage the speaker to keep on discussing.

can you copy and paste what selections you read? the answer is based off of that.

the present continuous is a verb tense which is mainly used to indicates that an action is in progress at the moment of speaking.  

it is formed using: person + verb to be (am/is/are) +verb + - ing form  

example: i am studying at this moment .

in addition, the present continuous is also used in order to express things that will or will not happen in the near future.

example: i am having dinner with some friends tonight.

the speaker sometimes   uses it   to express that an action is repeated and it causes irritation on the part of the speaker

example: my sister is constantly complaining about everything.