active listening 

A way of showing that one is listening to a person who is talking to them by rewording what the other person just said and repeating it back to them. This is supposed to validate the person you are listening to and rephrasing, according to some schools of thought in psychology.

Patient to therapist: I'm really depressed.
Therapist: I see. Yes. You are depressed.
Patient: Nothing is going well.
Therapist: Nothing seems to be going well.
Patient: I feel like killing myself.
Therapist: You're thinking of killing yourself.
Patient: Yes, I'm going to do it NOW.
Therapist: You want to do it now.
Patient: *Jumps out window.*
Therapist: Woosh. Splat.

active listening by TheLastPunslinger June 5, 2005

active listening 

Pretend listening.

That Greg guy's sales numbers are crazy high because he's really good at active listening (i.e., he's really good at making you feel like he's listening to you).

active listening by Dictionnaire Diabolique January 25, 2017

Active listening 

Give affirmative responses to someone, even while you may not be quite sure what they are talking about.

"...So then I said to the guy..."
"Uh-huh."
"...Don't be such a jerk-off!"
"Yeah?"

Active listening by Anonymous October 21, 2003