Final answer:
The key element of good listening habits related to paraphrasing is restating the speaker's message in your own words, which is option C. Paraphrasing shows understanding and maintains the speaker's original meaning while using your own voice.
Step-by-step explanation:
A key element of good listening habits related to paraphrasing is C) Restating the speaker's message in your own words. When we paraphrase, we take what someone else has said and reformulate it into our own language, maintaining the original meaning. This skill is crucial in both academic and conversational settings for effective communication.
It demonstrates that we have understood the message and are able to reflect it back in a way that resonates with our own voice, which keeps the conversation personal and engaging. Moreover, when we use paraphrasing in writing, it is important to provide formatted information about the original source to avoid plagiarism and to allow readers to consult the original work if they wish.