Jon, one of your employees, is in the early stages of telling you about a problem and you can tell that he has some strong emotions about the issue. in order to build rapport and jon feel heard, it would be most appropriate for you to:
a) reflect what he says
b) paraphrase what he says
c) make observations
d) express your thoughts and feelings
e) be direct with jon

A) reflect what he says.

Explanation:

Building rapport is the initial step to great leadership. Therefore, it is crucial to know your team members and the issues they are struggling with and understand their motivations in order to get the best out of them.

To build your rapport, it is significant to give the benefit of doubt to John as he is in the initial stage and shows empathy towards him for being who he is that makes him feel heard and motivate him. Thus, the best way to make John feel heard would be to understand his thought and reflect what he says to encourage him in order to get the desired productivity from him as it is important for a leader to know his team members and makes efforts to build rapport with them.