Communication's Final Exam

How is public speaking like other forms of communication such as conversation?
a. Its emphasis is only on content of the message.
b. It requires a sensitivity to your audience and dependence on feedback.
c. Its success is not related to nonverbal communication.
d. It demands an agenda or plan rather than letting the subjects flow

b. It requires a sensitivity to your audience and dependence on feedback.

What is missing from this definition of public speaking, according to the textbook? "A face-to-face attempt to inform, persuade, or entertain a group of people through words, physical delivery, and visual or audio aids."
a. the concept of organization
b. the concept of intentionality
c. the concept of nonverbal communication
d. a and b above
e. b and c above

d. a and b above

Juan is asked by his employer without prior warning to say a few words in a meeting of eight sales representatives about a project he's working on. From his seat, Juan tells about his latest conversation with a client about one of the company's product, which is not what the employer wanted. Is this public speaking?
a. Yes, because he has content and has a relationship with his audience.
b. No, because Juan lacks a purpose and organization.
c. No, because Juan is seated.
d. Yes, because there are at least five people there.
e. No, because his employer didn't like what he said.

b. No, because Juan lacks a purpose and organization.

A state of experiencing "significant and persistent fear when in the presence of or anticipating the object of fear" is the scholarly definition of
a. glossophobia
b. mindset
c. anxiety
d. phobia

d. phobia

Which of the following is suggested for addressing anxiety about public speaking?
a. Practice outside of the room several times and enter exactly at the moment you are scheduled to speak.
b. Examine your own thoughts about why you are anxious.
c. Ignore the unknowns as you prepare since you cannot control them.
d. Think of your audience in embarrassing or humiliating situations.

b. Examine your own thoughts about why you are anxious.

Which of the following is suggested as a reason for anxiety in public speaking?
a. Being an extravert.
b. A mindset that the speech must meet a standard of perfection.
c. Recognizing that an unsuccessful speech given in the past was a one-time event and not a universal case.
d. Not eating correctly before the speech

b. A mindset that the speech must meet a standard of perfection.

"The system of learned and shared symbols, language, values, and norms that distinguish one group from another" is
a. culture
b. channel
c. feedback
d. communication

a. culture

Which of the following statements is true, according to the textbook?
a. Feedback in public speaking is largely verbal.
b. Historical context of a communication event means the kind of relationship the senders and receivers have.
c. You should practice your speech by going over it in your head while driving.
d. The audience will not see your nervousness to the degree you feel it.

d. The audience will not see your nervousness to the degree you feel it.

"Anything that disrupts, interrupts, or interferes with the communication process" is
a. context
b. feedback
c. encoding
d. noise

d. noise

A "symbol" is
a. Direct or indirect messages sent from a receiver to the sender
b. The process of making meaning from a message
c. A word, icon, picture, object, or number that is used to stand for or represent a concept
d. The subjective or personal meaning evoked by a word

c. A word, icon, picture, object, or number that is used to stand for or represent a concept

Tom and Brianna go to a lecture by a well-known author who has been invited to campus. The topic is immigration. At the end they have coffee with friends who also attended. Tom thinks the speaker provided good reasons for his position on immigration, but Brianna and others don't remember his arguments, only some personal stories. This is an example of
a. encoding
b. feedback
c. denotative meaning
d. decoding

d. decoding

When the textbook states "Public speaking requires muscle memory" it means public speaking is a physical activity that relies on practice.
True or False

True

Which of the following is NOT true?
a. Public speaking is a valuable way to relay a significant amount of detailed information to your audience.
b. It is acceptable to emulate effective techniques and strategies that you see other speakers use.
c. A good way to start learning to be a public speaker is to know your strengths
d. Staying within the given time limits is a priority for a speaker

a. Public speaking is a valuable way to relay a significant amount of detailed information to your audience.

________ is sharing meaning between two or more persons
a. Topoi
b. Communication
c. Ethos
d. Rhetoric
e. Symbolism

b. Communication

Em Griffin described the way people view communication using games. Which one provides the best comparison?
a. ping-pong
b. basketball
c. bowling
d. charades

d. charades

Models of communication are helpful in understanding it, but limited because ___
a. communication is a dynamic process
b. communication has fifteen or more components
c. communication is too simple for depictions as models.
d. All of a-c are true.
e. None of a-c are true.
Feedback

a. communication is a dynamic process

The meaning of connotative is ___.
a. generalizing about a group of people
b. a stable, positive or negative response to a person, idea, object, or policy
c. the subjective or personal meaning a word or symbol evokes in people together or individual
d. the process of the sender putting his/her thought and feelings into words or other symbols
e. a group being mixed with different types of demographic characteristics

c. the subjective or personal meaning a word or symbol evokes in people together or individual

What is the idea behind the canons of rhetoric?
a. It is a way orators in early America learned how to dramatically deliver their speeches.
b. It is a traditional way of explaining the process of public speaking
c. It is a set of laws for organizing a speech.
d. It is a way to write a speech textbook.

c. It is a set of laws for organizing a speech.

An introvert is unlikely to become an effective public speaker.
True or False

False

Which of the following is not one of the canons of rhetoric?
a. Memory
b. Delivery
c. Disposition
d. Appearance
e. Invention

d. Appearance

Demographic refers
a. Analyzing the audience
b. The outward traits or characteristics of the audience
c. Internal psychological characteristics of the audience members
d. To the traditional Greek word for the process of public speaking

b. The outward traits or characteristics of the audience

"Taking one characteristic of a group or person and viewing that as the whole of what the person or group is" is the definition of
a. Stereotyping
b. Totalizing
c. Audience analysis
d. Psychographic characteristics
Feedback

b. Totalizing

Because religion is private and personal for most people, the speaker does not need to consider the religion of his audience in preparing a speech.
True or False

False

If you were giving a speech on the need for labor unions to be strong in American society, which of the following would be the most relevant demographic characteristic?
a. occupation
b. age
c. sexual orientation
d. education level
e. family status

a. occupation

You should approach the concept of your audience's demographic characteristics both positively and negatively.
True or Flase

True

Which is a researched-based observation about how men and women communicate differently?
a. Women interrupt more
b. women talk more than men
c. Men insert "hedges" such as "I'm not sure about this"
d. men are socialized to solve problems even when it's not expected

d. men are socialized to solve problems even when it's not expected

Beliefs are true statements about the world around us that determine our behavior.
True or False

False

John has been a member of an organization that advocates for criminal justice reform for ten years. He believes it is the primary problem facing our country today. He also works as a paralegal for the organization helping victims of the justice system. Which of the following is true about John's beliefs about criminal justice reform?
a. They would be stable because of his long-term commitment to the organization and issue.
b. They would be salient because of his career and how much time he spends in it.
c. They would be strong because of the support he gets from colleagues, co-members of the organization, and what he reads.
d. All of a-c are true.
e. None of a-c are true.

d. All of a-c are true.

Which of the following is not a psychographic characteristic according to textbook?


Select one:
a. value
b. belief
c. emotion
d. need

c. emotion

Which statement is not true about attitude?
a. It is similar to mood.
b. It is studied a great deal.
c. It is closely linked to action or behavior.
d. It is about the positive or negative response to something or someone

a. It is similar to mood.

The definition "goals we strive for and consider important and desirable" refers to
a. attitude
b. needs
c. values
d. beliefs
e. constructs

c. values

When we say that values, needs, beliefs, and attitudes are "constructs," we mean
a. they are not real
b. they are a way of describing and understand sources of human behavior
c. they are only important to psychology
d. they only matter in North American and European cultures

b. they are a way of describing and understand sources of human behavior

"A stable positive or negative response to a person, idea, object, or policy" refers to
a. belief
b. need
c. attitude
d. value

c. attitude

Picture Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Pick the correct sequence, going from lowest to highest.
a. Physiological, safety/security, love/belongingness, self-esteem, self-actualization
b. Physiological, self-esteem, self-actualization, love/belongingness, safety/security
c. Physiological, love/belongingness, self-esteem, safety/security, self-actualization
d. Love/belongingness, self-esteem, physiological, safety/security, self-actualization

a. Physiological, safety/security, love/belongingness, self-esteem, self-actualization

Practice makes perfect, according to the textbook
a. True
b. False
c. True under some circumstances

c. True under some circumstances

Which of the following is not a contextual circumstance that a speaker should consider?
a. reason for the audience being together
b. group affiliation of the audience
c. length of time allotted for presentation
d. physical space

b. group affiliation of the audience

How does "time" affect a presentation?
a. An audience may experience a speech very differently at one time of day versus another.
b. Audiences can become unable to listen as well after a certain number of minutes.
c. The organization or person who asks you to speak may have expectations about time limits.
d. A-C are all true.
e. A-C are all false.

d. A-C are all true.

Which of these statements is not true?
a. Empathetic listening takes place when listening to music, poetry, or literature.
b. Research supports the idea that our level of memory from oral communication is not very high.
c. Hearing is a physical process involving sound waves and brain activity.
d. Comprehensive listening is focused on understanding and remembering important information from an oral message.

a. Empathetic listening takes place when listening to music, poetry, or literature.

Why is planned redundancy necessary?
a. Audiences do not know how to listen to speeches.
b. Oral communication is linear and doesn't provide for "looping."
c. It helps control how much information the speaker can dump on the audience.
d. It relieves the audience from listening intently to the speech.

b. Oral communication is linear and doesn't provide for "looping."

Which of the following is not true about listening, according to the textbook?
a. The first step for improving listening is to recognize its importance.
b. Your preconceptions about a speaker or message can be a barrier to listening well.
c. Using your cellular devices distracts you and others
d. Good note-taking is transcribing as much of what the speaker says as possible.

d. Good note-taking is transcribing as much of what the speaker says as possible.

The specific purpose statement has three sections: the specific communication word, the target audience, and the content
a. false
b. true

b. true

Audiences are asking two basic questions while listening to a speaker.
a. How do we know it is true/How does this topic affect my world?
b. Why is this topic important to me/Why should I listen to the speaker?
c. What is the future of this topic/How much will this topic affect me?
d. What is your credibility as a speaker/Who are the major authorities on this

b. Why is this topic important to me/Why should I listen to the speaker?

Which is not a general purpose for a speech?
a. to inspire
b. to inform
c. to articulate
d. to persuade
e. All of a-d are correct.

c. to articulate

Which statement is not necessarily true about a central idea statement?
a. it is identical to a thesis statement as you would do for English Composition class.
b. it can use personal pronouns.
c. it should have the same content/focus as the specific purpose statement
d. it must be a full grammatical statement

a. it is identical to a thesis statement as you would do for English Composition class.

Which is a good central idea statement?
a. Life Insurance: Three types, three approaches
b. To inform my audience about the three types of life insurance available on the market today.
c. To persuade my audience about the three types of life insurance they can buy.
d. I want to talk to you today about the kinds of life insurance you can buy.
e. In today's market, a consumer can purchase three types of life insurance: level term, decreasing term, and whole life.

e. In today's market, a consumer can purchase three types of life insurance: level term, decreasing term, and whole life.

A speaker should generally think about topic before purpose.
a. true
b. false

b. false

A central idea statement is the same as the specific purpose statement.
a. true
b. false

b. false

Ned wants to give a speech in his class about a subject he is very interested in, his band. He feels he is an expert because of his experience. His specific purpose is "To inform my classmates why starting a band is a cool idea." Which of the following is a reasonable response to this specific purpose statement?
a. He is an expert but no one in his class will care about the subject and will think he is bragging.
b. He needs to reword the specific purpose statement mostly to focus on the communication word being fulfilled in the speech.
c. His specific purpose statement violates at least two of the guidelines in the textbook so he should trash it and get a different topic.
d. It is good; he is an expert and his audience will be interested.

b. He needs to reword the specific purpose statement mostly to focus on the communication word being fulfilled in the speech.

Which is a common error made by beginning speakers in writing specific purpose statements?
a. trying to cover too wide an amount of material
b. using their own interests and background to select a purpose/topic
c. trying to keep the central idea statement separate from the specific purpose statement
d. trying to write their introduction last

a. trying to cover too wide an amount of material

The correct sequence for formulating your central idea statement is to start with how your own interests, your audience, and your speech context flow together to create the specific purpose and then the central idea.
a. true
b. false

a. true

A connective is a good place to insert a strong statistic for support.
a. false
b. true

a. false

Chronological organization can be divided into two types: short-term and long-term.
a. True
b. False

a. True

Having a climax pattern in a speech means that you
a. Get louder in your volume as you move to the conclusion
b. Put the strongest material in the conclusion
c. Use an effective visual aid in the conclusion.
d. Put the strongest argument or reason or information as the last point
e. Put the strongest argument, reason, or information as the first point

d. Put the strongest argument or reason or information as the last point

I respect Joni Tada for three reasons.

I. She has lived as a quadriplegic for almost 50 years.

II. She is a wise and winsome communicator.

III. She gives her life to helping those with disabilities.

This outline uses a _______ pattern of organization.
a. Cause-effect
b. Problem-solution
c. Topical/part of whole
d. Spatial
e. Chronological

c. Topical/part of whole

I. The first phase of the Civil Rights Movement was before 1955.

II. The second, major, phrase of the Civil Rights Movement was between 1956 and 1963.

III. The third phase of the Civil Rights Movement took place between 1963 and 1968.

This outline uses a _______ pattern of organization.
a. Spatial
b. Problem-solution
c. Chronological
d. Topical/part of whole
e. Cause-effect

c. Chronological

One of the purposes of a connective is to keep the audiences attention through repetition and sense of movement.
a. false
b. true

b. true

Organization of speech ideas and materials involves three steps, in this order: ordering, labeling and subordinating.
a. True
b. False

b. False

Speeches should contain from three to six main points.
a. False
b. True

a. False

The analogy used in the book between an outline of a speech and the speech itself was between
a. A blueprint and a house
b. A driver and a car
c. A map and a trip
d. A skeleton and a full body
e. Clothing and the body

a. A blueprint and a house

The value of a strong preparation outline is ____.
a. It allows you to see the relative importance of ideas.
b. It allows you a good foundation for practice.
c. It makes you as a speaker include all the parts of a good speech.
d. It allows another person to have a clear idea of what you will say.
e. All of a-d

e. All of a-d

There are two types of outlines: preparation and speaking.
a. false
b. true

b. true

What is a problem with using a cause-effect organizational pattern?
Select one:
a. It is only good for persuasive speeches.
b. An effect-cause organization pattern is better.
c. The time involved to develop causes and effects is probably longer than most speech assignments.
d. None of a-d

c. The time involved to develop causes and effects is probably longer than most speech assignments.

What is meant by extemporaneous speech?
a. A speech type rarely given in public speaking classes.
b. A speech where the time limits do no matter; the origins of the word are ex="outside" and temp= "time."
c. A speech based on a full manuscript.
d. A speech based on an outline, which provides flexibility in preparation and delivery.

d. A speech based on an outline, which provides flexibility in preparation and delivery.

What type of connective is this? So far in the speech I have discussed the purpose of the Eifel Tower in French history and who its designers were."
a. internal summary
b. internal preview
c. signpost
d. bridging statement

a. internal summary

Which is an example of the concept of chunking?
a. Using only two or three main points in your speech.
b. Combining a series of 15 steps into 4 basic categories of steps in a demonstration speech.
c. Being sure to eliminate any pieces of information that do not fit into your main points.
d. Being sure all your main ideas/points support the specific purpose statement.

b. Combining a series of 15 steps into 4 basic categories of steps in a demonstration speech.

Which is not a type of connective?
a. internal preview
b. internal summary
c. bridging statement
d. signpost
e. All of a-d are types of connectives

e. All of a-d are types of connectives

Which is true of your audience in terms of organization of speeches?
a. There are limits to the amount of categories or "points" that an audience can keep in their minds.
b. They have to have analogies to understand concepts.
c. They have to have the subject divided into three main points.
d. As adults, they can remember any order or number of points.

a. There are limits to the amount of categories or "points" that an audience can keep in their minds.

Which of these statements is true about organization of speeches?
a. The specific purpose statement and the thesis are essentially the same thing.
b. The KISS principle means that speeches should stick to three main points.
c. All audiences need organization and need help understanding the organization.
d. As you progress through the speech, the time spent on each main point should get longer.

c. All audiences need organization and need help understanding the organization.

Which organization pattern would be best to organize a speech with the specific purpose: "To persuade my audience to support stricter drug testing for Olympic athletes"?
a. Topical/part of whole
b. Chronological
c. Spatial
d. Problem-solution
e. Cause-effect

d. Problem-solution

Which organizational pattern would be best to organize a speech with the specific purpose: "To describe reasons for the results of the Black Lives Matter Movement?"
a. Cause-effect
b. Topical/part of whole
c. Chronological
d. Spatial
e. Problem-solution

a. Cause-effect

How might you best approach a speech about Area 51 in Roswell, New Mexico (rumored site of suspected alien activity)?
A. Do not do a speech on that subject for an informative speech assignment.
B. It can be an informative speech if you look equally at both sides, pro and con, of whether aliens were there.
C. Only do this speech for a persuasive speech about the existence of aliens.
D. It is fine as a topic. Roswell is a real place, so it is good topic for an informative speech.
Feedback

B. It can be an informative speech if you look equally at both sides, pro and con, of whether aliens were there.

What type of informative speech topic is a speech with the specific purpose: "To explain to my classmates the development of the football's design"?
A. history
B. processes
C. biography
D. ideas or concepts
E. categories or divisions

A. history

What type of informative speech topic is a speech with the specific purpose: "To explain to my classmates the types of clubs in a golfer's bag"?
A. biography
B. history
C. categories or divisions
D. ideas or concepts
E. processes

C. categories or divisions

What type of informative speech topic is a speech with the specific purpose: "To explain to my classmates the life of Mother Teresa"?
A. processes
B. biography
C. history
D. categories or divisions
E. ideas or concepts

B. biography

What type of informative speech topic is a speech with the specific purpose: "To inform my audience about the legal definition of privacy"?
A. history
B. biography
C. processes
D. categories or divisions
E. ideas or concepts

E. ideas or concepts

What type of informative speech topic is a speech with the specific purpose: "To explain to my classmates the sequence of steps in getting a tattoo"?
A. history
B. ideas or concepts
C. biography
D. categories or divisions
E. processes

E. processes

What word means "statements that cannot be argued"?
A. rebuttal
B. informative
C. propositional
D. irrefutable
E. refutational

D. irrefutable

A speech with the specific purpose: "To explain to my audience the evidence supporting that Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated President Kennedy in a conspiracy" is a viable informative speech topic.
a. True
b. False

b. False

An informative speech can under some circumstances have opinion as its basis.
a. True
b. False

b. False

A speech with the specific purpose: "To inform my audience about the United States government official policies toward alien research" is a viable informative speech topic.
a. True
b. False

a. True

While books are great tools for research, they
A. Are not indexed electronically in the library
B. Are too focused in scope to be of use to a researcher
C. Are biased because the writer received money for his/her opinion.
D. Often contain information that is much older than the book's copyright date.

D. Often contain information that is much older than the book's copyright date.

Which is an example of a primary source?
A. A communication scholar writing an article about what scholarly journal articles say about self-disclosure.
B. A journalist interviewing veterans back from the Middle East
C. A technical writer writing a researched report for her supervisor on the best copiers for the company to buy.
D. A student using the digital catalog at his college's library to write a speech.

B. A journalist interviewing veterans back from the Middle East

Works that are published on an ongoing, regular basis are called
A. periodicals
B. monographs
C. academic journals
D. annual

A. periodicals

"Information that has been compiled, filtered, edited or interpreted in some way" defines
A. secondary sources
B. academic sources
C. primary sources
D. peer-reviewed sources

A. secondary sources

Using research properly relates to the ethics and effectiveness of a speech.
a. True
b. False

a. True

"The ability to recognize when information is needed and the ability to locate, evaluate, and use it effectively" is
A. research
B. information literacy
C. primary research
D. secondary research

B. information literacy

Which of these is not a test for evaluating a website?
A. currency/recency
B. writing style
C. purpose
D. country of origin
E. objectivity

D. country of origin

Which of these is an example of writing style as a test of a website?
A. tone
B. errors
C. use of name-calling
D. all of a-c
E. none of a-c

D. all of a-c

Websites with .org in the address are reliable and unbiased because they refer to nonprofit organizations that are not trying to make money.
a. True
b. False

b. False

To do more specific Internet research, use _____.
A. quotation marks around the search term
B. use the Advanced Search function
C. only use .gov and .edu sites
D. a and b
E. b and c

D. a and b

The meaning of an abstract is ___.
a. an active process of making an effort to understand, process, and retain
b. a process where others scholars have judged a source to be accurate according to the disciplines research processes
c. information that is not filtered by interpretation or editing
d. a summary that accompanies articles in databases
e. the means through which a message gets from sender to receiver

d. a summary that accompanies articles in databases

How can you find relevant sources more quickly on an Internet search engine?
a. Only use one that doesn't provide advertising
b. Put quotation marks around some of your search words
c. Only use Google scholar
d. use advanced search functions
e. Use a metasearch engine

d. use advanced search functions

Which of the following is NOT a criterion for evaluating a website's value for your research?
a. its objectivity
b. the credentials of the person who wrote the information
c. its use of APA or MLA documentation
d. the reason that the website was created
e. how recently the website was updated

c. its use of APA or MLA documentation

"Domain" refers to
a. the coding language used by web developers
b. the first four letters and the punctuation of a website address
c. the type of browser one uses to access the web
d. the section of the Internet that is made up of related sites

d. the section of the Internet that is made up of related sites

Mary wants to use a short survey to prepare her class speech. Her thesis is "Drivers over the age of 75 should be retested to renew their drivers licenses every two years." Her first question is "Do you oppose or support stricter regulations on elderly drivers to keep the roads safer?" Critique her first question.
a. It is not good because it will be hard to put into an electronic survey.
b. It is not good because the wording is biased.
c. It is not good because the wording is biased.
d. It is good because she will know her audience's specific attitudes prior to her speech.
e. It's good because it gives two clear choices.

b. It is not good because the wording is biased.

If you construct a survey in your class about your speech topic and get your classmates' opinions, that is
a. primary research
b. source verification
c. information literacy
d. secondary research

a. primary research

A speaker wanting to use humor in his/her presentation should be sure to practice the joke or anecdote to maximize its effectiveness.
a. True
b. False

a. True

Minimizing distance between the speaker and the audience is a way to influence the attention level of the audience in a positive way.
a. True
b. False

a. True

Statistics are numbers used in speeches.
a. True
b. False

b. False

Attention is the audience members' responsibility and not something the speaker can directly affect.
a. True
b. False

b. False