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Excellence in Business Communication, 12e (Thill/Bovee)
Chapter 10 Writing Persuasive Messages
1) In general, the best persuasive messages ________ the audience’s motivations.
A) avoid mentioning
B) downplay
C) openly address
D) dismiss
E) eliminate
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe strategies for developing persuasive business messages
2) Marketers use quantifiable characteristics known as ________ and psychological
characteristics known as ________ to help them understand the needs of an audience.
A) social graphics; intuitional data
B) demographics; psychographics
C) crowdsourcing; regionalism
D) psychometrics; cryptography
E) selling points; desired benefits
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe strategies for developing persuasive business messages
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3) As a human need that affects motivation, self-actualization involves the need to
A) cultivate lifelong involvement.
B) feel a sense of accomplishment.
C) reach one’s full potential as a human being.
D) control situations or exert authority over others.
E) establish comfortable connections on social media networks.
AACSB: Reflective thinking
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Application
Learning Outcome: Describe strategies for developing persuasive business messages
4) When you’re writing a persuasive message, you can encourage a positive response by
A) explaining what will happen if they don’t respond positively.
B) using neutral and strong language.
C) understanding and respecting cultural differences.
D) getting straight to the point.
E) addressing psychographic needs.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Difficult
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe strategies for developing persuasive business messages
5) Which of the following is an example of psychographic information?
A) age
B) occupation
C) lifestyle
D) income
E) education
AACSB: Diverse and multicultural work environments
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Application
Learning Outcome: Describe strategies for developing persuasive business messages
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6) Personality, lifestyle, and attitudes are assessed through
A) demographic surveys.
B) psychographic studies.
C) inkblot tests.
D) examinations of census data.
E) income records.
AACSB: Diverse and multicultural work environments
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe strategies for developing persuasive business messages
7) If you can’t be sure which medium will be best to convey your persuasive message to a
diverse audience, you should
A) choose the one that is most economical.
B) select the one that is easiest to use (such as email).
C) use two or more media at the same time.
D) choose one at random and see how well it works.
E) not send the message.
AACSB: Reflective thinking
Difficulty: Easy
Classification: Synthesis
Learning Outcome: Describe strategies for developing persuasive business messages
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8) If a supervisor tells a worker who consistently arrives late, “I know you don’t want to have
your pay docked,” the supervisor is addressing the worker’s need for
A) safety and security.
B) acceptance.
C) status and esteem.
D) self-actualization.
E) power and control.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Application
Learning Outcome: Describe strategies for developing persuasive business messages
9) Business professionals know that ________ is the attempt to change an audience’s attitudes,
beliefs, or actions.
A) deception
B) sales
C) persuasion
D) trickery
E) marketing
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe strategies for developing persuasive business messages
10) ________ information includes age, gender, occupation, income, and education.
A) Demographic
B) Stenographic
C) Psychographic
D) Persuasive
E) Direct
AACSB: Diverse and multicultural work environments
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe strategies for developing persuasive business messages
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11) ________ data provides information about an individual’s personality, attitudes, lifestyle, and
other psychological characteristics.
A) Demographic
B) Ideographic
C) Psychographic
D) Direct
E) Persuasive
AACSB: Diverse and multicultural work environments
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe strategies for developing persuasive business messages
12) The direct approach for persuasion
A) is never used in the workplace.
B) is effective for a receptive audience.
C) is great for connecting with a skeptical audience.
D) doesn’t include justifications or explanations.
E) is a sign of low self-esteem and limited credibility.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe strategies for developing persuasive business messages
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13) The best way to persuade an audience to do something is to
A) convince them that their existing motivations are unreasonable.
B) change their motivation by suggesting that they are unsophisticated.
C) align your message with their existing motivation.
D) use scare tactics to describe the consequences of failing to do what you have asked.
E) shame them into doing what you want.
AACSB: Reflective thinking
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe strategies for developing persuasive business messages
14) In persuasive messages, limiting your scope
A) is less important than in other types of messages.
B) reduces the likelihood that your audience will be convinced.
C) is critical if your audience is to understand and accept your position.
D) is unnecessary, since audiences expect these messages to be long.
E) can reduce the effectiveness of your argument.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe strategies for developing persuasive business messages
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15) Using polite language in persuasive messages
A) enhances the effectiveness of your arguments.
B) is less effective than an aggressive “hard sell.”
C) shows a lack of confidence, and should be avoided.
D) is effective only with external audiences.
E) is helpful in the body, but not in the opening or close.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe strategies for developing persuasive business messages
16) Suggesting that readers have made poor choices in the past
A) is helpful in sales messages, but not other persuasive messages.
B) is effective in persuasive messages, as long as you are subtle.
C) works well if you are trying to convince someone to make a large purchase.
D) can inadvertently insult your audience, reducing the effectiveness of your persuasive
message.
E) makes them more likely to accept your argument, as long as you are blunt and forceful.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe strategies for developing persuasive business messages
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17) Differences in organizational culture
A) don’t affect persuasive messages.
B) can profoundly affect the success of a persuasive message.
C) are important when addressing international audiences, but not those in the U.S.
D) are so complex that no one can truly understand them.
E) are important to consider for negative messages, but not for persuasive messages.
AACSB: Diverse and multicultural work environments
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe strategies for developing persuasive business messages
18) Establishing credibility in persuasive messages
A) is impossible unless the audience is already familiar with you.
B) is a waste of time, since data and evidence are the only things audiences find convincing.
C) requires a condescending, “know-it-all” tone.
D) works only when you make negative comments about your company‘s competitors.
E) is essential when you are trying to persuade a hostile or skeptical audience.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe strategies for developing persuasive business messages
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19) Using simple language in persuasive messages
A) helps avoid suspicions of fantastic claims and emotional manipulation.
B) reduces your credibility, since jargon and complex terminology are impressive.
C) confuses the audience, since they expect you to show how much you know.
D) is harmful when addressing external audiences.
E) is fine as long as you overwhelm the audience with complicated charts and diagrams.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe strategies for developing persuasive business messages
20) The attempt to change an attitude, belief, or action is known as
A) manipulation.
B) deception.
C) motivation.
D) exploitation.
E) persuasion.
AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning
Difficulty: Easy
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe strategies for developing persuasive business messages
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21) When using persuasion to sell a product or idea, the goal is
A) to let the audience know this is the best choice possible.
B) to explain to the audience what will happen if they make a different choice.
C) to present your offering in the best possible light.
D) to explain how your offering is superior to all others.
E) to offer the best price based on quality.
AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe strategies for developing persuasive business messages
22) When you’re completing a persuasive message,
A) proofread your message meticulously.
B) judge your argument objectively.
C) ask an experienced colleague to review your draft.
D) choose distribution methods that the audience expects and prefers.
E) all of the above
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe strategies for developing persuasive business messages
23) Successful professionals understand that persuasion is the attempt to get your audience to
make the choices you want them to make—even if those choices are not in their best interest.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe strategies for developing persuasive business messages