Experience Communication, 2e (Child)
Chapter 14 Public Presentations to Persuade
1) You have a very difficult class and you are thinking about dropping it. You estimate that you
currently have an F in the class. You make an appointment with the professor, who encourages you
to stay in the class. She tells you that you can still earn an A, and she gives you good reasons for
believing that you can. The professor, in this instance, has used persuasion to keep you enrolled in
the class.
2) If you are trying to convince an audience to oppose the death penalty, and you are a very good
public speaker, you should expect that they will likely be persuaded with a single speech.
3) You want to persuade a group of professors and college administrators that colleges place too
much emphasis on standardized test scores for admission purposes. A reasonable immediate
purpose for the speech would be to get their agreement.
4) You hope you can convince a group of people that torture is never acceptable. If you try to warm
them to your ideas before you make your most persuasive statements, you are using the boomerang
effect.
5) The face-to-face persuasive speeches you provide in class cannot succeed because the audience
is captive.
6) Propositions are classified as propositions of fact, value, and policy.
7) You are trying to persuade an audience that animals should not be used for research purposes.
You provide horror stories about animals that were abused and died unnecessarily. The members
of your audience understand the narratives, but they do not believe them. In this instance, you have
provided evidence, but not proof.
8) One way to test evidence is to determine if it is consistent with other known facts.
9) Your evidence is considered stronger if another person would draw the same conclusion about it
as you have drawn.
10) You are speaking in favor of medical marijuana to a group of people who are opposed to its
development or use. A good strategy is to use the Monroe Motivated Sequence, where you shock
them with an extreme position and then move back to a more moderate one.
11) You are going to try to convince an audience that alternative medicine is better than traditional
medicine. To do this, you would give
A) persuasive presentation.
B) informative presentation.
C) entertaining presentation.
D) coercive presentation.
12) The parent who says, “Finish your chores or you will not be allowed to go out for the rest of the
month,” is trying to get the chores done by using
A) persuasion.
B) coercion.
C) compromise.
D) proof.
13) When you are making a persuasive argument on a highly controversial topic, you should
realistically understand that getting agreement from your audience will probably be
A) an immediate response.
B) an immediate purpose.
C) a long-term goal.
D) a short-term response.
14) The bully who uses his voice and physical strength to get you to do something is not using
persuasion; instead, the bully is using
A) manipulation.
B) supplication.
C) information.
D) coercion.
15) The phone solicitor who gets you to give up your social security number so she can steal your
identity is using
A) manipulation.
B) coercion.
C) threats.
D) persuasion.
16) Which item below is a long-range goal?
A) At the end of my presentation, I want audience members to raise their hands if they agree with
my position.
B) I want my audience to sign this petition against tuition increases.
C) I want my audience to change their pro-gun stance to a gun-control stance.
D) I want my audience to understand that a smartphone provides the best photos.
17) A persuasive speech can do all of the following EXCEPT
A) force an audience to do something against their will.
B) use arguments and evidence to convince an audience to change.
C) use new information to change an audience’s mind on an issue.
D) use stories to help an audience see something in a new way.
18) An important difference between the introduction for an informative versus a persuasive
speech is the way you
A) establish source credibility.
B) state your purpose.
C) forecast organization and development of your topic.
D) gain and maintain audience attention.
19) The “foot-in-the-door” or “nose-under-the-tent” technique in persuasive speaking refers to the
idea of
A) asking much when you are really willing to settle for far less.
B) using some small incentive to gain compliance for something larger.
C) asking for much more than you really expect to receive.
D) resisting persuasion by “shutting the door” on the persuader.
20) Which item below is an example of the “foot-in-the-door” technique in persuasive speaking?
A) The fundraiser asks for $100 when she expects only a $50 contribution.
B) The retailer first shows an expensive engagement ring and then moves to the less expensive
rings.
C) The speaker asks several times for only a show of hands from those who agree with her but later
asks the audience to sign a petition.
D) The auto salesperson shows you a late-model, barely-used car before going down the line to
ones that are more affordable but less profitable.
21) If you ask too quickly for too much change in an audience, you are likely to get
A) a boomerang effect.
B) information overload.
C) compliance.
D) fear appeal.
22) What name is given to a situation in which the audience likes you and your message less after
the presentation than before?
A) compliance
B) boomerang effect
C) unintended consequence
D) coercion
23) What is the purpose of a speech that invites audience members to do something they have not
done before?
A) adoption
B) continuance
C) discontinuance
D) reinforcement
24) What is the purpose of a speech that invites audience members to stop doing something they
regularly do?
A) adoption
B) continuance
C) discontinuance
D) reinforcement
25) You hold negative views on marijuana and other drug use, but you know that many of your
classmates use drugs occasionally. If you attempt to persuade them to stop using drugs, your
purpose is one of
A) discontinuance.
B) adoption.
C) proof.
D) evidence.
26) If you want to convince an audience that men should be given paternity leave just as women
are given maternity leave, you are making a proposition of
A) evidence.
B) fact.
C) value.
D) policy.
27) If you are proposing a change in the taxation system to make it fairer, you are making a
proposition of
A) policy.
B) fact.
C) value.
D) proof.
28) You are trying to convince a group that cheating is both wrong and out of control. You are
dealing with a proposition of
A) policy.
B) value.
C) fact.
D) proof.
29) Argument is defined as a
A) form of discourse that attempts to persuade.
B) verbal dispute between individuals.
C) means of managing conflicts.
D) form of discourse used only in the courts.
30) Which item below is the best example of a proposition of fact?
A) In 2013 college student debt grew larger than credit card debt.
B) I think states should support higher education to reduce tuition.
C) Big dogs make better companions than small dogs.
D) The best areas of the United States have four seasons.
31) Which item below best illustrates a proposition of policy?
A) Fishing tends to be the best in early morning and late evening.
B) All students who register early will be given a tuition discount.
C) The weather in Florida is best when it is coldest in the North.
D) Congress appears to be in gridlock most of the time.
32) Evidence is anything that helps in forming a conclusion. In contrast, proof is anything the
receiver
A) believes.
B) understands.
C) disputes.
D) can challenge.
33) Which item below is NOT a valid test of evidence?
A) Is it consistent with other known facts?
B) Does it come from an unbiased source?
C) Would someone else draw the same conclusions based on this evidence?
D) Do most people in the United States find this evidence credible?
34) Ethos is a term from classical rhetoric that means
A) the use of emotional proofs in persuasion.
B) the reputation, authority, and integrity of the speaker.
C) persuasion by means of logic.
D) the use of ethics in argumentation.
35) You provide half a dozen instances of bad behavior by the local police. Based on this behavior,
you conclude that the police need better supervision. This is a(n)
A) inductive argument.
B) emotive proof.
C) deductive argument.
D) ethical proof.
36) A general proposition applied to a specific instance or minor premise to draw a conclusion is
called a(n)
A) inductive argument.
B) emotive proof.
C) deductive argument.
D) ethical proof.
37) An argument that follows the pattern of the one below is called a(n) ________ argument.
All drunk drivers are dangerous.
Joann is a drunk driver.
Therefore, Joann is dangerous.
A) inductive
B) emotive
C) deductive
D) ethical
38) An argument that requires an inferential leap is a(n) ________ argument.
A) inductive
B) emotive
C) deductive
D) ethical
39) A syllogism is a(n) ________ argument.
A) inductive
B) emotive
C) deductive
D) ethical
40) Competence, trustworthiness, and dynamism are all elements of the speaker’s
A) ethos.
B) pathos.
C) logos.
D) mythos.
41) An example of pathos is
A) scientific evidence.
B) proof.
C) fear appeal.
D) statistical evidence.
42) The Monroe Motivated Sequence is an especially popular organizational pattern for
persuaders. Which step below is NOT part of the sequence?
A) attention
B) action
C) need
D) attribution
43) If you were giving a student in your class a list of ethical considerations for persuasive
speaking and debating, which would you NOT include?
A) Always give credit to your sources through oral citations and accurate references.
B) Show that your sources are credible, not biased.
C) When necessary, attack your opponent to discredit her arguments.
D) Attack your opponent’s evidence, sources, or reasoning.
44) In a persuasive speech, a complete-sentence outline is
A) a planning tool.
B) a visual aid.
C) unavailable.
D) read from.
45) Jodi gives a persuasive speech using the Monroe Motivated Sequence. What step of the
sequence is she using when she shows the audience how the speech is relevant to them?
A) attention
B) need
C) satisfaction
D) visualization
46) While following the Monroe Motivated Sequence, Trevor completes the satisfaction stage of
the sequence by
A) telling the audience a shocking story to get their attention.
B) pleading with the audience to take action.
C) showing the audience how the problem impacts their lives.
D) laying out a logical plan to address an issue.
47) Which item below is a hypothetical example?
A) The government of the United States includes the executive, judicial, and legislative branches.
B) The legislative branch consists of a House of Representatives and a Senate.
C) The House and Senate would be even more inefficient if our representatives had to live with
term limits.
D) Currently, representatives are elected for two-year terms; senators are elected for six-year
terms.
48) When a toothpaste ad shows an ordinary, middle-aged male using a particular brand and
claiming it is the best, the ad agency is using
A) celebrity testimony.
B) lay testimony.
C) expert testimony.
D) legal testimony.
49) In persuasion or social influence, the “principal of reciprocity” is useful. Which of the
following best explains this principal?
A) Do something good for others, and they are more likely to do something good for you.
B) Let your opponent know from the beginning that you plan to stand firm on the issue.
C) Stick to your position without compromise for the best result.
D) If you don’t make the rules, then you will be the one obeying them.
50) Some research indicates that people are more inclined to do something because their friends
and neighbors do it—for example, inoculate their children—than because their physician tells
them to. Which principle of persuasion does this illustrate?
A) scarcity
B) authority
C) commitment
D) social validation
51) The jury finds Attorney A more attractive than Attorney B, and Attorney A wins the case in
spite of the weak evidence he presents. Which persuasive principle does this illustrate?
A) authority
B) commitment
C) consistency
D) liking
52) You persuade your audience to do something because it is very close to what they already
believe and do. Which principle of persuasion does this illustrate?
A) consistency
B) authority
C) scarcity
D) reciprocity