CHAPTER FIVE: Analyzing Your Audience and Selecting a Really Great Topic
Multiple Choice
1. A good speech topic should interest you and your audience, and should also:
a. be valuable to your audience.
b. be extremely broad so that you can cover many points.
c. have at least 7-8 main points.
d. rely completely on personal experiences for supporting material.
2. A clear simple sentence that specifies exactly what you want your audience to gain
from the speech is called:
a. a value statement
b. an exacting statement
c. an exact purpose
d. a statement of intention
3. General audience characteristics such as age, gender, and religion are part of what kind
of information?
a. general
b. demographic
c. classmate
d. prospective
4. Which of the following statements would be appropriate for a mixed gender audience?
a. “As we all know, men love sports like women love shopping!”
b. “We rely on our local police officers to keep us safe every day.”
c. “Postmen have a much harder job than you might realize.”
d. “A dog is man’s best friend.”
5. A mental acceptance that something is true even if you cannot prove it is called a:
a. value.
b. attitude.
c. belief.
d. need.
6. Deep-seated principles that serve as personal guidelines for behavior are called:
a. values.
b. attitudes.
c. beliefs.
d. needs.
7. When you consider certain kinds of information in order to make sure your message will
fit your audience’s frame of reference, you are performing which of the following?
a. An audience manipulation.
b. An audience persuasion.
c. An audience questionnaire.
d. An audience analysis.
8. An audience that has a fair amount in common is considered:
a. homogeneous.
b. heterogeneous.
c. situational.
d. biological.
9. A feeling of approval or disapproval of a person, group, idea, or event is considered a:
a. value.
b. attitude.
c. belief.
d. need.
10. A state in which an unsatisfied condition exists is called a:
a. value.
b. attitude.
c. belief.
d. need.
11. If you do an incomplete audience analysis, which of the following might result?
a. A bored audience.
b. A disbelieving audience.
c. An angry audience.
d. All of the above.
12. A spontaneous listing of ideas that can help you choose a topic is called:
a. analysis.
b. brainstorming.
c. fact-checking.
d. defining your exact purpose.
True/False
13. Topics that are ideal for a demonstration speech will work just as well as an
informational speech.
14. When giving a speech, it is best to pick a topic that you know nothing about so that you
can improve your research skills.
15. When brainstorming for possible speech topics, avoid writing down ideas that are
obviously ridiculous.
16. It is best not to speak about a topic that holds no interest to you, even if you know a lot
about it.
17. It is best to have an extremely broad purpose statement to ensure that you can cover
everything you want to during the presentation.
18. Instrumental values are guides or paths for conduct that helps us fulfill our life goals or
ideal states of being.
19. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the most basic need each of us has is for self-
actualization.
20. A friendly audience considers themselves objective, rational, and open to new
information.
21. Determining your main points will help you do your research faster.
22. You will only gather and use information about your audience before the speech.
23. The age of your audience is an important part of audience analysis.
24. Eye contact is valued equally across cultures.
Short Answer/Essay
25. Discuss the four guidelines for determining a topic. Provide an example of an informative
speech topic that you would speak about. Why would this be a good topic for you to
discuss, based on the four guidelines?
26. List four specific questions you should consider in gathering situational information
about your audience. For each question, give an example of how the answers could affect
decisions you make about your speech.
27. List five specific demographic characteristics you should consider in analyzing your
audience. Give an example for each characteristic to illustrate how your speech might be
affected.
28. Define values, including the two types of values identified by researcher Milton Rokeach.
Give examples of each type of value. What do you need to consider about values when
delivering a speech, especially when delivering a speech to a multicultural audience?
29. Explain the five levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Which needs need to be met first?
How can being aware of the needs of the audience help in speech preparation?
Fill in the Blank
30. You should select a topic that showcases your _______________ and knowledge.
31. You should select a topic that you can make _______________ and valuable to your
audience.
32. An exact _______________ is a clear, simple sentence that specifies exactly what you
want your audience to gain (know, perceive, understand) from the speech.
33. _______________ are guides for conduct that help us fulfill our terminal values, or our
“means”..
34. A(n) _______________ is the mental acceptance that something is true even if we can’t
prove that it is true.
35. Feeling love, companionship, and a sense of belonging to one or more groups refers to
_______________ in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
CHAPTER SIX: Researching, Organizing, and Outlining Your Topic
Multiple Choice
1. All of the following advantages of using organizational patterns except:
a. organized information is easier for listeners to comprehend
b. organized information allows listeners to catch the message without paying close
attention
c. organized information gives the speaker confidence
d. organized information is easier for speakers to remember
2. Marchesa told the class that her topic will help each of them save $10 a month at the campus
Laundromat. Which of the following functions of organization is she fulfilling?
a. Capturing their attention.
b. Motivating them to listen.
c. Establishing her credibility.
d. Presenting her thesis statement.
3. The body of your speech should take approximately _______ of your total speaking time.
a. 50-60%
b. 25-40%
c. 70-80%
d. 90%
4. When arranging a speech in the topical pattern:
a. the most important point should be first
b. the most important point should be in the middle
c. the most important point should be last
d. none of the above
5. If you are telling events in order of their occurrence then you will want to use which
pattern of organization?
a. Causal
b. Topical
c. Chronological
d. Spatial
6. A speaker’s main points are:
I. Where to look for collectibles
II. How to determine the value of a collectible item
III. How to bargain with a collector
The speaker is using which organizational pattern?
a. Topical
b. Chronological
c. Spatial
d. Causal
7. A speaker’s main points are:
I. Clipping a poodle’s head
II. Clipping a poodle’s midsection
III. Clipping a poodle’s legs
IV. Clipping a poodle’s tail
The speaker is using which organizational pattern?
a. topical
b. chronological
c. spatial
d. causal
9. When you arrange points in a step-by-step order or by dates, you are using:
a. the topical pattern
b. the causal pattern
c. the spatial pattern
d. the chronological pattern
10. Arranging your main points from front to back, left to right or north to south is:
a. the topical pattern
b. the causal pattern
c. the spatial pattern
d. the chronological pattern
11. Which pattern requires citation of evidence and strong supporting material to prove the
existence of a relationship?
a. the topical pattern
b. the causal pattern
c. the spatial pattern
d. the chronological pattern
12. If a persuasive speech requires you to use an organizational pattern that discusses a
problem or condition and then follow with the result of the problem or condition?
a. a cause-effect pattern
b. a demonstration pattern
c. an impromptu pattern
d. a speech written in the spatial pattern
13. A speaker’s main points are:
I. Eating disorders
II. Social preoccupation with appearance
The speaker is using which organizational pattern?
a. topical
b. chronological
c. spatial
d. causal
14. The speaker’s main points are:
I. Capital punishment is not a deterrent to crime
II. Capital punishment is more costly than life imprisonment
III. Capital punishment is ethically and morally unjustifiable
The speaker is using which organizational pattern?
a. causal
b. problem solution
c. criteria satisfaction
d. claim
15. When supporting evidence in the claim pattern is presented first and leads up to the
conclusion, this is a form of:
a. intellectual reasoning.
b. inductive reasoning.
c. deductive reasoning.
d. leading reasoning.
16. The comparative advantages pattern can be used when:
a. the audience agrees with the solution, but not the problem
b. the audience agrees with the solution, but not the steps taken to get to the solution
c. the audience agrees with the problem, but not the solution
d. the audience doesn’t agree with any part of the speech
17. Describing the specific problem using credible, logical, and psychological appeals, uses
which step in the Motivated Sequence?
a. Satisfaction step
b. Action step
c. Need step
d. Visualization step
18. The introduction should take no more than:
a. 10-15% of your total speaking time
b. 15-20% of your total speaking time
c. 30-45 seconds
d. 1-1 ½ minutes
19. For a detailed narrative to be effective, the speaker should:
a. given enough vivid detail so listeners can picture the event
b. not use personal information that would distract the audience
c. read the narrative
d. avoid using humor in the narrative so the audience can focus on details of the
event
20. A type of attention-getter, which is effective because it enables the listener to be drawn
into it and become personally involved, is a:
a. quotation
b. question
c. startling statement
d. hypothetical instance
21. A question designed to make the audience think, and for which no answer is expected is
known as a(n):
a. actual question
b. paraphrase
c. rhetorical question
d. saying
22. Referring to a specific event in the speech introduction is essential in this kind of speech:
a. informative
b. persuasive
c. policy
d. special occasion
23. Another word for credibility is:
a. believability
b. understanding
c. knowledge
d. fairness
24. All of the following are suggested by the text as ways to help you establish your
credibility except:
a. mentioning your personal experience with the topic
b. pointing out why the topic is important to your audience
c. sharing information about why this topic interests you
d. mentioning the expert sources you have consulted
25. An effective conclusion should use no more than __________ of the total speaking time.
a. 10-15%
b. 15-20%
c. 30-45 seconds
d. 1-1 ½ minutes
True/False
26. When you plan a speech, it is best to write the introduction and conclusion before the body.
27. Humor is always an excellent way to begin a speech.
28. Quotations are more interesting when the audience is not familiar with the source.
REF: p. 140 ANS: F
29. Demonstrations are rarely effective at getting the attention of your audience.
30. A good speech can fail because your introduction is not very good.
31. You should save your thesis statement for your first main point.
32. During a Q & A session,
you should admit when you don’t know the answer to a question.
33. Transitions help listeners follow the development of the speaker’s ideas and keep them from
getting lost.
34. A signpost is a type of transition that clearly indicates where the speaker is going next.
35. Tweets are personal opinion journals found online on Twitter.com.
Short Answer/Essay
36. List the four types of organizational patterns most commonly used in informative
speeches. Show how you might use each pattern if your general topic was “Succeeding
in College.”
37. List the six types of organizational patterns most commonly used in persuasive
speeches and provide a reason for why you might use each pattern.
38. Discuss the major parts of an introduction. Briefly explain why each is necessary.
39. What are the four ways that you can establish credibility and rapport? Why is each of
these important in your classroom speeches?
40. Imagine a friend of yours is going to give a speech. He is uncertain whether or not to
41. Identify and define the three transitions and connectors that highlight main points in a
speech. Explain why each of them is important in your speech.
Fill in the Blank
42. The _______________ pattern is often used for informative speeches when each main
point is one of several aspects of the topic.
43. The _______________ persuasive pattern of organization is normally used when your
audience agrees with you on the problem but may not agree on the solution.
44. Many good speeches fail because their _______________ are confusing and dull.
45. While your rough draft outline only contains main points and supporting materials, your
preparation outline also includes your ________________ and _________________.
CHAPTER SEVEN: Interesting Verbal and Visual Supporting Materials
Multiple Choice
1. Rarely will listeners accept your statements without some kind of:
a. statistics.
b. quotations.
c. persuasion.
d. proof.
2. A supporting material that allows you to define or give more information about a term or
topic or gives instructions on how to do something is called:
a. a statistic
b. a brief instance
c. a detailed instance
d. an explanation
3. Numbers that are used to show relationships between items are called:
a. statistics
b. instances
c. explanations
d. illustrations
4. When using statistics, it is best to:
a. use as many as possible to make sure the audience understands your point
b. eliminate any that are not absolutely necessary
c. never round them off
d. not cite sources, as the audience will become bored
5. An example or illustration that is used to clarify, add interest, and (in some cases) prove a
point, is called:
a. an explanation
b. an illustration
c. a detail
d. an instance
6. An illustration is:
a. a brief instance that provides the bare facts
b. a detailed and vivid picture or narrative
c. a comparison between two things of different categories
d. a comparison between two things of the same category
7. Which of the following is NOT a way that you demonstrate the credibility of your
statistics?
a. citing the source
b. specifying the size of the population from which the statistics are compiled
c. comparing them to false statistics
d. explain why your source is an expert
8. Which of the following is the term used when a hypothetical illustration “rings true”?
a. fidelity
b. factual
c. example
d. detailed
9. You can’t prove an idea by using only instances, but __________ can add some proof to
your arguments.
a. hypothetical illustrations
b. factual instances
c. detailed instances
d. brief examples
10. When you use something listeners know a lot about to help them better understand
something they know little about, then the type of supporting material you are using is
called a(n):
a. hypothetical.
b. comparison.
c. instance.
d. fact.
11. __________show similarities or differences between two or more items from different
classes or categories.
a. figurative comparisons
b. literal comparisons
c. connotative comparisons
d. denotative comparisons
12. A speaker supports a point by saying, “In New York City, many people never learn to
drive; in Los Angeles, not driving a car is unheard of.” This is an example of:
a. a personal instance
b. a literal comparison
c. a figurative comparison
d. an expert opinion
13. If you cite a direct quote from someone who is a known leader on your topic, then you
are using a(n)
a. personal instance.
b. literal comparisons
c. paraphrase.
d. expert opinion.
14. A speaker supports a point by saying, “Relationships require the same care you give a
garden. When the plants are dry you must water them. You must fertilize them if they are
to grow. And you must prune or spray at the first sign of disease, lest it spread and kill
the whole plant.” This is an example of:
a. an instance
b. a literal comparison
c. a figurative comparison
d. an expert opinion
15. All of the following are true of using expert opinion except:
a. you must use the exact words of the speaker
b. you should briefly cite the expert’s qualifications unless you know your audience
is familiar with the person
c. you should briefly cite when and where the expert made the statement
d. you should follow the quotation with a brief comment about the statement’s
relevance to your point.
16. Words written in meter or free verse that express ideas, experiences, and emotions in an
imaginative style are:
a. fables
b. sayings
c. poems
d. fantasies
17. Which of the following kind of supporting materials does NOT need a citation?
a. statistics
b. quotations
c. important ideas
d. hypothetical instances
ANS: d
True/False
18. Effective speakers search for supporting materials that will clarify their ideas, prove
their points, and add interest to their speeches.
19. Supporting materials are always verbal, but never visual.
20. Explanations can be used for proof, but not for clarification.
21. Round off statistics to make them easier for the audience to remember.
22. Statistics are easier to understand and remember when shown in graphic form.
23. Hypothetical illustrations are most effective when they are exceptional, hard to believe
illustrations.
24. Comparisons tend to be overused forms of proof.
25. Unless you are giving a demonstration speech, a demonstration used to support a point
should be brief, preferably 30 seconds or less.
Short Answer/Essay
26. Discuss three types of verbal supporting materials and tell why they provide either
clarification or proof.
27. What are the three kinds of information you should use when you are paraphrasing an
expert?
28. What are the five rules of using statistics?
29. List the four types of instances? Describe how to effectively use these instances in a
speech.
30. Explain the difference between literal and figurative comparisons.
31. What are the three recommendations given for when supporting materials need citations?
Fill in the Blank
32. _______________ materials are the verbal and nonverbal information that speakers use
to clarify, prove, and add interest to their ideas.
33. Speakers can use ___________ supports to speed comprehension, add interest, and
improve listener memory of your speech ideas.
34. Nothing is more deadly than too much _______________.
35. A type of instance which is always brief and usually factual is a(n) _______________.
36. There are two types of comparisons: _______________ and figurative.
37. Although fables, sayings, poems, and rhymes are usually used in the _______________
and _______________, they can be effective wherever clarification and variety are
needed.
38. A _______________ quote is when you quote the words of an expert word for word.
CHAPTER EIGHT: Effective Delivery
Multiple Choice
1. A speech delivery type prepared by turning the preparation outline into keyword notes
is the:
a. impromptu speech.
b. manuscript speech.
c. extemporaneous speech.
d. memorized speech
2. Your appearance is an element of your:
a. verbal qualifications.
b. posture.
c. visual delivery.
d. emblem communication.
3. When speakers appear tense, don’t smile, and make very little eye contact, the audience
thinks the speaker:
a. is angry
b. doesn’t like the topic
c. is not prepared
d. does not feel comfortable with the audience
4. When making eye contact, hold your gaze for ________ before moving on.
a. three to five seconds
b. 10-15 seconds
c. at least 30 seconds
d. almost a minute
5. Which of the following is NOT a kind of rhetorical style described by Cicero in his
Orator?
a. plain style
b. conversational style
c. middle style
d. grand style
6. Gestures that control the flow of conversation in small groups are:
a. illustrators.
b. adaptors.
c. regulators.
d. emblems.
7. Which of the following is speech given without prior knowledge of the specific topic
and without detailed notes or a manuscript?
a. impromptu
b. extemporaneous
c. memorized
d. manuscript
8. Gestures that signal nervousness, and should be avoided, are:
a. illustrators.
b. adaptors.
c. regulators.
d. emblems.
9. Gestures should be:
a. planned and practiced
b. somewhat larger when your audience is larger
c. natural, arising from your involvement in your message
d. both b and c
10. Which of the following is a specific movement or gesture intended to expand or clarify
a word or idea?
a. illustrators
b. adaptors
c. regulators
d. emblems