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1. Effective persuasive speeches do which of the following?
A) Advocate fact, value, or policy claims
B) Focus on informing listeners
C) Mark a special occasion
D) Act as a form of entertainment
2. When persuasive speakers face audience members who already agree with their
perspectives, those speakers may try to __________.
A) change the main points of their presentations
B) discourage listeners from taking action
C) strengthen listeners’ commitment to their perspectives
D) weaken listeners’ commitment to their perspectives
3. What should you do if audience members disagree with your perspective on an issue?
A) Try to weaken their commitment to their perspective
B) Focus on listeners who agree with your position
C) Try to strengthen their commitment to their perspective
D) Discourage listeners from taking any kind of action
4. The statement “First-person-shooter video games cause players to commit violent
crimes” is an example of a __________ claim.
A) fact
B) latent
C) policy
D) value
5. Which statement is an example of a value claim that might be made in a persuasive
speech?
A) “America can finance global missions to Mars.”
B) “Denying marriage to same–sex couples is unfair.”
C) “Over 200 trillion cubic feet of shale gas is available in the U.S.”
D) “Smoking reduces life expectancy.”
6. A persuasive speech urging audience members to invest in domestic stocks would be
based on which type of claim?
A) Acute
B) Fact
C) Policy
D) Static
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7. While researching her speech, Sarah found an article that seemed to strongly support her
position, but upon closer examination, she realized that it was misleading. So instead of using the
misleading information, she decided to use less compelling information that she was able to
verify as credible. Which process did Sarah use when selecting her supporting information?
A) Demonstration
B) Example reasoning
C) Strategic discourse
D) Comparative reasoning
8. A speaker has the best chance of persuading listeners when the __________.
A) listeners have already experienced the boomerang effect
B) material in the speech presents a one-sided argument
C) speech is read word-for-word from PowerPoint slides
D) thesis is within the listeners’ latitude of acceptance
9. Jamie strongly opposes the position that Chad is presenting in his persuasive speech. This
means that Chad’s position __________.
A) falls within Jamie’s latitude of acceptance
B) falls within Jamie’s latitude of rejection
C) caused Jamie to experience a boomerang effect
D) is one for which Jamie has no ego involvement
10. __________ refers to your listeners’ interest and concern about the issue you are
presenting in your speech.
A) Ego involvement
B) Pathos
C) Goodwill
D) Logos
11. If you wanted to persuade audience members to donate blood, which would be a relevant
belief that you should take into consideration?
A) Health insurance is too expensive.
B) Many charities rely on monetary donations.
C) It hurts to have blood drawn.
D) It is difficult to get blood stains out of clothing.
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12. One way to get your listeners to support your proposal is to __________.
A) show that the costs of doing so are significant
B) explain how they will benefit from doing so
C) assume that they share your values
D) try to initiate a boomerang effect
13. Heng was delivering a speech in favor of lowering income tax rates. During his speech,
he stated, “Many people say that if we lower the tax rate we’ll have less money to pay for
government services. However, if we lower the tax rate, people will have more money to spend,
which will stimulate the economy and help create more jobs. When more people work, more
people are paying taxes, which means more money for the government to provide services.”
Heng’s statements are an example of __________.
A) sign reasoning
B) the boomerang effect
C) a two-sided argument
D) reversed causality
14. Aristotle believed that the major components of ethos are __________.
A) patience and logic
B) wisdom and virtue
C) planning and action
D) thoughtfulness and generosity
15. Which strategy will help you build your credibility as a persuasive speaker?
A) Delivering your speech in an impromptu manner
B) Presenting evidence collected from social media posts
C) Highlighting the ways you differ from your audience
D) Showing respect for conflicting opinions
16. You will likely lose credibility with the audience if you __________.
A) share your qualifications to speak on the subject
B) avoid using insensitive language
C) mispronounce words
D) highlight common ground with the audience
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17. When you use __________ reasoning, you present specific instances to support a general
claim. A) example
B) sign
C) causal
D) comparison
18. “Since children must attend school to learn for the future, expectant parents should be
required to take parenting classes.” This is an example of which type of reasoning?
A) Example
B) Comparison
C) Sign
D) Causal
19. When you use __________ reasoning, you claim that a fact is true because indirect
indicators are consistent with that fact.
A) causal
B) analogy
C) sign
D) example
20. Which type of reasoning would you be using if you claimed that lead levels in children
were dangerously high in a particular town because the water supply was contaminated by
runoff from a nearby manufacturing plant?
A) Analogy
B) Example
C) Causal
D) Loaded language
21. “I was wearing a blue sweatshirt the last time my team won, so if I don’t wear the same
sweatshirt during the next game, my team will lose.” This is an example of which type of
fallacy?
A) Ad populum fallacy
B) Hasty generalization
C) Slippery slope fallacy
D) Post hoc fallacy
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22. “If we outlaw flag burning, we’ll have to outlaw burning anything for any reason.” This
is an example of the __________ fallacy.
A) straw person
B) slippery slope
C) ad populum
D) post hoc
23. If you warn your audience of danger in your speech, and then explain how they can take
action to prevent it, you are using __________.
A) a loaded language fallacy
B) sign reasoning
C) a fear appeal
D) the categorical pattern
24. What is the correct order of the five steps of the motivated sequence, from first to last?
A) Need, attention, visualization, action, and satisfaction
B) Need, attention, satisfaction, visualization, and action
C) Attention, visualization, need, action, and satisfaction
D) Attention, need, satisfaction, visualization, and action
25. The problem-cause-solution pattern would be especially effective for a speech
__________.
A) advocating a policy change
B) discouraging the audience from taking a particular action
C) centered on a value claim
D) advancing a fact claim
26. It is easier for people to agree on value claims than on fact claims.
A) True
B) False
27. Audience members’ ideas of right and wrong may be deeply held and stem from
fundamental religious or philosophical beliefs.
A) True
B) False
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28. Policy claims advocate changing or strengthening fundamental religious or philosophical
beliefs.
A) True
B) False
29. According to social judgment theory, audience members make a decision about your
thesis by comparing it with their own perspectives on the issue.
A) True
B) False
30. Persuasive speakers are most likely to succeed when they choose speech topics within
listeners’ latitude of acceptance.
A) True
B) False
31. Human needs powerfully affect how we behave and how we respond to one another’s
ideas.
A) True
B) False
32. Your speech will be more likely to persuade the audience if you focus on your listeners’
needs.
A) True
B) False
33. Audience members weigh the costs and benefits when they are deciding whether to take
action in response to a persuasive appeal.
A) True
B) False
34. A two-sided argument is an argument that makes two strong points against your thesis.
A) True
B) False
35. You cannot exhibit goodwill toward your audience unless you share their views.
A) True
B) False
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36. When you present trustworthy facts to back your claims and clearly show how those
facts have led you to those claims, you use pathos effectively.
A) True
B) False
37. When your audience analysis suggests that listeners may not accept a claim you want to
make, you will need to supply proof.
A) True
B) False
38. Reasoning is the line of thought that connects the facts you present and the conclusions
that you draw from those facts.
A) True
B) False
39. Persuasive speakers typically use inductive reasoning.
A) True
B) False
40. Sign reasoning is most effective if you cite a single sign of the fact that you are claiming.
A) True
B) False
41. One way to strengthen causal reasoning is to explain the link between cause and effect.
A) True
B) False
42. Reasoning is fallacious (faulty) when the link between your claim and supporting
material is weak.
A) True
B) False
43. A hasty generalization occurs when you assume that because one event followed
another, the first caused the second.
A) True
B) False
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44. Stirring your listeners’ feelings will reduce your persuasive power.
A) True
B) False
45. To be effective, a fear appeal must demonstrate a serious threat to listeners’ well-being.
A) True
B) False
46. Effective word choice can strengthen the power of an emotional appeal.
A) True
B) False
47. Ethical speakers sometimes use emotional appeals to manipulate their listeners into
agreement.
A) True
B) False
48. In a persuasive speech, you want to choose a pattern that will clearly convey your
message and maximize your persuasive impact.
A) True
B) False
49. The criteria-application pattern is most commonly used for a thesis that advances a
policy claim.
A) True
B) False
50. The motivated sequence pattern is a popular method for organizing persuasive speeches
that advocate action by audience members.
A) True
B) False
51. A speaker who delivers a(n) ______________ speech attempts to affect audience
members’ beliefs, attitudes, or actions.
52. A(n) ____________ claim asserts that something is true or false.
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53. ______________ claims—such as “physician–assisted suicide is immoral”—attach
judgments (such as good or bad) to statements.
54. A(n) ____________ claim advocates action by organizations, institutions, or audience
members.
55. The process of selecting supporting arguments that will best persuade the audience in an
ethical manner is called ____________.
56. When audience members can support a wide range of positions on an issue, those
members are said to have a latitude of ______________.
57. When a speaker’s thesis falls within listeners’ latitude of ______________, or range of
unacceptable positions on the topic, the speaker is unlikely to persuade.
58. The ______________ occurs when speakers push listeners to oppose their thesis even
more vigorously than they did initially.
59. ____________ are objects people desire and feelings that must be satisfied.
60. The “core conceptions” of what is desirable for our own lives and for society—things
such as honesty, equality, and security—are the ______________ that drive people’s judgments
and actions.
61. When speakers use _______________ arguments, they acknowledge an argument
against their thesis and then use evidence and reasoning to refute that argument.
62. A speaker with ______________ (credibility) has far more persuasive power than one
without.
63. There are four types of ______________ reasoning: example, comparison, sign, and
causal.
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64. The ______________________ pattern of persuasive speech organization establishes
standards for a value judgment and then applies those standards to the subject of the thesis.
65. The ______________ pattern follows the stages of thinking that people go through while
solving a problem or considering new ideas.
66. What are four ways to lose your credibility? Give an example of each.
67. Name and describe four principles for using evidence persuasively to prove a claim.
Provide an example of each.
68. Identify and describe the four types of inductive reasoning.
69. Describe the five common fallacies that you should avoid in your speeches. Provide an
example of each.
70. Describe the dark side of an emotional appeal in a persuasive speech and what ethical
speakers must be certain of when they try to persuade their audience. Give two examples of how
an emotional appeal has been misused in history.
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Answer Key
1. A
2. C
3. A
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45. A