Chapter 16: Physical Aspects of Delivery
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. Which of the following is NOT a way your audience can respond nonverbally?
a. Smiling or frowning
b. Eyes looking at you or away
c. Heads nodding in agreement or disagreement
d. Asking questions
2. In addition to what you say, which of the following does NOT communicate something
about you almost immediately?
a. Your appearance
b. Your demeanor
c. Your actions
d. Your past
3. Which of the following is NOT something that audiences form opinions on based on
your body language?
a. Your believability
b. Your competence
c. Your evidence
d. Your likeability
4. Kinesics refers to ______.
a. body language
b. space and distance
c. eye contact
d. the acceptance of your message
5. Proxemics refers to ______.
a. body language
b. space and distance
c. eye contact
d. the acceptance of your message
6. Even as you approach the speaker’s stand, you are sending what types of messages
to your audience?
a. Verbal
b. Nonverbal
c. Aural
d. Physical
7. On the day you give your speech, be sure to
a. walk deliberately to the front of a room.
b. walk shyly to the front of a room.
c. not walk to the front of the room but instead stay among audience members.
d. walk out of the speaking room.
8. If what you do with your body is inconsistent with what you say, your listeners will
tend to believe
a. your body language.
b. your words.
c. your words if they are evidence based.
d. neither your words nor your body language.
9. Your movement while speaking in front of an audience should be
a. purposeful.
b. chaotic.
c. sparse.
d. intense.
10. Which of the following is NOT true regarding body movements?
a. They should be purposeful.
b. They should be random to keep your audience engaged.
c. They must make sense.
d. They should make it easier for the audience to listen to you.
11. Which of the following is an acceptable gesture?
a. Playing with your hair
b. Jiggling bracelets or pocket change
c. Using fingers to show numbers
d. Tapping your foot
12. Hold your hands stiffly at your sides will likely make you look
a. tense and uncomfortable.
b. overly confident and too self-assured.
c. distant and closed off.
d. relaxed and composed.
13. John looks very distant and closed off as he is giving his speech. Of the following,
what is John likely doing with his gestures?
a. Clasping his hands behind his back
b. Holding his hands stiffly at his sides
c. Crossing his arms
d. Letting his arms hang to the side
14. Letting your arms hang naturally and loosely at your sides rends to make you
appear
a. tensed.
b. too self-assured.
c. uncomfortable.
d. composed.
15. Signaling when you are about to hit a main point with one, two, or three fingers is an
example of a(n)
a. illustrator.
b. emblem.
c. clarifier.
d. demonstrator.
16. ______ are nonverbal symbols that have a direct verbal translation and are widely
understood by the members of a culture.
a. Illustrators
b. Emblems
c. Cues
d. Clues
17. Under most conditions, gestures should
a. coincide with verbal content.
b. precede verbal content.
c. follow verbal content.
d. remain separate from verbal content.
18. A speaker who ______ an audience is usually perceived more positively than one
who ______.
a. leans away from; leans toward
b. leans toward; leans away from
c. stands upright to; leans toward
d. leans away from; stands upright to
19. Audience members rely on a speaker’s ______ to reveal what’s behind the
speaker’s words.
a. words themselves
b. way he or she dresses
c. facial cues
d. attitude
20. When you ______ an emotion you exaggerate your facial expressions to reflect the
degree of expression you believe audience members expect you to exhibit.
a. intensify
b. deintensify
c. neutralize
d. mask
21. When you ______ an emotion, you diminish your facial expressions so that
audience members will judge your behavior as more acceptable.
a. intensify
b. deintensify
c. neutralize
d. mask
22. When you ______ an emotion, you suppress your real feelings so as to suggest
greater inner strength and resilience to listeners.
a. intensify
b. deintensify
c. neutralize
d. mask
23. When you ______ an emotion, you try to replace one emotion with another to which
you believe audience members will respond more favorably.
a. intensify
b. deintensify
c. neutralize
d. mask
24. Of all the facial cues you exhibit, none does more to affect your relationship with
your audience than the presence or absence of
a. gestures.
b. eye contact.
c. smiling.
d. frowning.
25. ______ contact allows for a sharing between speaker and the audience.
a. Eye
b. Hand
c. Mind
d. Personal
26. Your clothing and grooming are all of the following EXCEPT
a. important in creating a good first impression with your audience members.
b. influencing perceptions of your competence.
c. influencing perceptions of your trustworthiness.
d. unimportant for speechmaking.
Short Answer
27. The study of ______, or body language, includes a consideration of gestures, body
movements, facial expressions, eye behavior, and posture.
28. ______ refers to the use of space and distance in communication.
29. Don’t make any silly ______ or nervous sounds as you approach your speaking
location.
30. The speaker’s ______ in relationship to an audience matters.
31. A speaker whose ______ are stiff and unnatural may be perceived as uptight,
undynamic, and unsure.
32. ______ signals that the lines of communication are open between speaker and
listeners.
33. Talk to the audience not just with words but with your______.
True/False
34. Kinesics refers to body language.
35. Proxemics refers to space and distance.
36. If you are not speaking, you are not communicating.
37. You communicate to your audience before you even begin speaking.
38. The amount of space between presenter and receivers can create a sense of
immediacy or distance between them, depending on how far apart they are.
39. It is beneficial to have a single, all-purpose gesture.
40. Putting a game face on means acting tough or phony.
41. An expressionless face is okay when giving a speech, especially a serious one.
Essay
42. Discuss and exemplify the physical aspects of delivery.
Ans: Area to explain: Your posture, facial expression, eye contact, and gestures.
43. Describe how the speaker’s position in relationship to an audience matters.
Ans: Area to explain: If stand too close to audience members and they may feel that
44. How should gestures and verbal speech content be related?
45. How are feedback and eye contact related?
Ans: Area to explain: Eye contact itself allows the speaker to obtain valuable feedback
46. Why is your appearance important when giving a speech?
Ans: Area to explain: Your appearance should be unobtrusive rather than distracting