Chapter 18: Speak to Inform
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. Categories in which informative speech are divided include all of the following
EXCEPT
a. speeches about objects and ideas.
b. speeches about people and events.
c. speeches about processes and procedures.
d. speeches about causes and effects.
2. Which of the following is NOT an informative speaking category?
a. Speeches about ideas and objects
b. Speeches about processes and procedures
c. Speeches about decisions to be made
d. Speeches about people and events
3. A speech on the Great Wall of China would most likely be a
a. speech about an object.
b. speech about an idea.
c. speech about a process.
d. speech about an event.
4. Speeches about objects lend themselves to all of the following EXCEPT
a. topical formats.
b. spatial formats.
c. cause and effect formats.
d. chronological formats.
5. A ______ format allows you to divide your subject into groups or major categories.
a. topical
b. spatial
c. cause and effect
d. chronological
6. A ______ or physical framework enables you to discuss one major component of the
object at a time.
a. topical
b. spatial
c. cause and effect
d. chronological
7. What kinds of ideas make the best topics for concept speeches?
a. Particular ideas
b. Abstract ideas
c. Specific ideas
d. Advanced ideas
8. When we talk about ideas, audience members may have ______ interpretations of
the concepts or words we use.
a. similar
b. different
c. neutral
d. simplified
9. A speech in which you enumerated and discussed, in turn, key aspects of the idea
would be following a ______ order.
a. topical
b. spatial
c. cause and effect
d. chronological
10. Which of the following is NOT an organizational pattern that would lend itself well to
a speech on an event or a person?
a. Topical
b. Spatial
c. Causal
d. Chronological
11. A speech about an event focuses on all of the following EXCEPT
a. something that happens regularly.
b. something that happened once.
c. something that marked our lives.
d. something that never happened.
12. Speeches about people include all of the following EXCEPT
a. a speech about someone famous.
b. a speech about someone you know personally.
c. a speech about someone abhorrent to all.
d. a speech about a cartoon character.
13. If your speech was to explain the history of an event, you would probably choose to
use a ______ sequence.
a. topical
b. spatial
c. cause and effect
d. chronological
14. “To inform my audience about how nature’s most violent windstorm, the tornado,
develops” would most likely be a topic when speaking about
a. an object.
b. a process or procedure.
c. an event.
d. an idea.
15. ______ order works well for speaking of processes and procedures because it
naturally reflects the sequence, approach, or series of steps used from start to finish in
making or doing something.
a. Topical
b. Spatial
c. Cause and effect
d. Chronological
16. When delivering a speech that focuses on a process or procedure, you will probably
find it most useful to arrange your ideas in either ______ or ______ order.
a. topical; spatial
b. spatial; chronological
c. cause and effect; topical
d. chronological; topical
17. Which of the following is NOT a way to make your speech as clear and easy to
follow as possible?
a. Organize your speech’s content so it takes minimal effort for your audience members
to identify and process its central idea and main points.
b. Be clear about your purpose for speaking, specifying exactly what the audience
should understand after listening to your speech.
c. Include specific facts and examples in support of each main point.
d. Be vague so that your audience really has to think.
18. Which of the following is NOT a reason for your receivers to question your honesty
and integrity?
a. They disagree with your ideas.
b. Your message contains inaccurate figure.
c. Your facts are based on rumor or hearsay.
d. Your ideas are not supported by either primary or secondary research.
19. ______ refers to special words or technical terms used and understood primarily by
those who share a profession or trade.
a. Evidence
b. Jargon
c. Slang
d. Lingo
20. Which of the following is NOT a way to ensure you neither give the audience too
little nor too much information?
a. Pace, don’t race.
b. Don’t take knowledge for granted.
c. Repeat, but don’t retreat.
d. Assume knowledge.
21. Rephrasing an idea in different words to more fully explain it if referred to as
______.
a. repetition
b. restatement
c. duplication
d. explanation
22. Conveying the right amount of information can be done through all of the following
EXCEPT
a. pacing yourself during the speech.
b. racing through the speech.
c. restatement of previous words.
d. repetition of previous words.
23. All of the following are ways that you can show your audience that your speech will
benefit them EXCEPT:
a. You will add to their knowledge.
b. You will satisfy their curiosity.
c. You will show them be distracted from sad thoughts.
d. You will show them how to improve their lives.
24. Unless you convince audience members that your presentation has ______, the
information you offer will fall on deaf ears.
a. humor
b. relevance
c. excitement
d. consequences
25. Most subjects become interesting if ______ the audience.
a. adapted to
b. entertaining for
c. humorous for
d. denied by
26. All of the following are ways in which you can be memorable EXCEPT
a. let the audience know what you think is important for them to retain.
b. use solely verbal means of communication.
c. use repetition, pauses, vocal emphasis, and gestures to reinforce content.
d. build in audience participation.
27. In order for your speech to remain with your audience after you have finished
speaking, you must convey to your listeners
a. the enthusiasm you have for your subject.
b. that the speech is coming to an end.
c. that they can ask you questions.
d. that there is more to explore on the topic.
28. Remember, people are most interested in
a. ideas.
b. events.
c. other people.
d. nature.
Short Answer
29. A ______ format is most appropriate if you are going to stress how a design or
phenomenon evolved over time.
30. A speech about a(n) ______ is usually on something that happens regularly,
something that happened once, something that marked our lives, or something that left
us with a lasting impression.
31. When delivering a speech that focuses on a process or procedure, you will probably
find it most useful to arrange your ideas in either chronological or ______ order.
32. A quality of an informative speech is that it delivers the right amount of information,
neither overloading nor ______ the audience with content.
33. When you are ______, you enhance your message with sufficient specificity and
detail for audience members to form clear mental pictures, grounding your ideas in
specific references rather than vague abstractions.
34. Reusing the exact same words is referred to as ______.
35. You can create information ______ to motivate your audience to learn a new body
of content.
True/False
36. There are a nearly unlimited number of topics about which we can share
information.
37. A speech about an object can cover anything tangible.
38. A speech about an idea is also known as a concept speech.
39. If you speak on an event, you should have personally witnessed it so you have
credibility.
40. A speaker’s message is easier to follow if the presentation has a discernable
structure.
41. It is important to explain complex concepts to minimize your chances of being
misunderstood.
42. Most subjects become interesting if well adapted to the audience.
43. In order for your speech to remain with your audience after you have finished
speaking, you must make it memorable.
Essay
44. Discuss and exemplify why speaking about ideas is particularly challenging.
Ans: Area to explain: In part because speeches about ideas tend to deal with concepts
45. Discuss and exemplify what you are attempting to answer when speaking of a
person.
Ans: Area to explain: You want to answer “Why is the person worthy of our attention?”
46. Discuss and exemplify the two possible goals of informative speeches.
Ans: Area to explain: Expanding your audience’s knowledge or clarifying what your
47. What does the idea of “pace, don’t race” mean?
Ans: Area to explain: When you’re delivering an informative speech, your job is to
48. Explain how not to take knowledge for granted.
Ans: Area to explain: The more you assume audience members know, the greater are