Chapter 2: Give Your First Speech
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. Which of the following is NOT one of the four “key plays” to delivering your first
speech?
a. Topic selection
b. Speech development, support, and organization
c. Practice and delivery
d. Identifying your weaknesses
2. Taylor is at the beginning stages deciding on a topic for her speech. First, she should
conduct the ______.
a. research analysis
b. self-analysis
c. audience analysis
d. topic analysis
3. Which of the following is NOT included in the topic selection stage of speechmaking?
a. Analyze yourself.
b. Consider your audience and the occasion.
c. Compose a thesis statement.
d. Consider criteria for choosing your topic.
4. Which of the following is NOT one of the suggestions the authors provided as a way
to conduct your self-analysis?
a. Conduct a life overview.
b. Focus on this moment in time.
c. Think about what you want to do in the future.
d. Use technology.
5. Grant has divided his life into early life, midlife, and more recent life, and he has
worked on composing a sentence to summarize each of these three stages of his life.
Which aspect of self-analysis has Grant pursued?
a. Conduct a life overview.
b. Focus on this moment in time.
c. Be newsy.
d. Use technology.
6. If you consider only your interests and don’t take the needs of your audience into
account, audience members are more likely to
a. be enthusiastic about your speech
b. be bored and become easily distracted
c. engage with you after your speech
d. not show up for your speech
7. When selecting a topic for your first speech, you should do all of the following
EXCEPT
a. avoid overused topics.
b. limit the scope of your topic so that it fits the time allotted for your speech.
c. make sure you have access to the material you will need to prepare the speech.
d. not think too much about your topic as it will come to you.
8. Which of the following is NOT true in regards to criteria for selecting your topic?
a. Select an appropriate topic.
b. Choose a topic that has been used many times before.
c. Limit the scope of your topic.
d. Choose a topic with accessible and researchable material.
9. Which of the following is NOT a component of your effort to develop, support, and
organize your speech?
a. Stating your speech’s purpose
b. Composing a thesis statement
c. Identifying your speech’s main points
d. Delivering the speech
10. Which of the following statements is true of your speech’s purpose?
a. It specifies the goal of your speech.
b. It expresses the central idea of your speech.
c. It introduces the first argument of your speech.
d. It contains several sentences.
11. Which of the following statements is true of the thesis statement?
a. It specifies the goal of your speech.
b. It expresses the central idea of your speech.
c. It introduces the first argument of your speech.
d. It contains several sentences.
12. Most of your speeches will contain how many main points?
a. One
b. Two or three
c. Four or five
d. More than five
13. To develop your speech, you may use all of the following EXCEPT
a. personal experiences.
b. examples.
c. expert testimony.
d. ideas that you borrow from a book and that you pass as your own.
14. Which of the following is NOT one of the three major parts of a speech?
a. Introduction
b. Body
c. Conclusion
d. Questions for the audience
15. Hannah has decided on her topic and is beginning to write her speech. Which
section of her speech would you suggest she develop first?
a. Introduction
b. Body
c. Conclusion
d. Questions for the audience
16. A good conclusion to a persuasive speech includes all of the following EXCEPT
a. a restatement of your thesis.
b. a reminder for listeners of your main points.
c. a reason for listeners to feel a small amount of guilt that will motive them to act.
d. motivation for your audience to act.
17. Which of the following should be the very first component of your speech?
a. Thesis statement
b. Attention getter
c. Credibility enhancer
d. Preview of main points
18. The ______ is the guide or “skeleton” for the main ideas of your speech.
a. outline
b. introduction
c. body
d. conclusion
19. ______ refers to the principle that your main points should be relatively equal in
importance, whereas ______ refers to the idea that you should have supporting ideas
that underlie your main points.
a. Subordination; coordination
b. Coordination; subordination
c. Equality; support
d. Support; equality
20. ______ help you move from your introduction to your body to your conclusion, as
well as within your main points.
a. Indicators
b. Theses
c. Transitions
d. Markers
21. Words such as “first,” “next,” and “finally” are
a. indicators.
b. signposts.
c. transitions.
d. markers.
22. Which of the following is NOT true regarding practicing your speech?
a. You can overprepare.
b. Practicing in front of a mirror can be helpful.
c. Practice needs to be a habit.
d. You should practice with your visual aids and any other materials you will have.
23. Which of the following is NOT true regarding vocal cues?
a. Regulate your volume, rate, pitch, and vocal variety.
b. Speak in a monotone voice.
c. Use correct pronunciation.
d. Use clear articulation.
24. What should you do when you take the podium for the speech?
a. Let yourself be nervous; it is just expected.
b. Stare at the audience.
c. Visualize yourself succeeding.
d. Greet the audience cheerfully.
25. Which of the following is NOT suggested after you have given your speech?
a. Compare and contrast your expectations with your actual experiences.
b. Critique your performance.
c. Harshly criticize what you did wrong.
d. Apply what you learned to your next speech.
26. To learn as much as possible from the first speech so you can apply these lessons
to your next one, you should
a. write an essay.
b. talk to a friend.
c. complete a self-assessment scorecard.
d. do nothing, just go further to preparing for your next speech.
27. Which question about the speech you have delivered should you ask in your post–
presentation scorecard?
a. Was I nervous?
b. Did my speech persuade the audience?
c. How well did I do?
d. What did I do wrong?
28. Once you have become more capable of assessing your speeches, what can you
use for a more comprehensive assessment?
a. A scorecard
b. A gradebook
c. A professional
d. Internet resources
29. When you consider aspects of your own personality and learn what motivates and
interests you, you are conducting the ______.
30. When you consider how familiar audience members are with your selected topic
area, what their attitudes may be towards it are, and what they might like to know about
it, you are conducting the ______.
31. One of the criteria for choosing your speech is limiting the ______ of your topic so
that it fits the time allotted for your speech.
32. The specific purpose is used to develop your ______.
33. The ______ of a speech are the major ideas that you will relay to receivers through
your speech.
34. An ________________ provides the skeleton upon which you hang your main
ideas and support.
35. According to a principle that guides the creation of an outline, the main points
should be relatively equal in importance. This is the principle of ______.
36. ______ can help enhance your speech and may include physical objects, drawings,
charts, graphs, photographs, or sound recordings
True/False
37. The specific purpose of your speech should be a 2–3-sentence statement.
38. If your specific purpose and thesis are clearly formulated, it will be easy for you to
identify your speech’s main points.
39. One factor that influences your credibility is the quality and relevance of your
supporting materials.
40. You should indicate in your outline where you plan to use visual aids.
41. You only need to practice your speech once to be adequately prepared.
42. Presenting a speech should become effortless.
43. When you approach the podium, you should try to visualize yourself succeeding.
Essay
44. Discuss and exemplify strategies to analyze yourself in order to select the topic of
your speech.
45. Discuss and exemplify how you can outline your speech.
Ans: Areas to discuss: introduction, body, and conclusion, coordination and
46. Explain why practicing your speech is important.
Ans: Areas to discuss: How well you do is based on how effectively you prepared.
47. Why is it important to replicate the conditions of the speech as much as you can
when you’re practicing?
Ans: Areas to discuss: The purpose of practice is to help you appear as if you are a
48. What benefits can you gain from conducting a self-assessment of your speeches?
