Quintanilla, Business and Professional Communication: KEYS for Workplace Excellence 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
Chapter 12: Speech Design
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. Which of the following is the best example of an audience-centered speaker?
a. a speaker who thinks about the audience during every step of the presentation
design and delivery process using analysis and research
b. a speaker who includes the audience in the presentation by asking for volunteers
c. a speaker who asks the audience members if they have heard of the topic before the
speech and asks their opinions prior to beginning the presentation
d. a communication scholar
2. Miguel has designed an intricate PowerPoint presentation that will blow his audience away.
When he arrives, there are no computer capabilities in the room he is presenting in. Miguel
forgot to consider which of the overall aspects?
a. context
b. surroundings
c. environment
d. demographic
3. When gathering research, internal sources of information include which of the following?
a. information that comes from within the organization, such as reports, policies, or
interviews with employees and/or customers
b. information that comes from outside the organization, such as popular magazines
c. interviews with neighbors to get their opinions
d. information garnered from Facebook
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4. What is the best way to achieve excellence in professional presentations?
a. Use only information from government agencies or science journals.
b. Present quickly and make lots of eye contact.
c. Use personal examples.
d. Continually evaluate the professional context as you research and then design your
presentation.
5. Chronological, spatial, compare–contrast, sequential, and topical are all different types of
______ for presentations?
a. problem–solution
b. organizational patterns
c. transitions
d. research
6. When choosing which organizational pattern to use in your speech, you should ask yourself
which of the following organizational patterns will best help your audience to follow you and
which will help your audience?
a. stay engaged
b. remember your message
c. be entertained
d. challenge your message
7. As most audience members are not good listeners, if you are giving a presentation and you
want your audience to remember your message, you must do which of the following?
a. Always speak with a microphone or at a podium.
b. Use visual aids for each point.
c. Repeat yourself.
d. Include the audience as participants.
8. Which of the following is the most effective introductory statement?
a. Thank you for having me here today.
b. Good afternoon. Today I’d like to discuss saving for retirement.
c. Hello, my name is Mark, and I’m happy to be here.
d. Did you know that individuals over the age of 50 make up more than three fourths
of America’s financial assets?
9. After you clearly introduce your topic and specific purpose during the introduction, you
should immediately follow with which of these?
a. the reason why you chose the topic
b. a preview of your main points
c. an outline printed on paper that you distribute to the class
d. nothing; your introduction is complete
10. Kira signaled to the audience that the presentation was concluding and included a few more
statistics and more information to reinforce her point. Kira has given which of these?
a. solid conclusion
b. false close
c. transition
d. persuasive speech
11. If the speaker is going to take questions, he or she should take questions in what way?
a. ask people with questions to stay after
b. conclude before asking for questions
c. address the questions throughout the speech
d. wait until after an applause to ask for questions
12. The term y’all (you all) is specific to the southern region. It could best be described as an
example of which of the following?
a. slang word
b. colloquialism
c. abbreviation
d. cuss word
13. Which of the following is any word or phrase that helps guide the listener from one point to
the next?
a. preview
b. transition
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c. territorial marker
d. visualization step
14. Monroe’s Motivated Sequence is utilized to persuade in business and professional settings
and consists of which of these?
a. motivating your audience using visual aids
b. attention step, need step, satisfaction step, visualization step, and action step
c. communicating a relationship in which one thing is caused by another
d. presenting topics that span a length of time, deal with the development of an idea, or
explain the steps in a process
15. During his presentation, Eli is showing how his solution would benefit his team so that they
will decide to agree with his proposal. Which step of Monroe’s Motivated Sequence is Eli
demonstrating?
a. solution
b. visualization
c. satisfaction
d. needs
16. Which of these should be considered first, last, and during every stage as you design your
speech?
a. audience analysis
b. speaker’s communication apprehension
c. the relevance of the topic
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d. the visual aids
17. Carmen is giving a persuasive presentation at her university tomorrow. During the speech
design process, Carmen asks herself why her audience is showing up, how the topic could be
viewed, and what other speakers will be talking about. These questions are all a part of which
aspect of her analysis?
a. physical questions
b. relational questions
c. audience analysis
d. context analysis
18. Ryan is preparing a presentation for his department. During his research, he gathers
information from outside agencies, the state government, and from separate media agencies.
These are known as which of the following?
a. internal sources
b. relative sources
c. impact sources
d. external sources
19. What tips should you follow when conducting an interview?
a. Ask all the questions you wanted to ask.
b. Present yourself as a rookie in case you make mistakes.
c. Allow the interview to go as long as it takes.
d. Allow the interviewee to determine all the questions.
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20. Discussing the upsides and downsides of buying a Mac over a PC is known as which type of
presentation?
a. pro-con
b. compare–contrast
c. spatial
d. classification
21. Words or phrases that let the audience know where you are within the presentation are
known as which of the following?
a. transitions
b. signposts
c. internal previews
d. summaries
22. During Jenna’s latest persuasive speech, her professor penalized her for using terms like
OMG! and bff. These language violations are known as which of the following?
a. cuss words
b. colloquialisms
c. texting language
d. slang
23. How could you create excitement for the audience for an otherwise boring topic?
a. Introduce your topic with an anecdote, joke, or unexpected statement.
b. Add as much information as possible.
c. Keep your audience guessing the direction of your presentation.
d. Exaggerate your nonverbal communication.
24. Which question should you ask in order to become more audience centered as a speaker?
a. What does my audience think of me?
b. Who is my audience?
c. What does my audience prefer to hear?
d. Where am I?
25. What should you avoid when gathering research?
a. information from media sources (CNN, NBC, etc.)
b. scholarly journals from an internet database
c. expert testimonials taken through an interview
d. relying solely on your previous knowledge
26. Which of the following is a tip for designing a great speech offered by the Young
Entrepreneur Council?
a. Think of involved stories.
b. Keep it complex.
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c. Focus on your message.
d. Get inspired and tell a story.
27. Melissa is trying to capture the attention of her audience, so she has decided to include
texting language. Which type of language is texting language considered to be?
a. colloquialisms
b. imagery
c. slang
d. metaphor
28. Melissa is trying to capture the attention of her audience, so she has decided to include
texting language. Which statement about texting language is accurate?
a. Texting abbreviations have no place in a presentation.
b. Texting abbreviations can energize a speech.
c. Texting abbreviations can make the audience more comfortable.
d. Texting abbreviations can make the speaker appear more savvy.
29. Boom stick is a street term synonymous with shotgun. What sort of language is this?
a. colloquialisms
b. imagery
c. slang
d. metaphor
30. Curse words, also referred to as swear words, are viewed as obscene expressions and are
also known as which of these?
a. colloquialisms
b. cuss words
c. slang
d. metaphor
31. Nick is using which kind of language to help his audience paint a picture with words?
a. colloquialisms
b. imagery
c. slang
d. metaphor
32. By saying the same phrase over and over again and by creating a parallel structure within
her presentation, Linda can create what sense for her audience members?
a. anxiety
b. anticipation
c. knowledge
d. readiness
33. Monroe’s Motivated Sequence was developed by which of the following?
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a. a U.S. president
b. a president of a major automotive manufacturer
c. a university professor
d. an elementary school teacher
34. Monroe’s Motivated Sequence has how many steps?
a. three
b. four
c. five
d. six
35. Marcus is preparing a persuasive speech and he wants his audience to be able to imagine
the benefits of his proposed changes to water filtration system in his city. Which step of
Monroe’s Motivated Sequence should Marcus use to accomplish this goal?
a. action
b. need
c. attention
d. visualization
36. In her speech, as Barbara completes her discussion of the first main point and moves to the
next main point, she should add an internal summary followed by which of the following?
a. internal preview
b. external preview
c. internal review
Quintanilla, Business and Professional Communication: KEYS for Workplace Excellence 4e
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d. external review
37. A word or phrase that helps guide the listener from one point to the next is known as which
of these?
a. metaphor
b. imagery
c. conclusion
d. transition
38. In Jeremiah’s speech, he is preparing to move to another part of the body of the speech.
Jeremiah says, “Now that we have covered the basic layout of the garden, let’s look at which
vegetables should be planted in each section.” This is an example of which of the following?
a. metaphor
b. imagery
c. conclusion
d. transition
39. The first step in the KEYS approach, know yourself, requires that you know both yourself
and your topic, as well as which of the following?
a. where you will be giving your speech
b. how your audience can relate to that topic
c. if you will need visual aids
d. if there is a stage or if you will be on the same level as the audience
40. Michael must consider which of the following as he designs and/or delivers his speech and
applies the second step of the KEYS approach, evaluate the professional context?
a. How well am I doing?
b. How well did I do?
c. Do I need to have note cards or can I memorize my speech?
d. Is there a stage or will I be on the same level as the audience?
True/False
1. Before developing a presentation, the speaker should analyze the audience and tailor the
presentation to that audience.
2. The setup of the room is a piece of information about the audience to consider before
presenting.
3. Including internet research is the best way to incorporate research into a presentation.