Quintanilla, Business and Professional Communication: KEYS for Workplace Excellence 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
Chapter 13: Delivering a Speech With Professional Excellence
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. How should a speaking outline be detailed/formatted relative to your speaking notes?
a. more detailed than your speaking notes
b. less detailed than your speaking notes
c. the same as your speaking notes
d. reformatted into your speaking notes
2. Monique’s team has decided that she should give their introduction, transitions, and
conclusion while the rest of the team covers the main points of the presentation. Monique is
enacting which role in the team’s presentation?
a. organizer
b. facilitator
c. leader
d. spokesperson
3. A common response to adrenaline in the system is which of the following?
a. leaving the room
b. increased hand or feet movement
c. giving someone else the microphone
d. asking someone from the audience to finish the presentation
4. Which of the following is true about speeches delivered from a manuscript?
a. help produce conversational quality
b. lead to monotone presentations
c. help the speaker keep his or her place
5. What should teams that use PowerPoint demonstrations do with their slides/file?
a. keep each part separate for purposes of clarity
b. make sure that transitions between speakers are kept to a minimum
c. save the entire presentation as one file
d. have separate color schemes for each speaker
6. Practice audiences should be ______.
a. subjective
b. objective
c. larger than the real audience will be
d. smaller than the real audience will be
7. Which is true concerning demonstrations?
a. Demonstrations should be done only by the person presenting.
b. Demonstrations should always include volunteers from the audience.
c. Demonstrations will distract from the speaker.
Quintanilla, Business and Professional Communication: KEYS for Workplace Excellence 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
d. Demonstrations should be done with an assistant if necessary.
8. Sharon is giving a presentation about a new product and passes the product around for the
audience to see. Is this a mistake?
a. No, because visual aids are always helpful.
b. No, because props always help alleviate nervousness.
c. Yes, because passing things around while you are speaking can be very distracting for
listeners and for you.
d. Yes, because the audience will steal the product.
9. In what way should illustrations be handled?
a. passed around so everyone can see them up close
b. used only when videos aren’t available
c. separated from a slide
d. simple and incorporated into the slide
10. Which of the following is accurate regarding video clips?
a. They can add excitement to any presentation if you are prepared.
b. It is acceptable to make the audience wait briefly while you find your clip.
c. Videos should never be put into a PowerPoint.
d. Videos are seen as a waste of time in professional presentations.
11. Which of the following characteristics describes a professional, effective PowerPoint slide?
a. all information incorporated into a few slides with a lot of text
b. many different colors on each slide
c. timed
d. information spread onto several slides
12. Presenting a presentation in a style similar to that used in casual conversation is called
conversational quality or a(n) ______ speaking style.
a. informative
b. extemporaneous
c. ineffective
d. monotone
13. Tools used by a speaker to help support the audience’s interest in and understanding of the
presentation such as visual or audio clips are called ______.
a. props
b. outlines
c. supporting aids
d. PowerPoints
14. A physiological process that occurs in the body of a speaker resulting in nervous behavior
and anxiety is called which of the following?
a. cold feet
b. adrenaline rush
c. butterflies in the stomach
d. apprehension
15. Making eye contact with your audience is which of the following?
a. not necessary if you are using a PowerPoint presentation because you will be focused
on the material
b. one of the best ways to reduce nervousness
c. one of the best ways to increase nervousness
d. may decrease credibility
16. When delivering your speech, you should project your volume by doing what?
a. speaking as loudly as possible
b. speaking in a conversational tone
c. softly speak so the audience has to focus to hear you
d. projecting to an audience member in the back corner
17. Which of the following is an example of a vocal filler?
a. my next point is
b. like
c. furthermore
d. now that we discussed
18. It is important to develop a sense of play when delivering speeches because of which of
these?
a. Many of your problems will be minor and only you will notice them.
b. It will help you shrug off any major problems.
c. The audience will see you’re being a casual speaker.
d. You won’t need to stay with your outline as much.
19. What should you strive to accomplish during your introduction?
a. establish credibility
b. apologize for not being a better speaker
c. preview minimal points
d. establish an escape strategy
20. Seeing key points, demonstrations, or other supporting materials are essential for whom?
a. nonaudience members
b. visual learners
c. scholarly learners
d. retention learners
21. What is a negative effect of PowerPoint presentations?
a. Many speakers use PowerPoint as a crutch.
b. The slide transitions are a distraction for the audience.
c. PowerPoint is an outdated presentation aid.
d. PowerPoint removes the need for a speaking outline.
22. Travis is giving a speech to his biology class, discussing the digestive system of the human
body. Travis should do which of the following?
a. stay away from visual aids and focus on the textbook definitions and examples
b. play a 15-minute video discussing the digestive system
c. supplement his speech with illustrations and photos
d. create a model of the digestive system and pass it around the classroom
23. Why is it important to use a practice audience before your speech?
a. An honest practice audience can help determine if your speech is effective.
b. Practicing with an audience beforehand removes the need to follow an outline.
c. You can be informal and at ease with a practice audience.
d. Practice audiences will not judge you too harshly.
24. When giving team presentations, the group should do which of these?
a. separate the team into individual parts and combine it at the presentation
b. plan, practice, and collaborate the entire presentation together
c. identify a team leader who is in charge of developing the presentation outline
d. create the presentation together and pick the best speaker to deliver the entire
speech
25. When delivering a speech, your hand gestures do which of the following?
a. are used freely in order to maintain the audience members’ attention
b. exaggerate to refocus the audience’s interests
c. avoid attention on the speaker’s voice
Quintanilla, Business and Professional Communication: KEYS for Workplace Excellence 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
d. add visual interest to the speaker and offer a more dynamic delivery
26. Which of the following is a speaking tip drawn from Steve Jobs’s speaking style?
a. appeal to the audience
b. use an extensive PowerPoint presentation
c. use body language that makes you appear uncomfortable
d. speak in the accent most familiar to your audience members
27. Joseph was nervous about his speech. He gave his presentation and made sure to slowly
and deliberately walk across the room as he delivered his speech. In walking across the room in
this way, what was Joseph able to do?
a. get some exercise
b. control the room
c. allow the audience to see him better
d. keep the audience members on their toes
28. What can be affected by the rush of adrenaline you feel when you speak?
a. attention to detail
b. level of readiness
c. vocal qualities
d. your supporting materials
29. The authors of your textbook suggest which of the following to ensure your volume level is
sufficient when delivering any presentation?
a. use a microphone
b. focus on one audience member in the back of the room and project your voice to that
person
c. speak at least two times louder than you are comfortable with in a normal speaking
situation
d. don’t worry about your volume
30. How should you look at team presentations?
a. as individual speeches that you connect together
b. as an individual speech developed by a team but presented by one person
c. as a speech organized like any other speech but delivered by multiple people
d. like a symposium with the audience asking questions
31. When considering appearance, what is a potential serious problem with the shoes that are
worn during a presentation?
a. they may be the wrong color for the room
b. the shoes may require tying instead of being slip-ons
c. new shoes may look nice but can cause blisters and could negatively affect the overall
performance
d. shoes need to be athletic shoes to ensure comfort
32. Having no outline often results in speakers committing their presentations to memory,
resulting in which type of speaking style that can ruin a well-designed presentation?
a. conversational
b. monotone
c. high pitched
d. high volume
33. How can you increase retention when giving a presentation?
a. speak louder
b. slow down your speaking rate
c. provide handouts before speaking
d. repeat your message
34. A well-designed PowerPoint or Prezi presentation can also facilitate which of the following?
a. listening
b. the ability to effectively hide from the audience
c. allows the speaker to speak more softly
d. allows the speaker to dress far more casually
35. Seeing key points, demonstrations, or other supporting materials can be essential for these
audience members’ understanding.
a. retentive learners
b. conversational learners
c. auditory listeners
d. visual learners
Quintanilla, Business and Professional Communication: KEYS for Workplace Excellence 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
36. Jason has made sure that his supporting aids include key points and brief demonstrations in
order to accommodate these audience members.
a. visual learners
b. conversational learners
c. auditory listeners
d. retentive listeners
37. Patty uses sounds such as “umms” and “uhs” and says “like” to prevent any silence during
her presentation. These sounds and “like” are called which of these?
a. pauses
b. vocal fillers
c. supporting aids
d. beneficial to every presentation
38. When it is time for you to deliver a presentation, your body must decide between which of
the following?
a. sink or swim
b. take it or leave it
c. ask or tell
d. fight or flight
39. If you notice that you are sweating during your presentation and you are wearing a jacket,
what should you do?
a. take it off and put it over back of the nearest chair to dry out
b. leave it on to avoid revealing damp underarms
c. ask the person who invited you to speak if she or he has another jacket in your size
d. ask the person who invited you to speak to hold your jacket until you have finished
speaking
40. Which of the following applies positively to eye contact?
a. Making eye contact with your audience will make you more nervous.
b. The idea of making eye contact with your audience is creepy.
c. Engaging in eye contact with your audience is one of the best ways to reduce
nervousness.
d. Making eye contact with your audience gets in the way of reading your manuscript.
True/False
1. Presenters should always avoid walking from one side of the room to the other and instead
stay in one location for the duration of the speech.
2. Speaking at a slightly faster rate than average is sometimes preferred to a normal speed.
3. Manuscript style outlines help increase the conversational quality of a presentation.
4. PowerPoint slides should be set on a timer so that the speaker stays on track with his or her
allotted time.
5. Repeating the message numerous times during the presentation will help with message
retention.
6. PowerPoint slides should never be used as a substitute for a speaking outline.
7. Selecting volunteers from the audience to take part in demonstrations is always a good
technique for audience involvement.