In many cases, the interviewer in a one-on-one interview is the immediate supervisor
for the position you want.
Answer:
Audience-oriented communication is all about self-expression.
Answer:
A business case should not discuss the risks involved in the project.
Answer:
If you have not heard from an employer a week or 10 days after the application
submission deadline, then it means that you are not being considered for the position
and you should avoid contacting the company again.
Answer:
Only team leaders can use their persuasive skills to help a poorly performing team get
back on track.
Answer:
Business communication is a complex process.
Answer:
In the context of a survey, a sample is a representative portion of your population.
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For sensitive communication like bad-news messages, evaluation is particularly
important because communication can have significant negative business results.
Answer:
When preparing for an interview, social networking tools are not a useful way to
research the company.
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Using the blind carbon copy feature of email is always unethical.
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When you conduct a search in most web search engines, you can use a hash (#) sign as
a wildcard symbol within a phrase to represent an unknown word.
Answer:
Report decks must be understandable without a presenter.
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The STAR Method, which stands for situation, task, action, and result, is a
well-established method of responding to behavioral questions.
Answer:
In Italy, it is expected that oral commitments will be honored and signing a contract is a
mere formality, reflecting the commitment between business partners.
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Deciding that you should have a face-to-face conversation with your boss to receive
clarification on an assignment is an example of the sender selecting a communication
medium.
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If your supervisor asks you to communicate some news to many employees and
shareholders in your company simultaneously, one appropriate medium to accomplish
this is a letter.
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A proposal must provide details about how it will be implemented and explain costs.
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Credibility is hard to earn and easy to lose.
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If you need to send a message to a contractor, informing him that a job is awarded to
him, the direct organization method would be appropriate.
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It is universally accepted in the business world that you should get right down to
business at a meeting for the sake of efficiency.
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Rejecting an employee’s request for a raise is an example of a bad-news message.
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Once you know the organization of your content, you can begin outlining it as a series
of slides by creating a storyboard.
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Some of the items you should bring to an interview include a pad of paper and a pen,
copies of your résumé printed on good paper, and a list of questions you plan to ask the
interviewer.
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For a proposal to be effective, it only needs to persuade your audience that your idea is
feasible.
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The peer-review process is designed to ensure that articles are accurate and honest.
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A standalone presentation should not include an agenda slide.
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Google is an example of a deep web portal.
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Research shows that social media audiences respond much better to impersonal
messages than to personal-sounding responses.
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Analyzing your own career interests and goals will help you decide what employment
opportunities to pursue.
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Focusing on audience benefits helps the audience feel more positive about taking the
time to send the requested information.
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Information sources like Wikipedia or a Google search are considered to be highly
credible by a professional audience.
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Persuasion is required for all types of business communication.
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Communication involvesplanning, creating, delivering, and interpreting messages.
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Oral communication allows you to evaluate while you are delivering the message, while
written communication allows you to evaluate before delivering your message.
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A career fair is a gathering of representatives or recruiters from only one company
seeking to fill open positions in their company.
Answer:
Analyzing the cause of a conflict serves no useful purpose.
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When using a basic search engine like Yahoo, one tip for narrowing your results is to
add more words to the search phrase.
Answer:
To ensure proper alignment of the dot leaders and page numbers on a table of contents,
create the leaders by inserting periods.
Answer:
The ________ format is most appropriate for applicants who have worked in positions
closely related to the one they are applying for and who also want to emphasize the
advanced skillsets required for the new position.
A) chronological
B) traditional
C) functional
D) combined
E) plain text
Answer:
A cover letter for a grant proposal ________.
A) is not necessary
B) should avoid mentioning the specific amount of money you are requesting
C) should specify how your request addresses the agency’s mission
D) should end with a request that the reader consider your proposal, but wait for them
to suggest a meeting
E) should be brief and not address issues like the feasibility of the project
Answer:
An email report ________.
A) is appropriate only for external audiences
B) can be distributed and received quickly
C) guarantees secured delivery to audiences
D) projects a more formal image than a letter report
E) easily supports tables and graphs
Answer:
A slide master ________.
A) is a word processing tool
B) enforces consistency in your visual elements
C) saves you time but runs the risk of inconsistent formatting
D) is useful as it allows you to cut and paste the formatting from one slide to the next
E) is a network-security related software
Answer:
As you’re packing up to leave the office on a Friday afternoon, your boss tells you that
she’d like a status report from you as soon as possible. You head out for the weekend
and complete the status report first thing Monday morning. When your boss receives it,
she complains that she needed it sooner.
What is the most likely cause of this breakdown in communication?
A) passive listening
B) failure to listen actively
C) barriers to listening comprehension
D) difference of interpretation
E) physiological barrier to hearing
Answer:
________ is defined as the process of working together to achieve a common goal.
A) Professionalism
B) Collaboration
C) Persuasion
D) Active listening
E) Communication
Answer:
When you arrive at work on Monday, you hear that a coworker’s father died over the
weekend. You are not good friends with this coworker, but you are sorry for his loss.
You never know what to say in situations like this, so you decide to go to the stationery
store to buy a sympathy card. You should ________.
A) write a few lines of condolences on the card, to express your compassion and
understanding
B) never use a premade card in a situation like this, as it is crass and tactless
C) wait at least three days before sending the card, as sending it too soon is
inconsiderate
D) type the greeting and closing in the card, as this shows more compassion and
concern than writing so by hand
E) not send condolences since you don’t have a close personal relationship with this
coworker
Answer:
If a presentation requires the audience to discuss the pros and cons of outsourcing work
as opposed to hiring an intern, the presentation will be ________.
A) informational
B) persuasive
C) instructional
D) collaborative
E) anecdotal
Answer:
You are organizing a charity event to raise funds for the renovation of the community
tennis court. This event is going to include a two-day sports tournament among the high
school students in your locality. This will involve communicating with students, their
parents, school administrators, coaches, local businesses, and the general public. You
are drafting a letter to send to the parents of interested high school players, to obtain
permission for their children to participate in the tournament. In the context of this
letter, which of the following statements would be an example of the persuasive
technique of responding to an anticipated objection?
A) This tournament will be a great opportunity for your child to meet students from
neighboring schools.
B) Your child will know the satisfaction of making a difference in our community.
C) When renovated, the community tennis courts will provide a wonderful recreation
area for families in the area.
D) The tournament will be scheduled in conjunction with all the participating high
schools, so that it does not interfere with classes or school events.
E) Local businesses will put together gift bags for the students as a token for their
participation.
Answer:
Which of the following does an active listener do?
A) works to interpret meaning to understand what a person is saying
B) listens to the speaker without comprehending the information
C) filters out emotional cues
D) perceives speech but not the body language
E) thinks only about what is being said but not about why it is being said
Answer:
Which of the following is an example of encoding a message?
A) deciding how to phrase a request to your boss for clarification on your new
assignment
B) deciding to read the annual financial report of your company
C) deciding to purchase a new smart phone so that you can check and send email while
you are on the go
D) deciding to toss out an advertisement that was mailed to you
E) deciding to read an email sent by a friend
Answer:
Which of the following is a way to ‘soften the blow” of bad news?
A) making the bad news vague
B) positioning bad news ahead of good news
C) subordinating the bad news
D) using negative language
E) placing the blame on the audience
Answer:
Which of the following is an external benefit?
A) less work for your audience
B) increased professional recognition for your audience
C) financial gains for your audience
D) positive effects on people your audience cares about
E) conditions that allow your audience to get their work done
Answer:
If you choose to follow up on the status of your application, ________.
A) follow-up with everyone you met during the interview
B) keep in mind that an email is the least convenient medium for your contact to answer
C) keep in mind that a telephone call indicates a more assertive attempt to contact the
employer
D) do not resell your strengths in a written message, as this will seem pushy
E) ensure that you use multiple methods to contact the employer
Answer:
“After your arrival at the airport, transportation to our office will be provided.”
Which of the following revisions best improves the sentence above?
A) replacing “arrival” with “descent to the runway”
B) replacing “transportation” with “car service”
C) replacing “to our office” with “to the location at which we do business”
D) replacing “at the airport” with “in the city that spawned our thriving business”
E) replacing “will be provided” with “will be graciously and warmly offered to your
good self”
Answer:
To outline your experiences, ________.
A) make a list of only those work experiences that directly relate to your current job
search
B) list all your work experiences as bullet items beginning with an action verb
C) create ten to twelve bullet points for each job you’ve had
D) mention details only about your current job and avoid including details of your
previous jobs
E) identify the skills you used at your jobs, not the results you accomplished
Answer:
Almost 2 billion people speak English worldwide and ________ percent of those
people speak it as a first language.
A) less than 15
B) only 25
C) nearly 50
D) less than 5
E) close to 75
Answer:
Hugh is applying for a job as a help desk associate, though his employment experience
to date has not been in this field. His extracurricular interests have given him skills that
would be desirable in this position. It would be most appropriate for him to use a(n)
________ résumé for this job opportunity.
A) chronological
B) experiential
C) traditional
D) combined
E) functional
Answer:
The key to hearing accurately is focus. Which of the following is recommended for
better focus?
A) looking at the speaker
B) multitasking while listening to what is being said
C) discussing the topic with other listeners
D) thinking about what has been previously said
E) browsing the Internet for similar topics while listening to the speaker
Answer:
Which of the following is NOT a way to motivate your audience to care about your
proposal?
A) telling them that you will solve their problem
B) addressing a need for change
C) identifying an opportunity that they can take advantage of
D) specifying a way in which your audience will benefit
E) explaining how the topic is valuable to you
Answer:
At an interview, which of the following is a negative nonverbal gesture?
A) smiling
B) maintaining eye contact
C) leaning forward slightly
D) tapping your foot
E) sitting up straight
Answer:
Which of the following options is most likely to be used for reaching potential
audiences you can’t yet identify?
A) group meeting
B) email
C) telephone
D) blog
E) text message
Answer:
In a proposal, when you write about what you propose, use ________ tense and when
you write about your capabilities, use ________ tense.
A) present; present
B) present; future
C) future; future
D) future; present
E) future; past
Answer:
Which of the following is a correct guideline while writing a reply to a request for
information email?
A) The email should not build goodwill.
B) All the requested information must be provided in attached files and not in the email
body.
C) The provided information must be numbered to mirror the original email.
D) The information paragraphs must not directly start with the answers to the questions.
E) The opening statement must include contact information and offer for assistance.
Answer:
You are an educational consultant. A local elementary school has asked you to submit a
recommendation regarding its inefficient and problematic enrollment process. After
reviewing the situation it seems that just a few easy and inexpensive changes will result
in a much more orderly system. When writing up your recommendation you should
________.
A) use indirect organization
B) begin with your main point
C) build up to your specific recommendation gradually
D) start your message by providing context for the situation
E) omit a call to action
Answer:
Sam needs to decrease the size of his presentation files, as they are currently too large
for sending by email. Which of the following would be the best way for him to do so?
A) turning on “fast saves”
B) compressing his pictures
C) deleting all slides from the presentation
D) dragging images into PowerPoint so that they become embedded objects
E) removing all images, pictures, and graphics
Answer:
The core principles of Edward Tufte, a noted information designer, advocate all of the
following EXCEPT ________.
A) eliminating all distractions that do not help the audience understand the data
B) eliminating anything in graphs that exists only for decoration
C) eliminating or minimizing all unnecessary gridlines for tables
D) eliminating or minimizing all unnecessary borders for tables
E) eliminating data markers that identify specific data points in line graphs
Answer:
Which of the following is an example of the attention-grabbing technique of asking a
motivating question?
A) Did you know that over 65% of Americans are considered overweight?
B) Would you like to drop 10 pounds in a month without visiting the gym?
C) Are you aware that the majority of exercise programs don’t generate results?
D) Have you ever tried following a dieting plan?
E) Have you ever started an exercise program?
Answer:
If a proposal is ________, you need to provide some extra structure so that readers can
navigate the document and easily find the information they are looking for.
A) between two to four paragraphs long
B) less than a page
C) two pages or less
D) longer than three or four pages
E) just one paragraph long
Answer:
Bad news or bad publicity ________.
A) must be ignored
B) is often encouraged by a business to show its customer sensitivity
C) spreads rarely and slowly
D) can never be controlled by employees of the company
E) needs to be controlled
Answer:
When you stare at a blank page or a blank computer monitor without a clue of how to
begin you are ________.
A) engaging in free writing
B) suffering from writer’s block
C) struggling with the perfectionist syndrome
D) thinking aloud
E) designing a professional format
Answer:
The first step in writing a report is to ________.
A) choose the best medium
B) identify the question you are answering
C) write the executive summary for the report
D) develop a glossary for your report
E) provide general background information about your topic
Answer:
When communicating bad news to a customer, which of the following is most
important in maintaining a positive relationship?
A) The company must correct all errors, if it is at fault.
B) The company must apologize whether or not they are at fault.
C) The company must avoid using buffer statements.
D) The company must avoid providing reasons for denying the request.
E) The company must use the direct approach so as not to waste the customer’s time.
Answer:
Why is goodwill important in business?
Answer:
How does appealing to your audience’s emotions help improve teamwork?
Answer:
Anya argues that since credibility is hard to earn and easy to lose, it’s not worth trying
to establish. Discuss this statement.
Answer:
What do you think is the most compelling reason to use report decks?
Answer:
Rachel Barnett was interviewed at an advertising agency on October A little more than
two weeks have gone by since the interview, so Rachel decides to follow-up with a
phone call. When she calls her interviewer, Larry Kim, he is unavailable. What message
should Rachel leave for him?
Answer:
List some of your specific research questions, and some research activities that correlate
with them.
Answer:
Discuss the various ways in which the audience experience can be managed in a live
online presentation.
Answer:
How would you plan an effective Q&A session for both individual and team-led
presentations?
Answer:
You received a battery charger that doesn’t work with your generation of iPhone.
Discuss how you should write a message to request an exchange.
Answer:
The supervisor told the employees, “I would like to receive a general, daily feedback on
how our department is running from each one of you even if there are no specific issues
to be addressed.” Paraphrase this statement to ensure that you understand the content,
intent, and feeling behind the message.
Answer:
Why do you think it is important to be aware of the different types of barriers to
communication?
Answer:
Before you can roll out the new database system you have designed, you need
employees in departments across the company to volunteer to test it. You are drafting an
email that will be sent to all employees to persuade them to help you with this
testing.Discuss what you should include in this message.
Answer:
Which do you think is easier, writing an RFP or writing an unsolicited proposal?
Answer:
Discuss the connection between a résumé and a cover letter.
Answer:
Your bid to set up the computer system at Evergreen, a small local business, was
accepted. Today you found out that the software that Evergreen’s systems require just
had a price increase, so your bid will need to increase to reflect this change. As you
plan your message to notify Evergreen of the increase, you consider not telling them the
reason for it, as you don’t think they need to be bothered with the technical details. Why
might this backfire on you? What might you do in your message to soften the bad
news?
Answer: