Business Communication Essentials, 6e (Bovee/Thill)
Chapter 12 Developing Oral and Online Presentations
1) Which of the following is the first step in planning oral presentations?
A) organize the information
B) select the right medium
C) gather information
D) analyze the situation
E) sort information
2) Which of the following is the last step in planning oral presentations?
A) organize the information
B) select the right medium
C) gather information
D) analyze the situation
E) sort information
3) Analyzing the situation for oral presentations involves defining your purpose and ________.
A) organizing the information
B) selecting the right medium
C) selecting the direct or indirect approach
D) outlining your content
E) developing an audience profile
4) Which of the following stages involves choosing the delivery mode and practicing the
presentation?
A) master your delivery
B) revise the message
C) prepare to speak
D) organize your information
E) adapt to your audience
5) Which of the following actions will determine the audience size and composition?
A) Analyze your audience’s likely mood when you speak to them.
B) Estimate how many people will attend.
C) Analyze why audience members are attending the presentation.
D) Determine what the audience already knows about the subject.
E) Anticipate possible objections and questions.
6) When facing a hostile audience during an oral presentation, ________.
A) reward their goodwill with a presentation that is clear, concise, and upbeat
B) consider a direct approach to calm their fears and build acceptance
C) consider the indirect approach to find common ground and to diffuse anger before sharing
your message
D) avoid eye contact to appear sincere and trustworthy
E) skip sections in your presentation that the audience does not want to hear
7) If you are facing an uninterested audience, you should ________.
A) find ways to connect your message with their personal or professional interests
B) reward their goodwill with a presentation that is clear, concise, and upbeat
C) familiarize yourself with the technical equipment
D) not try hard to hold their attention throughout
E) work to minimize audience interaction
8) Berk is presenting his analysis, regarding the latest tool that his team has developed, to his
colleagues in the organization. His manager has advised him to gauge the audience’s experience
because not everybody has the same background and experience. Therefore, Berk should
________.
A) analyze the mood that people will be in when he speaks to them
B) think about the mix of general concepts and specific details he will need to present
C) analyze the mix of men and women, age ranges, socioeconomic and ethnic groups,
occupations, and geographic regions represented
D) anticipate possible objections or questions
E) estimate how many people will attend
9) Aaron is preparing a presentation for his organization and he has been asked to analyze the
situation thoroughly before embarking on the presentation. To be able to adjust his message and
delivery he needs to focus on ________.
A) the seating and lighting arrangement
B) knowing the state of mind of the audience
C) minimizing audience interaction
D) controlling the environment to reduce distractions
E) familiarizing himself with the technical equipment
10) Sharon has been asked to prepare online presentations that people can either view live or
download later from the company website. Sharon has to prepare a ________.
A) webcast
B) screencast
C) webinar
D) twebinar
E) YouTube video
11) Which of the following mediums is suitable for an oral presentation?
A) screencasts
B) wikis
C) microblogging
D) instant messaging
E) applicant tracking systems
12) A fundamental difference with oral presentations and written reports is that in an oral
presentation the audiences ________.
A) are not flexible
B) are always hostile and need further classification
C) prefer the indirect approach
D) are more or less trapped in your time frame and sequence
E) can skip back and forth if they’re confused or don’t need certain information
13) During the planning stage of presentations, if you define your main idea, limit your scope
and verify timing, and outline your content, you are ________.
A) analyzing the situation
B) gathering information
C) organizing information
D) selecting the right medium
E) adapting to the audience
14) Ronan is giving a presentation to convince the board of directors that they should build a
new plant in Dallas to eliminate bottlenecks. He has “presenter’s block” and needs help defining
his main idea. Your suggestion to him would be to ________.
A) prepare a descriptive summary, so that the members get all the details
B) choose a delivery mode and practice presentation
C) prepare supporting visuals and speaking notes
D) define a purpose and develop a profile of the audience
E) compose a one-sentence summary that links his subject and purpose to his audience’s frame of
reference
15) The only sure way to measure the length of your presentation ________.
A) is to define your main idea in a sentence
B) is to be aware of audience needs
C) is to complete a practice run
D) is to compare it to your previous presentation time
E) is to use the rule of thumb of 5 minutes per slide
16) Dennis is giving his first training presentation to his team. His manager has asked Dennis to
make sure his presentation fits the allotted time, since there are other presentations following his.
Therefore, Dennis should ________.
A) focus on meeting audience needs and expectations more than, keeping to the time allotted
B) limit his scope
C) limit audience questions in the end
D) avoid summarizing
E) use the direct approach
17) Whenever you’re up against a time or space constraint, try to view it as a creative challenge
and ________.
A) focus on the most essential message points that are important to your audience
B) focus on the most essential message points that are important to you
C) skip the visual element of your presentation
D) give people printed handouts with additional detail
E) avoid question and answer sessions
18) Organize short presentations the same way you would a ________.
A) grocery list
B) report
C) proposal
D) long memo
E) brief memo
19) You should be prepared to explain the who, what, when, where, why, and how of your
subject for the ________.
A) introduction of the presentation
B) body of the presentation
C) conclusion of the presentation
D) summary of the presentation
E) recommendation part of the presentation
20) Evan has organized his material around conclusions and recommendations. Which of the
following is Evan’s purpose?
A) motivating the audience
B) informing the audience
C) persuading the audience
D) understanding the audience
E) adapting to the audience
21) Tim typically uses the direct approach during presentations. The structure of his
presentations is imposed naturally by the subject. Tim’s purpose is to ________.
A) motivate
B) collaborate
C) persuade
D) influence
E) analyze
22) Integrating the storytelling approach into the structure of your presentation ________.
A) is a great way to capture and keep the audience’s attention
B) is not effective in the indirect approach
C) is usually avoided in a professional setting
D) is more feasible when paired with the direct approach
E) depends on the time allotted
23) Apart from planning the actual speech, which of the following is another purpose of a
presentation outline?
A) It doesn’t have any other purpose.
B) It helps limit the scope.
C) It gives the audience a preview of what is to come.
D) It explains the who, what, when, where, why, and how of your subject.
E) It helps a presenter in planning the speaking notes.
24) Which of the following is the first stage of preparing an outline for your oral presentation?
A) Identify transitions between major points or sections, then write these transitions in full
sentence form.
B) Prepare your bibliography or source notes; highlight those sources you want to identify by
name during your talk.
C) State your purpose and main idea and then use these elements to guide the rest of your
planning.
D) Identify major points in the body first, then outline the introduction and close.
E) Organize your major points and subpoints in logical order, expressing each major point as a
single, complete sentence.
25) Which of the following is the last stage of preparing an outline for your oral presentation?
A) Identify transitions between major points or sections, then write these transitions in full
sentence form.
B) Organize your major points and subpoints in logical order, expressing each major point as a
single, complete sentence.
C) State your purpose and main idea and then use these elements to guide the rest of your
planning.
D) Identify major points in the body first, then outline the introduction and close.
E) Choose a compelling title. Make it brief, action oriented, and focused on what you can do for
the audience.
26) Which of the following provides all the cues and reminders the speakers need in order to
present their material?
A) nonlinear report
B) speaking outline
C) organizational plan
D) audience outline
E) media curation website
27) To prepare an effective speaking outline, start with ________.
A) arranging your notes on numbered cards or use the notes capability in your presentation
software
B) preparing your bibliography or source notes; highlight those sources you want to identify by
name during your talk
C) adding delivery cues, such as places where you plan to pause for emphasis or use visuals
D) the planning outline and then strip away anything you don’t plan to say directly to your
audience
E) condensing points and transitions to key words or phrases
28) The last step while preparing an effective speaking outline is to ________.
A) prepare your bibliography or source notes; highlight those sources you want to identify by
name during your talk
B) arrange your notes on numbered cards or use the notes capability in your presentation
software
C) add delivery cues, such as places where you plan to pause for emphasis or use visuals
D) prepare the planning outline and then strip away anything you don’t plan to say directly to
your audience
E) condense points and transitions to key words or phrases
29) Frank is giving a presentation to his team, which is a small group of people he already
knows. His presentation style should ________.
A) be a formal style because it is still an office presentation
B) skip sections that might generate more audience questions
C) be a casual style that encourages audience participation
D) not limit his scope
E) be more organized like reports with a chronological structure
30) A(n) ________ arouses audience interest in your topic and establishes your credibility.
A) effective introduction
B) long subject line
C) presentation outline
D) short summary
E) conclusion
31) One of the ways to arouse audience interest in your presentation is to ________.
A) avoid storytelling
B) control the environment to reduce distractions
C) focus the presentation on the audience’s sense of hearing only
D) skip over sections that might generate more questions
E) open with an amusing observation about the subject matter
32) To help build your credibility before a presentation, ________.
A) give the audience what they came for, that is begin with your presentation, do not spend time
introducing yourself beyond your name and designation
B) introduce yourself, keep your comments brief, but don’t be afraid to mention your
accomplishments
C) introduce yourself, keep your comments brief, but don’t go through your accomplishments
D) allow someone else to introduce you but leave your accomplishments for the supporting
materials
E) let the audience decide your credibility through your presentation
33) In addition to getting the audience’s attention and establishing your credibility, a good
introduction gives your audience a preview of what is ahead. As a speaker, your preview should
________.
A) provide an anecdote to generate interest
B) focus on content, not the structure of your presentation
C) identify major supporting points of your presentation
D) always precede the introduction
E) help build your credentials
34) Transitional words such as therefore, because, and in addition ________.
A) can be used as links between sentences and paragraphs
B) are distracting to the audience, when used often
C) can be helpful for only longer presentations
D) should be avoided as fillers
E) can link major sections of the presentation
35) A way to hold an audience’s attention is to ________.
A) avoid sections in your presentation that will generate more questions
B) show how your message relates to their individual needs and concerns
C) always use the indirect approach to build acceptance
D) control the environment to reduce distractions
E) include humor and particularly colorful adjectives and adverbs
36) The ________ of a speech or presentation has two critical jobs to accomplish: making sure
your listeners leave with the key points from your talk clear in their minds and putting your
audience in the appropriate emotional state.
A) planning outline
B) close
C) introduction
D) body
E) speaking outline
37) The close of a presentation is used to ________.
A) prepare the listeners for the information and insights the speaker has to share
B) connect the speaker’s ideas with a variety of design clues
C) provide all the cues and reminders to present the material
D) discuss the main points
E) restate the main points, emphasizing what the speaker wants the listeners to do or to think
38) Jonas was giving a presentation and when it was time for his final remarks, he said, “Well, I
guess that’s it.” Instead of ending it this way, which of the following should Jonas have done?
A) made sure his final remarks were memorable and had the right emotional tone
B) given an overview of all the topics he had covered in the presentation again
C) used the final remarks to further establish credibility
D) skipped back and forth through the presentation to ensure that the audience understood the
message
E) give a preview of the next presentation
39) Ian is preparing a presentation that he intends to use at a tradeshow. He needs to know which
technology will help him easily edit and update, add sound, photos, video, and animation. He
should use ________.
A) white boards
B) electronic presentations
C) flipcharts
D) overhead transparencies
E) chalkboards
40) Which of the following instances best represents the statement “death by PowerPoint”?
A) a visually-loaded presentation about “glaucoma after 60” at a retirement home, given by a
local eye specialist
B) a presentation that freezes due to recurrent software glitches in PowerPoint
C) a simple, authentic and clean slide on art curation with minimal design elements to distract
the audience
D) a detailed presentation about the “impact of western cuisine in eastern markets” with
elaborate animation
E) an informative presentation to junior high school students regarding “chocolate and tooth
decay” using adaptations of extensive graphs and charts from the 1950s
41) Brunton is planning to use visually oriented free-form slides that many presentation
specialists now advocate. While creating his slides Brunton should ensure that ________.
A) he changes the color and font selections throughout the presentation
B) the structure does not change randomly from one slide to the next
C) the structure changes randomly from one slide to the next
D) the slides are bullet-point intensive
E) he restricts these slides to the indirect approach