Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition
CHAPTER 7: SELECTING A TOPIC AND CONNECTING TO THE AUDIENCE
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1) Which of the following best describes settings where public communication occurs?
A) during presentations where technology is used
B) during professional public speaking events
C) during classroom speech presentations
D) during interpersonal interactions with more than two individuals
E) during presentations in a variety of classroom, business and professional situations
2) Andrew, a collegiate baseball player, decides to do a persuasive speech on why playing sports builds
character for kids. This example illustrates the importance of selecting a topic
A) you’ve been successful with in past speeches.
B) with which the audience is unfamiliar.
C) that is completely unique.
D) that does not require much research.
E) that is familiar and interesting to you.
3) Which of the following is the most effective example of a specific purpose?
A) to inform your audience of the three reasons to buy a computer and the four best statistical programs for
home computers available on the market
B) informing about guns and TV
C) to persuade the audience that the Internet has three positive effects on society
D) children and the Internet
E) that the effects of a permissive society can be extremely harmful to children if they are not monitored
and guided when they use computers, and can also create a society which eventually becomes
desensitized to reality
4) Joseph is working on developing a list of potential speech topics. Which technique should he use to help
develop his list?
Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition
A) select a topic he has used in the past
B) ask his parents
C) take audience inventories
D) access The Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature
E) think about his friends’ interests
5) Which of the following is the best specific purpose statement for an informative speech on hybrid cars?
A) Show why the Toyota Prius is superior to other hybrids
B) The future of the hybrid in an environmentally-conscious world
C) Discuss the history of the hybrid from the development of the Model T car, to the invention of the gas
powered car, to the invention of the hybrid car, to the growing popularity of the hybrid car.
D) A hybrid is fuel-efficient, therefore you should buy one.
E) To inform my audience of the four steps in the evolution of the hybrid.
6) If you adapt your speech to the occupational and educational level of your audience, you are employing what
kind of audience analysis?
A) reasoned
B) attitudinal
C) biographical
D) psychological
E) demographic
7) In differentiating between captive and voluntary participants, it is important to remember that captive
participants
A) may resist participation.
B) are characteristically heterogeneous.
C) are motivated to listen.
D) have an interest or need related to the topic.
E) are characteristically homogeneous.
Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition
8) The most important factor that contributes to an effective speech presentation is
A) organizing the content of the speech.
B) its delivery.
C) analyzing the audience.
D) researching the topic.
E) selecting an appropriate topic.
9) Which method of analyzing audiences is typically the most time consuming?
A) personal knowledge
B) survey interview
C) self-inventory
D) questionnaire
E) observation
10) “To persuade my audience to purchase a Honda Accord,” is an example of a
A) thesis.
B) general purpose.
C) topic.
D) specific purpose.
E) self-inventory.
11) As part of the preparation for his speech, Peter wants to know whether his listeners have completed high
school, college, or graduate school. He could learn this information most easily through
A) the topic selection process.
Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition
B) demographic analysis.
C) an informational interview.
D) observation.
E) psychological analysis.
12) For speaking events that occur outside of the classroom, the general purpose is usually determined by
A) the occasion.
B) how you want your family to respond.
C) your ability to be persuasive.
D) what you know about your topic.
E) the number of sources available on the topic.
13) The goal of an informative speech is to
A) enhance an audience’s knowledge and understanding.
B) change the listeners’ beliefs and attitudes about the topic.
C) make the learning experience as humorous as possible for the audience.
D) entertain.
E) call the audience to action.
14) Which of the following is a thesis statement?
A) architecture of the 1990s
B) credit reports and your financial future
C) To inform your audience about the three styles of architecture prevalent in the 1990s.
D) To persuade your audience that the death penalty is immoral.
E) The three styles of architecture that were prevalent in the 1990s are post-traditional, Euro-deco, and
continental.
Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition
Skill: Understand the Concepts
15) When using current media to generate a speech topic, beginning speakers are cautioned to
A) avoid using movies as a way to generate topic ideas.
B) avoid relying on just one source for the entire speech.
C) use only media from the last year.
D) avoid the use of social media.
E) remove source citations from the speech.
16) An effective specific purpose identifies
A) the references used, the main points, and the attention-getter.
B) the general purpose of the speech, the audience, and the exact topic to be covered.
C) the general purpose of the speech, the audience, and the call to action.
D) the audience, the internal preview, and the main points.
E) the introduction, the body, and the conclusion.
17) What is most clearly wrong with the following specific purpose: “Buying a pet”?
A) It is not limited to one idea.
B) It is too short.
C) It doesn’t identify if it’s a persuasive, informative, or entertaining speech.
D) It asks the audience to take action.
E) It is unimportant.
18)
When conducting research or looking for a topic on the Internet, speakers must take care to
A) delay the process until they are mentally ready.
B) ensure the subject area has not been covered by a previous speech.
C) eliminate all source material from for-profit organizations.
D) evaluate the credentials of the source.
E) always select the most current source available.
Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition
19) Of the following speech topics, which is most appropriate for a seven-minute informative classroom speech?
A) fads of the twentieth century
B) video games
C) pop culture fads in the entertainment industry
D) the three effects of video games on children
E) pop culture
20) Of the following speech topics, which is most appropriate for a seven-minute persuasive speech?
A) air pollution
B) the environment
C) environmental pollution
D) the top reason why carbon dioxide emissions should be reduced through policy
E) the importance of ecology
21) Amelia wants to collect data on her audience members’ values, attitudes, and beliefs. She could collect this
information through a
A) philosophical analysis.
B) financial analysis.
C) demographic analysis.
D) psychological analysis.
E) physiological analysis.
22) Effective specific purpose statements identify the topic to be covered, the audience, and
A) the credibility of the speaker.
B) the organizational pattern used to organize main points.
Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition
C) whether or not the speech is informative, persuasive, or entertaining.
D) how long the speech will last.
E) the occasion.
23) As a part of orientation, all university freshmen are required to attend a workshop on ethics in the classroom. In
this situation, the audience would be considered
A) demographically identical.
B) captive.
C) voluntary.
D) interested.
E) psychologically identical.
24) Dr. King is offering an optional teaching workshop for new faculty members at the university. The audience
in this situation would be considered
A) involuntary.
B) voluntary.
C) demographically identical.
D) captive.
E) psychologically identical.
25) Common methods of audience research include which of the following?
A) experiments
B) ethnographies
C) survey interviews
D) conversations with family members of the audience
E) content analyses of speech preferences
Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition
26) Developing a questionnaire is a difficult task, especially for beginners. According to your text, which of the
following is a guideline for constructing a useful questionnaire?
A) Keep the questionnaire as brief as possible.
B) Provide respondents enough responses to gather all possible answers.
C) Include more questions than you need to be sure that participants are responding diligently.
D) Distribute the questionnaire to all possible outlets.
E) Keep the instructions ambiguous, as it is important for participants to make sense of the questions for
themselves.
27) Demographic analysis is a useful tool for understanding and analyzing your potential speaking audience.
Which of the following is NOT typically a part of demographic analysis?
A) religion
B) group membership
C) ethnic background
D) attitudes
E) gender
28) You have grown up playing video games. In fact, you often joke with your friends that Nintendo did more to
raise you than your parents. Because of this “expertise,” you decide to give a speech on the history of
Nintendo for a persuasive speech assignment. Which of the following criteria for appropriateness is not met
by this proposed topic?
A) Does the topic merit the audience’s attention?
B) Can you make the topic understandable to everyone in attendance?
C) Is the topic of sufficient interest to you?
D) Will the audience see a relationship between you and the topic?
E) Will the topic meet the objectives of the assignment?
Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition
29) Tamika must find an appropriate topic for an informative speech assignment. She decides to make a list of
subjects she finds interesting, to see if this sparks an idea. This is an example of which technique for finding
a topic?
A) brainstorming
B) self-inventory
C) reviewing current media
D) engaging social media
E) conducting an Internet search
30) Which of the following parts of a speech is the most specific regarding its content?
A) specific purpose
B) topic
C) speech goal
D) thesis
E) general purpose
TRUE/FALSE
1) The trick to identifying a speech topic is to match your interests and qualifications, the interests and existing
knowledge of your audience, and the requirements of the situation.
2) According to the text, a common factor that emerges when talking with students who have succeeded in
selecting appropriate speech topics is that they start looking for a topic as soon as they receive the
assignment.
Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition
3) “To entertain” is an example of an appropriate thesis statement.
4) A speech to entertain should primarily enhance an audience’s knowledge and understanding of a topic.
5) The general purpose of a speech states its overall goal: to inform, to persuade or to entertain.
6) The collection and interpretation of characteristics of individuals, excluding values, attitudes, and beliefs, is
called a psychological analysis.
7) Brainstorming is a technique used to generate as many ideas as possible without being concerned about time.
8) With abstract topics it is especially important to narrow the focus.
Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition
Skill: Understand the Concepts
9) What distinguishes the three types of speeches is the function on which the speaker places the most
emphasis.
10) When a topic is controversial, speakers whose general purpose is to inform should take sides.
SHORT ANSWER
1) Describe how you can utilize social media as a starting point for selecting your topic.
2) Discuss why it is important to select a topic that interests you.
3) Briefly describe two concerns that beginning public speakers often express.
Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition
4) What is a self-inventory? How would you use a self-inventory to select a topic for your speech?
5) What are four guidelines for selecting an appropriate topic?
6) What are the three types of general speech purposes?
7) What must be included in an effective specific purpose?
8) Define and explain the term “audience analysis.”
Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition
9) What are at least two differences between demographic and psychological audience analysis?
10) Based on an analysis of an imaginary audience’s demographics, knowledge and attitudes, explain how you
would adapt a speech to best target those listeners. Give an example.
11) As part of a psychological analysis, what factors should you consider as you gather key audience
information?
12) What does a psychological analysis have to do with an audience analysis?
13) Describe a survey interview. What factors should you consider when using this type of interview?
Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition
14) Explain what a thesis statement is and provide an example.
15) Define general purpose and specific purpose.
16) What are two of the questions you should consider when trying to determine whether or not your topic
conveys an important thought to the audience?
17) Provide an example of an effective speech topic narrowed from the general topic area of “politics.”
Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition
18) What are the three key qualities of a speech to entertain?
19) Discuss how gender could be an important aspect of audience analysis. Describe how you would apply what
you have learned about gender to a speech.
20) What strategy should you use if your audience analysis tells you that they have little or no opinion about the
topic you are speaking on?
ESSAY
1) Distinguish between captive and voluntary audience members. Provide an example of each, and explain why
it is important for a speaker to recognize whether his or her audience is captive or voluntary.
Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition
2) Discuss the criteria for composing a specific purpose statement. Using the thesis statement, “Insomnia can be
caused by stress, diet, and pre-bedtime habits,” provide an appropriate specific purpose statement. Your
answer should demonstrate an understanding of the various guidelines discussed in the text.
3) Why is cultural or ethnic background an important demographic characteristic associated with audience
analysis? What could happen if a speaker does not consider the cultural or ethnic background of an audience?
4) Why is group membership an important demographic characteristic associated with audience analysis? What
groups do your classmates belong to? How can you tailor your speech to fit the groups your classmates are a
part of?
5) Discuss strategies you could use to gather information about your audience. For your upcoming speech,
which strategy do you think will be most useful?
Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition
Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition