Interviews ________.
A) must take place between exactly two people
B) do not give the researcher the opportunity to delve deeply into the answers
C) limit participants to predefined responses
D) can be done by email
E) are less time consuming than surveys
Answer:
In which of the following cases is the direct organization method most appropriate?
A) asking your boss for an extension on an assignment
B) recommending a controversial change in departmental procedure to your boss
C) requesting a day off during your company’s busy season
D) explaining why your team failed to catch a problem
E) sending a status report indicating that you are on schedule for an assignment
Answer:
When accepting a job offer, ________.
A) if you accept the offer by telephone, you don’t have to deal with any paperwork
B) you may need to sign the bottom of the offer letter to indicate acceptance
C) you always need to write your own formal acceptance letter, no matter which
medium you have used to indicate your acceptance
D) you don’t need to put anything in writing unless you want to negotiate the offer
E) companies never expect you to initiate a response
Answer:
Good business communicators understand that ________.
A) their message must influence anyone who might come across it
B) their message must be able to reach their targeted audience
C) being a good writer is the only way to reach your audience
D) being a good listener is not necessary to understand audience concerns
E) being a good reader is vital, as it is the only way to gain insights into audience
concerns
Answer:
You’ve expressed the bad news and advised your customer of the various alternatives to
the print she originally ordered. Which of the following is the best option to include in
your closing?
A) These things happen and I am confident that you will understand.
B) Please let me know which, if any, of the alternative options you would like to
pursue.
C) Again, I am so very sorry that I cannot obtain the original print you requested.
D) So remember, it was my supplier that caused this difficulty, not me.
E) Tell me ASAP which other print I should personalize for you.
Answer:
This miscommunication might have been avoided if ________.
A) you had been more specific about the type of help you wanted from your classmate
B) your classmate had angrily deleted your email instead of replying to you
C) you had used the same wording, but sent your request as a letter instead of an email
D) you had been more vague in your message about what you wanted
E) your classmate went directly to your professor with his suspicions
Answer:
Due to a family emergency, you will be unable to fulfill your contract to cater for an
upcoming party for your client. The event is several weeks away, but you know that the
client will not be able to reschedule it. When you contact your client to share this news
you should ________.
A) not include an apology, since this emergency was beyond your control
B) expect them to understand, as everyone deals with family issues from time to time
C) inform them that you will be happy to cater the event if they reschedule it
D) consider first communicating that you might have a problem fulfilling your contract,
and then waiting a few days before actually canceling to try and soften the blow
E) tell the client that you will contact some other catering companies you work with to
see if they can take over the job
Answer:
Megan is an English major, but she’s not sure if she’d like to work in academia or in a
commercial field like publishing. She is trying to decide if she would enjoy a creative
job or a more procedural job. She is trying to ________.
A) identify her preferences and narrow down her focus
B) learn about the working conditions in various jobs in her broad field
C) be flexible about job locations
D) test drive a company and career path
E) enhance her résumé
Answer:
In terms of body language, during a presentation you should ________.
A) avoid making eye contact with anybody in the audience
B) keep your hands in your pockets
C) select just a couple of people in the front of the audience and maintain eye contact
with these people only
D) stand in one position and avoid moving
E) smile
Answer:
In this situation ________.
A) the direct organization method is the best, since Jenna needs to be persuaded
B) the direct organization method is the best, since Jenna will have a positive reaction
C) the indirect organization method is the best, since Jenna will have a neutral reaction
D) the indirect organization method is the best, since Jenna will not be expecting this
bad news
E) it doesn’t matter which organization method is used, as either is appropriate for any
situation
Answer:
Being persuasive ________.
A) is rarely required in your daily life
B) involves understanding why your audience may resist your ideas
C) means tricking your audience into doing what you want
D) is very unethical and in some situations may even be illegal
E) means being influenced by others to agree with their point of view or request
Answer:
Putting quotation marks around the search phrase you enter in a search engine is most
likely to ________.
A) yield fewer results, which will be more relevant to your search phrase
B) yield fewer results, which will be less relevant to your search phrase
C) yield more results, which will be more relevant to your search phrase
D) yield more results, which will be less relevant to your search phrase
E) have no effect whatsoever on the number or relevancy of results
Answer:
You are sending a proposal in response to an RFP from a local elementary school that is
seeking a provider for an after-school enrichment program promoting physical fitness.
Including which of the following in your summary would likely establish the most
confidence in your audience that you listened to them, understand what they are trying
to accomplish, and have an appropriate solution?
A) Our instructors are top notch and have much experience putting high school students
on the road to better nutrition and physical fitness.
B) Our program focuses primarily on creative expression, which also has some physical
fitness benefits.
C) The key to our program’s success is getting kids to exercise early in the day, which
keeps them energized and focused for the rest of their day’s work.
D) Our program is great for high school kids and will really get the kids moving!
E) Our program is designed for grades K-4 and has greatly improved fitness at the
many schools where it is offered at the end of the day.
Answer:
Whiteboards are recommended when you want to ________.
A) encourage the audience to collaborate and create content
B) encourage the audience to listen and look carefully
C) communicate complex material that people need to look at carefully
D) provide a demonstration
E) present lengthy content that cannot easily be seen in slide form
Answer:
Ethan’s supervisor reminds him that the monthly staff meeting would be held in a few
days, and asks him to arrange for the usual beverages and refreshments. Ethan decides
to do something different for a change and orders from a new caterer. Just before the
meeting begins Ethan’s supervisor notices this, and angrily yells at Ethan in front of
everyone. Their usual supplier guarantees that the food items are created in a nut-free
environment, a big concern for the company as one of the employees is severely
allergic to peanuts. Ethan is embarrassed and frustrated because no one ever told him
about this issue.
This conflict arises from ________.
A) competing goals
B) lack of information
C) differences of opinion
D) ego issues
E) relational differences
Answer:
Peter is offered an interview with Primatech. The interviewer tells Peter that Primatech
is primarily interested in evaluating candidates’ collaborative skills. In which type of
interview format will Peter most likely participate?
A) group interview
B) telephone interview
C) panel interview
D) one-on-one interview
E) career fair interview
Answer:
During a question-and-answer session, while answering a question, ________.
A) avoid summarizing the question
B) avoid being defensive or dismissive
C) look only at the person who asked the question
D) avoid breaking the question into parts even if it is complex
E) if you don’t know the answer, make up the answer
Answer:
If you are preparing a report for readers who are not native English speakers, which of
the following would be the best to include?
A) We won’t be able to cut any corners on the permit process, as the local authorities are
real sticklers for detail.
B) If we don’t dot all our i’s and cross all our t’s on the permit applications, we’ll be up
to our necks in red tape.
C) We’ve got to make sure we’ve got all our ducks in a row permit-wise, so the local
authorities don’t give us a hard time.
D) We will need to follow the permit process carefully, as the local authorities are very
detail-oriented.
E) If we don’t watch our step on the permit process, we could be in for a rude
awakening when it is denied.
Answer:
Which of the following terms best represents the set of circumstances in which you are
communicating?
A) frontage
B) power distance
C) context
D) semblance
E) facade
Answer:
________ are an opportunity for you to “test drive” a company and career path.
A) Internships
B) Volunteering jobs
C) Interviews
D) Job banks
E) Career centers
Answer:
If someone asks a question that you cannot answer, ________.
A) never say “I don’t know”
B) dismiss the question saying that you will answer it later
C) don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know”
D) maintain your credibility by trying to bluff your way around the question
E) dismiss the question as irrelevant to avoid having to admit that you don’t know
Answer:
In the context of your professional brand, which of the following terms best represents
something that you have to offer that other applicants might not?
A) point of difference
B) unique selling proposition
C) point of parity
D) elevator pitch
E) value proposition
Answer:
Which of the following is NOT true of progress reports?
A) They are considered informational reports.
B) They update your status on a long-term project.
C) They indicate any potential problems or issues on a project.
D) They are short, routine business reports.
E) They are a type of analytical report.
Answer:
A sample is random when ________.
A) members are selected based on the ease with which they can participate in the
survey
B) every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected
C) members are restricted to a specific subset of the population
D) some members of the population are more likely to be selected based on specific
criteria
E) some members of the population are less likely to be selected based on specific
criteria
Answer:
A document’s format ________.
A) is only important to design professionals
B) will compensate fully for poor content
C) cannot undermine your credibility
D) varies wildly according to the choice of medium, with no consistent design
principles applying to all media
E) can communicate professionalism to your audience
Answer:
Which of the following is an appropriate question for employers to ask job applicants?
A) What is your religion?
B) What is your age?
C) Are you married?
D) Do you have children?
E) Do you have a physical condition that would prevent you from fulfilling the
requirements of the job?
Answer:
Susanna wants to make a demonstration during her presentation and she also wants to
share some content with her audience which is not available in the electronic form. In
this situation, which of the following would be the most appropriate medium?
A) podcasts
B) props
C) document cameras
D) video
E) flipcharts
Answer:
Which of the following statements regarding “I” language is true?
A) “I” language focuses on how you respond to or feel about the other person’s
behavior.
B) “I” language is accusatory and assigns blame.
C) “I” language is egotistical, and discourages dialogue with the other person.
D) You shouldn’t start a sentence with “I,” as this will make your audience think that
you are egotistical.
E) “I” language always discourages the audience.
Answer:
Which of the following is a routine announcement?
A) notifying customers about a change in policy
B) persuading a client to accept a new deadline
C) acknowledging that you have a meeting with your boss
D) notifying a customer that you will grant his claim for a refund
E) expressing concern when a coworker has experienced personal misfortune
Answer:
In a persuasive message, showing your own emotional commitment to the idea that you
want your audience to commit to ________.
A) tends to undermine its persuasive impact
B) will make your message more persuasive
C) is inappropriate and unprofessional
D) is not recommended in most cases
E) makes your audience think that you have a selfish motive behind suggesting this idea
Answer:
Like other bad-news communications, delivering bad news to a vendor requires
balancing ________.
A) anger with frustration
B) a clear statement of the bad news with positive statements of goodwill
C) a hint of the bad news with a clear statement of the consequences of not improving
performance
D) a clear statement of goodwill with a buffer for the bad news
E) your responsibility for the bad news with the audience’s responsibility for the bad
news
Answer:
The National Association of Colleges and Employers reports that employers convert
________ of eligible interns into full-time employees.
A) barely 5 percent
B) less than 10 percent
C) almost 25 percent
D) more than 40 percent
E) less than 30 percent
Answer:
Which of the following is an example of primary research?
A) interpreting the results of a published survey of consumers
B) interviewing consumers about what appeals to them in a product
C) searching a database for articles about consumer spending patterns
D) using Google to find research on trends in consumer behavior
E) watching a documentary about how the recession has affected consumer spending
Answer:
An advertisement for an SUV that emphasized the model’s high crash test ratings and
rollover test results would be appealing to the audience’s desire for ________.
A) self-esteem
B) love
C) safety
D) belonging
E) self-actualization
Answer:
A company sends one of its junior executives to meet with the CEO of another
company. The CEO is insulted that someone of equal rank was not sent. Which of the
following is most likely true?
A) At the junior executive’s company, people are granted respect based on their position
alone.
B) The junior executive’s company is very formal and hierarchical.
C) The CEO’s company believes in social equality.
D) The CEO’s company has a relaxed attitude about title and status.
E) The CEO’s company has a clear separation between superiors and subordinates.
Answer: