Empathic writers
a. use more first-person pronouns than second-person pronouns in their messages.
b. try to give something to the receiver.
c. think about their needs before the receiver’s needs.
d. All answer choices reflect techniques used by empathic writers.
Answer:
Learning to compose effective sales and marketing messages benefits you because
a. most employees are expected to write sales and marketing messages.
b. techniques for sales writing can be applied in any persuasive communication.
c. sales campaigns are typically conducted by entry-level employees.
d. companies in today’s economy cannot afford to hire specialists to write sales and
marketing messages.
Answer:
Which of the following is the best advice when answering interview questions?
a. Focus your answers on your strengths, but reveal a weakness or two to show that you
are not perfect.
b. Use the interviewer’s name and title each time you answer a question to show respect.
c. To be concise, answer questions with a simple yes or no whenever possible.
d. Aim answers at the key characteristics needed, such as expertise, motivation, and a
pleasant personality.
Answer:
When you receive an assignment to write a report, you should begin the report-writing
process by
a. determining the appropriate format.
b. analyzing or determining the purpose.
c. beginning your research.
d. looking for someone else to write the report.
Answer:
Which of the following statements is most accurate?
a. Very few management problems are related to listening.
b. The average person remembers nearly three quarters of what he or she hears
following a 10-minute presentation.
c. We misinterpret, misunderstand, or change very little of what we hear.
d. Most people are not very good listeners.
Answer:
Another name for a complaint message is a claim message.
a. True
b. False
Answer:
Writers can use words and phrases such as on the other hand, as opposed to, and
conversely to show contrast in business messages.
a. True
b. False
Answer:
Rational appeals focus on making or saving money, increasing efficiency, and
a. soothing the egos of managers.
b. making good use of resources.
c. identifying status in the workplace or community.
d. enjoying sensory input.
Answer:
Which of the following statements about meetings is most accurate?
a. Because of e-mail and wireless devices, meetings are no longer needed in the
business world.
b. To increase employee productivity, meetings should never be held.
c. As businesses become more team-oriented, people are attending more meetings than
ever.
d. Only top-level business executives must attend meetings.
Answer:
You are in a meeting receiving your performance review and are surprised that your
supervisor has offered you many suggestions for improvement. How should you react
to the criticism?
a. Interrupt your supervisor frequently to comment on his or her suggestions so that you
don’t miss giving feedback on anything.
b. To avoid any type of confrontation with your supervisor, agree with all comments
made.
c. Try to deflect blame for anything negative said to others in your department.
d. Ask for clarification of comments when necessary.
Answer:
To respond effectively to behavioral questions, use the storytelling technique to relate a
success story about a recent educational or work situation or task.
a. True
b. False
Answer:
Businesses have embraced podcasts for audio and video messages because podcasts
a. do not require a live presence, yet offer a friendly human face.
b. can’t replace costlier live teleconferences but can replace most business travel.
c. provide up to 1,000 views per podcast, saving money over individual presentations.
d. broadcast interactive, non-repetitive information.
Answer:
Only large companies actively try to persuade consumers.
a. True
b. False
Answer:
In responding positively, you will want to
a. focus your message first on resale or on the promotion of other business products.
b. apply the same direct pattern used in making requests.
c. start with an explanation of the reasons the request is granted.
d. apply an indirect pattern to demonstrate respect for the recipient.
Answer:
All of the following are ways you can develop a personal brand except
a. preparing a brief speech that describes who you are and what problems your skills
can solve.
b. creating an individual tagline that separates you from other candidates.
c. distributing business cards whenever you have an opportunity.
d. creating an attractive résumé.
Answer:
All résumés should be submitted as Microsoft Word documents.
a. True
b. False
Answer:
Which of the following statements about the end of a meeting is most accurate?
a. A meeting should end only when participants have discussed all agenda items.
b. The leader should provide a summary of accomplishments and a review of action
items.
c. The leader should remind participants that they are responsible for taking their own
minutes.
d. Participants should pass their assigned tasks on to someone who did not attend.
Answer:
When responding to the question Tell me about yourself, focus on personal information
such as your hometown, family, and hobbies.
a. True
b. False
Answer:
Katherine must use headings in a report. What should she do to make sure that her
headings are effective?
a. Place first- and second-level headings in all capital letters.
b. Use a period after each stand-alone bolded heading.
c. End a page with a heading to entice her audience to read the report further.
d. Include at least one heading per report page.
Answer:
Reports that provide data or findings, analyses, and conclusions are
a. informational reports.
b. analytical reports.
c. summaries.
d. progress reports.
Answer:
In her presentation on improving employee morale, Jillian makes this statement: So far,
you’ve heard only about the problems we have with morale; let’s move to some
solutions. Jillian has employed the verbal signpost called
a. summarizing.
b. previewing.
c. switching directions.
d. revealing.
Answer:
Yer’s company has decided to let employees use instant messaging (IM) as an internal
communication tool, and she wants to make sure that she’s using it professionally. What
should she do?
a. Make sure she’s available via IM at all times so that her colleagues can always reach
her.
b. Include both professional and personal contacts on the same IM contact list for
efficiency.
c. Respect her receivers by using proper grammar, spelling, and proofreading in her
instant messages.
d. Create an imaginative IM name for herself such as “PrettySmart1.”
Answer:
Which of the following is a common trait of a business communicator from a
low-context culture?
a. Valuing group membership
b. Preferring indirect verbal interaction
c. Placing emphasis on written information
d. Relying on context and feeling
Answer:
You must write a sales message to prospective customers. What should you do in the
opening of your sales message?
a. Offer something valuable, promise a benefit to the reader, or use some other
technique to gain your reader’s attention.
b. Convince your reader of the superiority of the product or service being sold.
c. Motivate your reader to take action.
d. Promise an incentive for responding by a specific date.
Answer:
Which of the following is a talking heading?
a. IT Outsourcing
b. Savings
c. Cost Savings
d. Projected Cost Savings for IT Outsourcing
Answer:
The best way to judge the success of your communication is through feedback.
a. True
b. False
Answer:
According to researchers, most people listen at what level of proficiency?
a. 100 percent
b. 5 percent
c. 25-50 percent
d. 75 percent
Answer:
Primary data
a. result from reading what others have experienced or observed and recorded.
b. come from firsthand experience and observation.
c. are the only type of factual information that should be included in informal reports.
d. include printed materials found in libraries or through electronic resources.
Answer:
What statement about the use and meaning of color is most accurate?
a. Secondary ideas are generally best conveyed with bold colors such as blue, green,
and purple.
b. Colors can be used to arouse different responses or to symbolize concepts.
c. Effective multimedia presentations use light text on a light background.
d. The messages that colors convey are universal among all cultures.
Answer:
The first step in finding a job is writing a well-organized résumé.
a. True
b. False
Answer:
Because the presenter can create dynamic, colorful presentations that incorporate audio,
videos, images, animation, and hyperlinks, one of the most popular visual aids is
a. overhead transparencies.
b. flipcharts.
c. multimedia slides.
d. handouts.
Answer:
A paragraph is unified when it develops at least three ideas.
a. True
b. False
Answer:
The process of translating a message from its symbol form into meaning is called
a. feedback.
b. decoding.
c. encoding.
d. noise.
Answer: