A coworker states, “Please ensure that you submit all status reports two days before the
monthly departmental meeting.”
Which of the following paraphrases for the literal content of the given statement?
A) Are you concerned that people are turning in their reports late?
B) You sound frustrated about people waiting until the last minute to submit their status
reports.
C) You are saying that you’d like us to have our status reports in a couple of days before
the date of the monthly meeting.
D) So you don’t want us to hand in our reports earlier than that?
E) Are you concerned that there won’t be time for the supervisor to review the reports
before the meeting?
Answer:
A customer writes to you seeking free repairs for a laptop manufactured by your
company. From the customer’s letter it is clear that the modifications she made to the
computer void the warranty and leave her responsible for the repair costs.
Phrasing this bad news clearly ________.
A) is the best way to ensure that your message will be understood by the customer
B) runs the risk of confusing the customer
C) makes it more likely that the customer will misunderstand your message
D) is not recommended as it is more likely to anger the customer
E) is advised only if you are sure that the bad news will not upset the customer
Answer:
When someone asks you a question in a face-to-face or telephone conversation,
________.
A) you can organize your message exactly as you would when writing a response
B) never begin with a direct answer
C) never admit that you don’t have the answer immediately available
D) if your response is likely to disappoint, use the direct organization plan
E) if your response is not controversial, begin with details and lead up to the answer
Answer:
Which of the following is an environmental hearing distraction?
A) a car alarm being set off
B) a ringing sound in one’s ears after attending a loud concert
C) blocked ears due to a cold
D) inability to focus due to a migraine
E) tinnitus after hearing an explosion
Answer:
In the context of team decision making, persuasion ________.
A) means influencing your audience to agree with the decision you prefer
B) is at its best when it leads to groupthink
C) is counterproductive and should not be used
D) is key to reaching a collaborative decision
E) is inappropriate in team situations
Answer:
________ are messages that publicly notify an audience of information they need or
want to know.
A) Announcements
B) Confirmations
C) Goodwill messages
D) Condolences
E) Claims
Answer:
Which of the following terms best represents an interview that is conducted by
telephone or by computer and webcam?
A) traditional one-on-one interview
B) panel interview
C) group interview
D) action interview
E) virtual interview
Answer:
Brief messages, such as emails or short presentations at meetings, ________.
A) require elaborate outlines
B) require the use of a tree chart in order to be outlined properly
C) do not benefit from the outlining process
D) might only need a few bullet points or questions as their outlines
E) must follow a detailed traditional outline format
Answer:
In a traditional one-on-one interview, ________.
A) one goal of the interview is to establish that the applicant has a natural fit with the
organization and the interviewer
B) a search committee discusses the position with the job applicant
C) the interviewer is always the same recruiter who met the applicant at a career fair or
an on-campus interview
D) employers are able to assess the applicant’s collaborative skills
E) the applicant is assessed under work-related conditions
Answer:
The process of ________ a message involves interpreting its words and actions and
attaching meaning to them.
A) encoding
B) decoding
C) encrypting
D) channeling
E) blocking
Answer:
A customer has reported a problem to your company. Which of the following statements
is disputable in this case?
A) You should explain the reason behind the problem.
B) You should tell the customer how you will prevent this problem from reoccurring.
C) A good explanation of the problem can win consumer confidence.
D) An explanation that sounds like an excuse will result in a negative reaction.
E) It is necessary to apologize to the customer for the problem.
Answer:
Which of the following best articulates the desired outcome of this message?
A) to suggest the possibility of implementing a flex-time schedule in your office
B) to describe to your boss how your life would change with a flex-time schedule
C) to tell your boss how much your friend likes having a flex-time schedule
D) to improve employee productivity and job satisfaction by better enabling employees
to balance their work and personal lives
E) to have your boss agree to implement a more flexible working schedule for
employees
Answer:
________ benefitsare advantages that your audience directly receives from complying
with your request.
A) External
B) Peripheral
C) Superficial
D) Secondary
E) Internal
Answer:
Your younger brother wants to post his résumé on Monster. What advice should you
give him?
A) Never post your résumé online because there is no way to protect yourself from
identity theft.
B) Create a special online version of your résumé to protect against identity theft.
C) Provide your physical address in the résumé rather than a post-office box number.
D) Ensure that the cell phone number provided in the résumé is listed in a directory.
E) Reveal as much personal information as possible because that will help the recruiters
in evaluating your profile.
Answer:
When you conduct research on social media, you are responsible for documenting your
sources just as you are when using more traditional media.
Answer:
You work for Say Cheese!, an online digital photo developing service, that also sells
specialty photo products. You receive an email from a customer who entered a coupon
code when placing her recent order, but didn’t receive the 15% discount it promised. In
researching the claim, you find that the coupon was for orders with merchandise worth
$50 or more. The customer’s merchandise was worth only $47. But since she is a
customer who has ordered from Say Cheese! before, you decide to grant her claim to
receive the 15% discount on her order.
Which of the following is the best way to state this in your reply?
A) Although you did not meet the requirement of minimum order of $50, we are going
to give you the discount anyway.
B) Your merchandise total was not high enough to be eligible for this promotion, but we
will make an exception since you are a good customer.
C) Because you are a valued customer, we are happy to credit you 15% of your
merchandise total.
D) Even though you didn’t order enough to be eligible for this 15% discount, we will go
out of our way to give it to you anyway.
E) Because we want your business we will give you this discount even though your
merchandise total was below the minimum required for this offer.
Answer:
If you have thoroughly analyzed all the elements and carefully composed the message,
________.
A) evaluation is not recommended
B) evaluation can be very difficult
C) evaluation is a must before delivering
D) evaluation can decrease the persuasive quality
E) evaluation should be short and superficial
Answer:
Which of the following fallacies involves focusing on an irrelevant issue to draw
attention away from a central issue?
A) red herring
B) false dilemma
C) ad hominem attack
D) false analogy
E) false cause
Answer:
Mandy is conducting a survey and her primary goal is making sure that survey
participants actually respond but it is not possible for her to personally meet her
participants as they are all geographically dispersed. Which survey medium would be
best for Mandy?
A) mail surveys
B) web surveys
C) telephone surveys
D) email surveys
E) face-to-face survey
Answer:
The main challenge in writing a good thank-you note is ________.
A) including specific details about the act for which you are expressing gratitude
B) writing legibly so that your reader can understand the content of your message
C) coming up with a message generic enough that it could be used for anyone by just
changing names
D) writing it in the form of a bulleted list
E) keeping the details to a minimum so that your message isn’t too lengthy
Answer:
You need to send a persuasive message to a coworker and you want to receive the
feedback immediately. Under these circumstances, which of the following would be the
best medium for your message?
A) an email
B) an instant message
C) a phone call
D) a memo
E) a text message
Answer:
As you prepare to analyze the research question and topic, which of the following
would be your best first move?
A) considering whether there are options other than outsourcing this work
B) asking entry-level employees how they feel about doing these tasks
C) calling a few outsourcing service providers to get quotes from them
D) finding out whether any of your competitors outsource this kind of work
E) comparing the specific terms of a few different outsourcing service providers
Answer:
Which of the following is most likely to be included in the executive summary?
A) title of the proposal
B) the problem necessitating the proposal
C) name of the recipient of the proposal
D) name of the writer of the proposal
E) date the proposal was submitted
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 high school tennis coaches looking for potential players for the
tournament. In this letter, citing which benefit would likely have the LEAST impact on
convincing the coaches to help you recruit players?
A) This event will generate great publicity and goodwill for sponsors.
B) The tournament will put a spotlight on your high school’s tennis players.
C) The event will generate interest in tennis and attract young players to the game.
D) The event could attract more funding for high school tennis programs.
E) The event will raise a lot of money to renovate the community tennis courts.
Answer:
Shaking your head in disapproval after your coworker makes a discriminatory statement
is an example of ________.
A) feedback
B) an encoded message
C) a context
D) a channel
E) a barrier
Answer:
You need help on a project. So you approach a colleague and find him busily doing his
own work.
When you approach him to ask for help, ________.
A) begin by describing your project in great detail, so your coworker will know exactly
what he is getting into
B) you should expect that he is already prepared to listen
C) briefly describe what you want, so that he understands why you are communicating
D) do not address any possible objections that might make your coworker say no to
your request
E) you should preface your conversation by saying, “You probably don’t want to help
me but I’ll ask anyway.”
Answer:
On-campus interviews ________.
A) are always conducted by the same recruiters who represent companies at career fairs
B) are never conducted by actual hiring managers from companies
C) rarely use the traditional one-on-one format
D) are generally of a duration of 10 minutes or less
E) may only be available for students who are registered with the school career center
Answer:
Which of the following statements about revising a written communication is true?
A) The first draft will never include incomplete thoughts.
B) The first draft never contains awkward sentences.
C) Written communication provides the opportunity to revise your message as you are
communicating it based on immediate feedback you receive.
D) Computer editing tools such as spelling and grammar checkers will catch all the
problems in a written document.
E) By the time you get to the end of your first draft you may have discovered new ideas
about what to say.
Answer:
You need to email a coworker to ask for her assistance on a project. In the context of
this message, which of the following constitutes a refutation you could include in your
request, in anticipation of a possible objection?
A) I really need your help right now, as my department is short-staffed.
B) I won’t be able to complete my project if you don’t help me.
C) While this may sound time-consuming, I will only need one hour of your time.
D) If you decide to help me, then you will have to spend more time at work to complete
your own professional responsibilities.
E) I don’t think that I will be able to return the favor.
Answer:
Anya is creating a formal report on whether her company should expand into a new
product line.
When creating the title page for her report she should include all of the following
EXCEPT ________.
A) the title of her report
B) the purpose of her report
C) the name of the person or organization for whom the report was written
D) the author of the report
E) the submission date of report
Answer: