Brynn hasn’t created a report deck before, but thinks it would be an effective medium
for her report. Her science-based analytical report will need to include a number of
diagrams and photographs, and she is expected to present it at a meeting. Which of the
following is true?
A) This is a poor choice, since as a novice she will find report decks difficult to work
with.
B) This is a poor choice, since it will be more costly and time-consuming than drafting
two separate documents, one for written report and one for presentation.
C) This is a good choice, since it will allow her to easily integrate diagrams and
photographs into her report.
D) This is a good choice, since most of her audience will see a presentation in this
medium for the first time and will be impressed by her technical knowledge.
E) This is a poor choice, since the report decks cannot be used for analytical reports.
Answer:
According to businesspeople in the United States, which of the following is most likely
to be the biggest benefit to stress in a business proposal?
A) gain in status
B) relationship with people
C) benefit for the society
D) profit
E) gain in power
Answer:
Which of the following is a question that you need to answer to successfully analyze
your audience?
A) What is the main concern of the presentation?
B) Who are the key players?
C) Will you be standing and presenting the slides?
D) How quickly can you complete the presentation?
E) Can you embed video within your presentation?
Answer:
Which of the following statements would be best to include in a message?
A) Should the need arise, I will be more than happy to answer any queries you might
have.
B) Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions that might occur.
C) Please contact me if you have any questions.
D) And of course, I will be available to answer any questions that arise.
E) It will be my pleasure to enlighten you on any topics requiring clarification.
Answer:
Which of the following is one of the categories of active listening skills?
A) describing
B) evaluating
C) implying
D) interrupting
E) conveying
Answer:
Which of the following statements is true regarding starting a presentation with a
question?
A) It is the least risky way of starting the presentation.
B) The question asked at the beginning of the presentation must always be a genuine
question that you’d actually like your audience to answer.
C) Asking a question is not a recommended way to establish rapport with your
audience.
D) The question immediately involves your audience.
E) The question asked at the beginning of the presentation should never be a rhetorical
question.
Answer:
Miranda is speaking to a group about their company’s new “green” initiative, designed
to increase environmental responsibility and reduce waste. After she has finished her
remarks, which of the following would be the best thing to say for Miranda to keep the
conversation moving forward?
A) So that’s all I have to say about the new initiative.
B) See, I told you this wouldn’t take much time!
C) Does anyone have any questions about how this program will work?
D) Why don’t we break for a while and consider all that has been said.
E) I’m sure you all agree that this is a great program!
Answer:
Proposals that respond to RFPs are ________ competitive.
A) always
B) never
C) sometimes
D) most likely
E) rarely
Answer:
Which of the following terms refers to the individual person or people for whom a
message is intended?
A) boundary spanner
B) audience
C) whistleblower
D) idea champion
E) change agent
Answer:
Which of the following points is most likely to be an example of a quality not related to
work experience but a generally applicable workplace quality that employers value?
A) learned how to program Java applets in a computer class
B) designed and maintained websites for previous employer
C) proficient in Italian
D) gained leadership skills as chair of the youth committee at local community center
E) self-taught piano player
Answer:
In the context of the proposal, which of the following terms refers to the items you are
agreeing to provide to the audience?
A) references
B) appendices
C) competitive advantages
D) deliverables
E) schemes
Answer:
Which of the following is true about the impression you present by bringing printouts
of the company website, or a prepared list of questions to ask the interviewer?
A) It makes you look like a professional who is ready to work.
B) It is evidence of the fact that you are not prepared.
C) It makes you look like you’re showing off your knowledge.
D) It makes you look too eager.
E) It shows you will be inactive during in the interview.
Answer:
Which of the following is considered part of analyzing your setting?
A) What do the key players care about?
B) What are the needs and interests of your audience?
C) How far do you need to move your audience before they act?
D) Will you be using your own computer to present slides ?
E) Who are the key players?
Answer:
One of the four goals of delivering bad news is to ________.
A) state the news clearly, yet sensitively
B) protect the audience’s self-esteem by only hinting at the news
C) offend your audience if necessary to get the message across
D) gloss over the facts that may cause legal complications
E) budget additional time to re-explain the message
Answer:
Which of the following statements includes redundant language?
A) Never at any time have I seen cooperation like this.
B) From my experience I can say that this teamwork was unprecedented.
C) My opinion is that our team did an outstanding job.
D) It was a pleasant surprise that our unit performed so well.
E) I am impressed by how well our group performed on this project.
Answer:
Which of the following statements includes a hedge?
A) Um, well, we could, ah, merge the departments.
B) I may be wrong, but I think that merging the departments might be a good idea.
C) Merging the departments is definitely the way to go.
D) Pardon me for interrupting, but we should merge the departments.
E) We can merge the departments, can’t we?
Answer:
Which of the following statements focuses on the benefits to the writer?
A) Your assistance on this project will mean that you and your team will get a new
computer system.
B) Your help in this matter would be much appreciated you’d be getting me out of a real
tough spot!
C) Please submit your forms by Friday so that your new equipment will be ready for
you next week.
D) If you can open three new accounts this month you will be eligible for a financial
bonus.
E) If you agree to participate in this volunteer program you will receive an additional
day off.
Answer:
Which of the following terms is most likely to refer to a situation in which an
application is not saved on your computer but is hosted by the software company and is
available on the Internet, often for a monthly fee?
A) parallel computing
B) peer-to-peer computing
C) mainframe computing
D) software as a service
E) grid computing
Answer:
Email recommendations written using direct and indirect organization have notable
differences, but they also contain many similar elements. Which of the following is a
similarity?
A) Both position the recommendation in the same place.
B) Both omit mention of potential objections.
C) Both specifically identify the proposal in the subject line.
D) Both begin with information putting the situation in context.
E) Both conclude with a call to action.
Answer:
A manufacturing company realizes that one of its products has a serious defect and
wants to quickly disseminate this news to the public. Which of the following would be
an appropriate way to accomplish this?
A) websites
B) memos
C) telephone
D) letter
E) group meeting
Answer:
Using a strong and positive tone of voice ________.
A) will undermine your persuasiveness
B) will come across as arrogant, and is not recommended
C) will make your audience receptive to your ideas
D) will cause you to sound hesitant
E) will lead the audience to believe that you doubt what you are saying
Answer:
Which of the following is an example of an affective conflict?
A) two employees having different ideas about how to reach a sales goal
B) two coworkers disagreeing about the best way to market a new product
C) two colleagues becoming personally annoyed at each other after a contentious
meeting
D) two managers with conflicting opinions on how best to trim the company’s budget
E) two interns with differing ideas on how to complete a task
Answer:
Which of the following statements is most likely to be true regarding accusatory
language?
A) It focuses on your perception rather than assigning blame.
B) It encourages dialogue with the other person.
C) It helps you paraphrase your understanding.
D) It focuses negative attention on the person rather than on the issue.
E) It is least likely to trigger emotional response.
Answer:
________ computing involves storing your files on the Internet so that they are
available to share with collaborators and to use on all your devices, including
computers, tablets, and smartphones.
A) Grid
B) Mainframe
C) Cloud
D) Utility
E) Peer-to-peer
Answer:
When asked about your greatest weakness, you should ________.
A) never offer a real weakness
B) frame a strength to sound like a weakness
C) suggest that you work too hard or that you’re a perfectionist
D) mention a real weakness and how you are trying to improve it
E) decline answering the question
Answer:
Which of the following is true of a proposal?
A) It is simple to prepare.
B) It need not provide details on how to implement the proposal.
C) It requires you to develop a persuasive appeal.
D) It must meet your personal needs irrespective of whether it meets your audience’s
need or not.
E) It should not address costs.
Answer:
Routine business messages ________.
A) require you to persuade your audience
B) necessitate thinking about how to prevent your audience from being upset
C) can be very lengthy and quite complicated
D) are never challenging to write
E) require that you be clear, complete, and respectful
Answer:
Why is it inappropriate to use the indirect approach in a safety message?
A) The audience may mistake the message for a routine communication and decide not
to read it.
B) It is most important to maintain the company’s positive image and retain the
customer’s goodwill.
C) This approach will not be sufficient to soften the blow of the bad news.
D) This approach puts the audience’s welfare ahead of the company’s best interests.
E) It fails to adequately prepare the audience for the bad news that will follow.
Answer:
Typically, ________ after an interview you can inquire about the status of the position
and communicate your continued interest.
A) three days
B) a week
C) a month
D) two weeks
E) one day
Answer:
Anne includes detailed text of her speech for the presentation on the slides, so that she
can use it as her ‘speaking script.” This is ________.
A) a good idea, as this will give her the fluency required for the presentation
B) a good idea, since it will help her audience to focus on her presentation
C) a good idea, as white spaces on slides are undesirable
D) a poor idea, because this layout will let the audience know what Anne is going to say
even before she begins her presentation
E) a poor idea, since the audience can absorb more if the slides contain less information
Answer:
In the context of on-campus interview, the first-round interviews ________.
A) are always conducted at the company location
B) typically take the form of panel interviews rather than traditional one-on-one
interviews
C) on an average range from five to ten minutes
D) aim to narrow the candidate pool to a small set of competitive applicants for the next
round
E) are usually conducted by telephone
Answer:
Which of the following is a way in which an effective team leader motivates people to
commit to their team?
A) reminding team members that if they meet their annual goal they will be eligible for
year-end bonuses
B) not acknowledging efforts of team members unless they display extraordinary
performances
C) trying to convince an unhappy team member that she is wrong to feel excluded from
the decision-making process
D) overlooking a team member’s frustration about issues on the latest project
E) being strict about meeting schedules and not allowing team members to fulfill other
obligations such as their responsibilities at home.
Answer: