When answering requests and a potential sale is involved, one important goal is to
A) leave your audience with a good impression of you and your firm.
B) provide negative information about any possible competitors.
C) use hard sell techniques to pressure the reader into making the purchase.
D) explain the flaws in competitors’ products.
E) include a deadline to encourage more frequent sales.
For most interviews, asking your own questions is
A) necessary only if you are interviewing for a management position.
B) risky and a bad idea unless you are certain the interview is going well.
C) just as important as answering the employer’s questions effectively.
D) usually viewed as a sign of arrogance—after all, the employer is in charge.
E) an indication you have not done any research on the organization.
When emailing your rsum to a prospective employer and you have a specific
reference/job number, include that number in the ________ of the email message.
A) subject line
B) introduction
C) closing section
D) signature block
What can you do to show an audience how they will benefit from your message?
A) Offer compelling arguments and recommendations
B) Clarify expectations and responsibilities
C) Present information in an efficient manner
D) Provide practical information
E) Give vague impressions
You would not need to cite a source if you have
A) used a direct quotation of under 250 words from a book titled Modern Economics.
B) used a table from the 1985 Farmers’ Almanac.
C) described, in your own words, a plan for organizing production lines, which
appeared in a professional journal.
D) provided general knowledge about your topic.
E) paraphrased the outcome of experiment results discussed by the American Medical
Association.
Which of the following is a type of interview that allows a moderator to work through a
series of discussion questions with a group?
A) Focus group
B) Cultural sampling
C) Observations
D) Experiments
E) Adaptive surveys
What is the safest assumption to make about the potential reach of your social media
messages?
A) The message could be seen by people outside your target audience
B) At least 25 percent of your target readers will see it
C) Only current or past customers are likely to see it
D) The real audience is at least 10 times bigger than your target audience
E) The real audience is only a fraction of the size of your target audience
Which of the following is one way good communicators can eliminate the use of
potentially biased language?
A) Only use biased language when identifying stereotypes
B) Avoid biased language only when it indicates prejudice
C) Use bias language to reinforce the “you” attitude
D) Correct one area of bias at a time
E) Change biased language to neutral language
Best practices during the production stage of a business video do NOT include
A) keeping your camera still.
B) capturing B-roll footage.
C) framing each shot carefully.
D) using special effects on your camera.
When writing an RFP, which type of report are you writing?
A) Reports based on logical appeal
B) Persuasive message
C) Analytical reports
D) Informational reports
E) Problem-solving reports
What is the primary task of communication in high-context cultures?
A) Exchanging information
B) Increased verbal communication
C) Focusing on the decision-making process
D) Building relationships
E) Logic and progress
Condolence messages should
A) focus on your own sense of loss.
B) avoid referring to the deceased.
C) be short, simple, and sincere.
D) always be sent via electronic media.
E) focus on the future.
When responding to a request for adjustment when a third party is at fault, the best
approach is to
A) refuse the claim and suggest that the customer sue the third party.
B) refuse the claim but forward the paperwork to the third party.
C) avoid placing blame and focus on the solution.
D) advise the customer never to do business with that third party again.
E) ignore the claim.
Why should an applicant rejection letter avoid implying that the application will be
reviewed at a later date?
A) To avoid legal complaints
B) To minimize hope in the applicant
C) To limit the applicant pool for future positions
D) To make the letter as short and direct as possible
E) To maintain a polite and passive tone
When should the direct approach be used if responding to a request for information or
action?
A) When you want to include resale information
B) When you need to deny a request
C) When follow-up will be needed
D) When you want the reader to feel favorably about doing business with you
E) When the expected answer is yes, or otherwise straightforward
If you have difficult or complex information to share, how can you help the audience
understand and accept your message?
A) Use ethical information
B) Use simple terms to explain the subject
C) Clearly state your expectations of the audience
D) Offer compelling evidence
E) Show the audience how they will benefit
Which of the following can be used to strengthen your persuasive argument in a
proposal?
A) Generalized information
B) Several alternatives the audience can choose from
C) A demonstration of your knowledge of the recipient’s challenges or opportunities
D) An indication why your competitors are not qualified
E) Relating the audience’s products and services to your needs
If your readers will want to know what they ought to do in a given situation, then your
report should focus on
A) the conclusions.
B) improving the writing process.
C) the recommendations.
D) verifying sources of information.
E) establishing your credentials
Which section of a report helps the reader understand the context of the report by tying
it to a business problem or an assignment?
A) Conclusion
B) Recommendations
C) Close
D) Body
E) Introduction
As businesses become more global, the workforce increasingly consists of employees
with ________ national, religious, and ethnic backgrounds.
A) similar
B) identical
C) diverse
D) triangulated
According to the concept of media richness, the richness of a medium does NOT
depend on its ability to
A) facilitate feedback.
B) establish a personal focus.
C) handle multiple information cues simultaneously.
D) convey a sense of affluence and exclusivity.
Studies show that visuals can improve learning by up to ________ percent.
A) 50
B) 100
C) 200
D) 400
E) 500
What method of holding the audience’s attention should be used to keep the audience
interested in concepts that affect them personally?
A) Clear, vivid language
B) Anticipate questions
C) Relate the subject to the audience’s needs
D) Ask for opinions or questions
E) Explain the relationship between your idea and familiar ideas
Which of the following is an advantage of sending a rsum as a PDF attachment?
A) Applicant tracking software can be run directly on the file
B) Pictures and video links are easy to incorporate
C) The file automatically converts to a plain-text file
D) The formatting of the rsum is preserved
E) The rsum can easily be transferred to a social media site
All of the following EXCEPT ________ will help you write effective messages for
mobile device users.
A) prioritizing information
B) writing shorter, more focused messages
C) using a linear organization
D) including longer paragraphs
If you are targeting an audience with diverse information needs and levels of interest in
your topic, how should you focus your message?
A) Write a separate message for each subgroup
B) Format your message in a table with one column of information for each subgroup
C) Estimate the average level of audience knowledge and structure your message
around that
D) Target your message at the key decision makers while incorporating the needs of
other groups as much as possible
E) Provide a little bit of information for every segment of the audience
Which of the following is a good example of business etiquette in a social situation?
A) Don’t look guests from other cultures in the eye
B) Only shake hands when someone else extends their hand first
C) Finishing a text message while introducing yourself to someone
D) Briefly describe your role in the company when you introduce yourself
E) A personal comment that includes mild flattery
What does it mean for the purpose of a blog to “have legs”?
A) The purpose is rich enough that it can supply content ideas for an extended period of
time
B) It is mobile
C) It is built around specific audience events
D) It covers whatever is most important to the company
E) It covers whatever is most important to the chosen audience
The two most common primary research methods in the social sciences are
A) not appropriate for test marketing.
B) experiments and observations.
C) surveys and interviews.
D) test panels.
Possible uses of online monitoring tools include all of the following EXCEPT
A) subscribing to newsfeeds from blogs and websites.
B) following people on Twitter and other microblogs.
C) entering key terms into general-purpose search engines.
D) setting up alerts on search engines and online databases.
Which of the following can be used to tell a data-driven story visually?
A) Diagrams
B) Photographs
C) Drawings
D) Infographics
E) Animation
What should be considered when seeking to understand the nature of ethics, values, and
laws of those of other cultures?
A) Primary resources and principal products
B) How people view scheduled appointments
C) Generally accepted working hours
D) The idea that politeness is more important than factual honesty
E) Phrases, facial expressions, or hand gestures that might be considered rude
Which of the following can create a message that is formal, businesslike, and
unemotional?
A) Use colorful, descriptive language
B) Use humor when possible
C) Add similes to aid explanation
D) Avoid using a journalistic writing style
E) Eliminate words such as “you” and “I”
Project managers use ________ to track progress toward completing a project.
A) radial charts
B) Gantt charts
C) progress placards
D) routing paradigms
E) infographics
Describe at least two advantages of using color in business presentations.
Discuss questions that should be thought through when determining if negative
information should be shared in an indirect or direct format.
What is professionalism? Why is communication important to professionalism?
You’ve been asked to prepare a report on whether your company should consider other
health insurance providers. List four informal techniques for gathering information to
include in your report.
Explain how inappropriate use of email at work can lead to legal problems.
What steps can you take to improve your intercultural conversation skills, both as a
speaker and as a listener?
Discuss ethical considerations when paraphrasing, quoting, and summarizing the work
of others.
Briefly explain the nature and importance of the final phase in the communication
process.
What does it mean to “package your proposal attractively”? Why is it important to do
so?
How do unsolicited proposals differ from solicited proposals?
How can marketers make sales and marketing messages truthful and nondeceptive?
How should you handle salary discussions and negotiations during the interview
process?
Discuss the difference between flowcharts and organization charts.
How can career counseling aid your search for employment?
Identify and discuss the seven areas of social behavior that vary among cultures.
How can you determine the best font size for the text in an electronic presentation?
An effective communicator knows how to select the best combination of media and
channels to reach his or her target audience. Identify the six basic media-channel
combinations from which a communicator can choose.
Briefly explain how the Internet and social media have changed the nature of the news
release.
Discuss techniques to help get the audience interested in the presentation.
List the three major categories of common routine requests.