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.
Which of the following is NOT required for you to do?
A) Convince the school that you have understood what they are looking for in the
enrichment program.
B) Give the audience confidence that your program helps accomplish the goals the
school is trying to achieve.
C) Show the school that your program meets their requirements.
D) Grab the school’s attention and convince them that an enrichment program would be
a good idea.
E) Build your credibility along with that of your program in your audience’s eyes.
Answer:
Which of the following questions is a part of the analyzing stage of the ACE process for
delivering bad news ?
A) Have I avoided legal complication?
B) Is the bad news stated clearly and sensitively?
C) Should I include an apology?
D) Should I begin with the bad news or lead up to it?
E) How can I clearly phrase the bad news?
Answer:
Which of the following is most likely to be used by a company for making
announcement to its employees?
A) company website
B) television
C) radio
D) newspaper
E) social networking site
Answer:
You should organize your findings by ________.
A) the dates on which the sources of information were last updated
B) the research questions
C) popularity of the source of information
D) the chronological order in which you found them
E) alphabetical order
Answer:
Emma and Jessica work together and both want to increase sales at their company.
Emma argues this is best achieved by investing in research and development so they
can create the best possible products. Jessica believes that increasing their sales force is
the way to go.
Which of the following most accurately describes this situation?
A) Emma and Jessica are motivated by the same goal but have a difference of opinion
about how to achieve it.
B) Emma and Jessica are motivated by the same goal and have the same opinion about
how to achieve it.
C) Emma and Jessica are motivated by different goals and have a difference of opinion
about how to achieve them.
D) Emma and Jessica are motivated by different goals but have the same opinion about
how to achieve them.
E) Emma and Jessica are involved in an affective conflict.
Answer:
A histograph is also known as a ________.
A) line chart
B) horizontal bar chart
C) histogram
D) frequency polygon
E) paired bar chart
Answer:
The more specific your objective, ________.
A) the more difficult it will be to create an effective presentation
B) the more time it will take to create an effective presentation
C) the longer your presentation will need to be to be effective
D) the easier it will be to create an effective presentation
E) the less persuasive your presentation will be
Answer:
The first draft of a message focuses on ________.
A) analyzing your audience
B) getting your thoughts on paper
C) evaluating your word choices
D) perfecting your grammar
E) creating a purpose statement
Answer:
Which of the following statements would be best to include in a letter turning down
someone who applied for a job?
A) We are sorry to inform you that your credentials were not as impressive as those of
the other candidates who applied for the position.
B) We think that you are talented, but feel the position would best be filled by a
younger, more vibrant candidate.
C) Unfortunately, we were more impressed by the other candidates.
D) We don’t think that you are the right fit for this position at this point in time.
E) After much consideration, we have offered the position to another candidate.
Answer:
Veronica is happy that she made it to the second round of interviews, but is anxious
about its format. She has never done a telephone interview and is nervous about how it
will go.
During the conversation, Veronica should ________.
A) speak more quickly than normal to appear on the ball and enthusiastic
B) feel free to use fillers such as “like” or “um”
C) let the caller finish a question before jumping to answer it
D) be slightly less formal than she normally is
E) tap her fingers or a pencil to relax herself
Answer:
________ listening is a learned skill that requires you to focus on the speaker, make
sense of the information that he or she presents, and, when possible, provide feedback
about the information to ensure you understand it correctly.
A) Adaptive
B) Active
C) Associative
D) Integrative
E) Constructive
Answer:
Which of the following is a barrier to listening comprehension?
A) many people speaking simultaneously
B) loud volume of the speaker
C) unfamiliar vocabulary
D) ringing telephones
E) blocked ears due to a head cold
Answer:
You want to convince your boss to implement a procedural change in your department.
Which of the following best constitutes a concession in the context of such a message?
A) The changeover may cause some minor initial delays, but in the long run, this shift
will increase the speed of transactions by approximately 50 percent.
B) This changeover will require some additional training, and I know that we don’t have
the budget for that right now.
C) I can’t understand why you think this change might involve a high price tag, because
it can actually be accomplished for almost no expense whatsoever.
D) Implementing this change would not require the system to be shut down during
business hours.
E) This change will be beneficial for the company in terms of profit.
Answer:
The ________ is the number that appears most frequently in a distribution.
A) median
B) mode
C) mean
D) range
E) total count
Answer:
Consider the message below:
Our department is short-staffed right now, as a number of employees were selected to
participate in the current training program. This has coincided with a flood of
paperwork that we must complete by the end of the week to fulfill the new compliance
requirements. So without some divine intervention, our team won’t be able to make it to
this month’s regularly scheduled meeting. What is the biggest problem with this
message?
A) It leads with details instead of the request.
B) It inappropriately uses indirect organization.
C) It fails to include its main idea at the beginning of the message.
D) It lacks clarity regarding the purpose of the message.
E) It is delivering bad news without the proper build-up.
Answer:
You are participating in a panel interview with five interviewers. Which of the
following would convey professionalism in this setting?
A) slouching in your seat with a blank expression on your face
B) making and maintaining eye contact with just your questioner when answering a
question
C) admitting that you don’t understand an acronym that was used and asking for
clarification
D) making a joke about a political scandal you read about in the paper that morning
E) continuing a discussion an interviewer initiated complaining about the infrastructure
at the company
Answer:
Starting a presentation with a(n) ________ can be risky.
A) fact
B) anecdote
C) quotation
D) question
E) statistic
Answer:
Which of the following is recommended as part of the revision process?
A) Change your message into passive voice.
B) Eliminate abstract wording.
C) Replace simple words with more impressive vocabulary.
D) Add slang to your message to make it more lively.
E) Be careful not to use a conversational style.
Answer:
By sending an unsolicited sales proposal, you aim to ________.
A) understand the needs of your audience
B) generate interest in your business proposal and to encourage further discussions
C) acquire information from your audience about which products and services they are
using at present
D) acquire information from your audience about expected future trends in the market
E) acquire details about your competitor’s proposals from your audience
Answer:
When customers read negative information about a product, ________.
A) 90 percent do not believe in it
B) only 10 percent consider it to be genuine
C) there is a fifty-fifty chance that it would be taken seriously
D) 40 percent ignore the information
E) 80 percent will choose not to purchase that product
Answer:
When preparing a competitive proposal in response to an RFP, ________ for judging.
A) price is never the most important criterion
B) your ability to meet very specific requirements is always the top priority
C) your ability to deliver your product or service quickly will always be viewed as the
most important criteria
D) you won’t know what criteria will be used
E) the RFP will outline the important criteria used
Answer:
Benita organizes her presentation by grouping the content under key sections, such as
four reasons, five steps, or three options. Which of the following methods of organizing
the content is being used by Benita?
A) component parts
B) chronological order
C) conceptual order
D) questions/answers
E) categorization
Answer:
Which of the following terms best represents a response intended to prove an objection
is wrong?
A) concession
B) aggregation
C) argumentation
D) refutation
E) accession
Answer:
In which of the following situations can good business communication skills have a
positive impact on your life?
A) negotiating a better deal on a car
B) driving through busy streets
C) keeping your personal valuables safe
D) calculating your monthly expenses
E) managing your family’s grocery
Answer:
The business casual dress code ________.
A) is considered appropriate for all interviewing situations
B) involves three-piece suits for men and dresses for women
C) is typically used in those companies that work in the field of financial or legal
management
D) was historically the norm but is not used anymore
E) includes options for women like slacks, skirts, dresses, blouses and sweaters
Answer:
A 100% column chart ________.
A) shows the pattern of distribution for a continuous series of data
B) compares parts of multiple items
C) compares multiple items, according to a single characteristic
D) shows changes over time for a relatively small number of discrete time periods
E) shows changes over time to emphasize a trend
Answer:
Consider the message below:
Our department is short-staffed right now, as a number of employees were selected to
participate in the current training program. This has coincided with a flood of
paperwork that we must complete by the end of the week to fulfill the new compliance
requirements. So without some divine intervention, our team won’t be able to make it to
this month’s regularly scheduled meeting.
This message ________.
A) uses indirect organization
B) gets to the point quickly and lets the audience know why they are reading the
message
C) is a claim request
D) places details after the statement of request
E) is organized directly
Answer:
Which of the following statements is true about small companies?
A) Small companies do not devote substantial space on their websites to building
credibility.
B) Small companies provide testimonials from other clients.
C) Small companies keep the credentials and experience of the employees secret.
D) Small companies hide affiliations with well-known organizations.
E) Small companies avoid efforts to build credibility since they are so costly and
ineffective.
Answer:
Report decks ________.
A) are never used to disseminate information internally
B) are poorly equipped for science-based reports
C) are not a viable medium for progress reports
D) can only be used for reporting analyses to external clients
E) can be used for any type of report.
Answer:
Exaggerating on your résumé ________.
A) is permitted to a given level
B) is acceptable if the information is trivial
C) is acceptable if the information pertains to your previous job but not current job
D) can’t hurt you after you have made it through the screening process
E) can be perceived as lying by potential employers
Answer:
Samantha is in the process of searching a job and has a few interviews lined up during
this month. She has already finished her interview at NebulaTech and she is preparing
for the remaining interviews. Before she appears for her next interview, Samantha
receives the job offer from NebulaTech but she is not very sure about whether she
should accept the offer because NebulaTech is not her first choice. She wants to wait for
results from other companies. In such a situation, Samantha should ________.
A) indicate to the company that she would like to be able to weigh all her options and
has not yet completed all of her interviews.
B) decline the offer in writing and avoid ending the message with a positive and
friendly statement because it is a bad news message
C) accept it now and then later send an email saying that she changed her mind
D) decline the offer in writing and in the message criticize all the negative points in this
job due to which she is declining the offer
E) inform the recruiter at NebulaTech that this job offer is not her first choice and that
she would like to wait for the result of her interview at her dream company
Answer:
Padma, an avid home cook, has no culinary training or experience in professional
kitchens. After dining at her house one evening, her friend Tom is so impressed by her
cooking that he gives Padma the opportunity to work in the restaurant he manages.
Padma is assisting with the preparation work for that evening’s dinner service. The chef
asks her if the “mise en place” for the meat station is ready. Padma answers no; she was
asked to assemble and prepare ingredients, not to do mise en place. The chef storms off,
angrily shouting for someone else to get it done. Padma mentions this to a coworker,
who informs her that the French term “mise en place” translates to ‘set in place,” and
signifies the set up of ingredients needed for a particular dish or area of the kitchen.
Now Padma has to tell the angry chef that the job he just started someone else on is
duplicating the preparation work she has already done. This is an example of a
________.
A) psychological barrier
B) technological barrier
C) language barrier
D) physiological barrier
E) mixed message
Answer:
John is nervous about an upcoming presentation, and asks you for advice. Which of the
following would NOT be a good last minute tip to give to John?
A) When you get to the meeting space, greet your audience and try to get used to
talking with them.
B) If you’re feeling stressed, use relaxation techniques to focus your mind.
C) If you choose a technology that requires low light, start speaking with the lights off
so as not to have to turn them down later and unsettle your audience.
D) If possible, start your presentation before projecting any visuals, to connect with
your audience before moving onto your slides.
E) Remove keys or loose change or anything else from your pockets that can jingle
when you move and distract yourself and/or your audience.
Answer: