Because they contain more textual information than structured slides, free-form slides
require less preparation and practice on the part of the speaker.
Answer:
As you conclude your presentation, it is vital to emphasize whatever you want your
listeners to do or think.
Answer:
Many employers interview an applicant multiple times before deciding whether to offer
a person a job.
Answer:
You can build credibility by letting your audience know that you believe in yourself and
your message.
Answer:
When selecting fonts and type styles for slides, avoid decorative typefaces except for
limited, special purposes.
Answer:
Disgruntled customers can turn a company’s hashtags into bashtags if they want to use
Twitter to ridicule or criticize that company.
Answer:
The best place to put a visual is right next to or immediately following the paragraph it
illustrates.
Answer:
Preparing visual content for smartphones does not differ from preparing visual content
for a laptop or a desktop computer.
Answer:
When resolving problems, successful organizations usually avoid the need for feedback.
Answer:
After you have completed the first draft of your business message, the next step is to
make a final, quick pass through it to check for typos and spelling errors.
Answer:
Proposals are classified in two ways: internal versus external, and solicited versus
unsolicited.
Answer:
The best background for your slides is one with a colorful, interesting pattern that will
grab the audience’s attention.
Answer:
One way to avoid being accused of defamation is to stick to the facts when
communicating with customers.
Answer:
When you’re composing a business report, only include the information that supports
your line of reasoning.
Answer:
Plagiarism is only a problem in the classroom. In the business environment, it’s just
another term for information sharing.
Answer:
Most persuasive business messages involve requests for action.
Answer:
Spelling, punctuation, and grammar don’t matter in email; getting your message out
quickly should be your only concern.
Answer:
With complex messages, it is a good idea to set aside a first draft for a day or two
before beginning the revision process.
Answer:
In an effective team, one leader takes charge and makes all decisions with little to no
input from other team members.
Answer:
In line charts showing trends, the vertical axis indicates time or quantity, and the
horizontal axis indicates amount.
Answer:
A metacrawler enables you to use multiple search engines simultaneously.
Answer:
When you get a vague request for information, the best way to handle it is to provide all
the information you can and allow the audience to ferret out what’s useful to them.
Answer:
If you’re responding to an advertised job opening, your application letter only needs to
rehash the information from your résumé.
Answer:
It is always preferable for interviews to take place in person rather than to conduct them
via email.
Answer:
If you want to use a mobile device to take notes during a meeting, it’s a good idea to let
the meeting’s leader know ahead of time.
Answer:
You can deemphasize bad news by minimizing the space or time devoted to it.
Answer:
To emphasize a dependent clause, it is better to place it at the end of a sentence rather
than in the middle.
Answer:
You’ve just finished a job interview, and you know that you’re not going to get the job.
So, don’t worry about sending a follow-up message to the interviewer.
Answer:
To resolve conflicts successfully, it is helpful to get opponents to fight together against
an “outside force” (such as increased competition) instead of against each other.
Answer:
One advantage of blogging for business is that it enables you to update content quickly
and easily.
Answer:
If you sense a lack of consensus at the end of your presentation, acknowledge it and be
ready to suggest a method for resolving the differences.
Answer:
A synopsis is generally more comprehensive than an executive summary.
Answer:
In order to set a formal tone in a report, include first-person and second-person
pronouns in your writing.
Answer:
If you get off to a bad start in a job interview, you can usually turn things around with a
strong finish during the closing stage.
Answer:
Including transitional phrases such as “As you can see” in a business report is helpful to
readers as they seek to understand the document.
Answer:
Clichés are a valuable tool in business writing, as readers find such words and phrases
to be comfortable and familiar.
Answer:
One way to be tactful when giving your reasons for bad news is to
A) explain why the decision is good for you and your company.
B) highlight, if possible, how your negative decision benefits the recipient.
C) explain that the decision is based on company policy.
D) apologize for having to be the bearer of bad news.
Answer:
You can narrow or broaden an Internet search by using ________ such as AND, OR,
and NOT.
A) Boolean operators
B) Hyborian markers
C) Metadata curators
D) Cyber segues
Answer:
Conventional marketing or sales messages begin with an effort to gain the audience’s
A) attention.
B) money.
C) interest.
D) cooperation.
Answer:
Within 48 hours, people tend to forget approximately ________ percent of what was
said in a 10-minute conversation.
A) 1
B) 10
C) 50
D) 90
Answer:
When using slide transitions, you should
A) limit them to text; they are not appropriate for graphics.
B) vary the direction, sometimes going from top to bottom and sometimes going from
left to right.
C) reveal information in a way that helps your audience understand your message.
D) do none of the above slide transitions have no place in business presentations.
Answer:
When you’re writing a business plan, you must include a ________ section to explain
the purpose of your business and what you hope to accomplish.
A) mission and objectives
B) design and development
C) products and services
D) financial projections and requirements
Answer:
Flip charts are great for creating ________ during brainstorming sessions.
A) “linear slide decks”
B) “modular modality”
C) ‘structured understanding”
D) “group memory”
Answer:
When you’re writing a routine reply to a positive message, your readers will generally
be ________ what you have to say, so you can use the ________ in your reply.
A) interested in; direct approach
B) resistant to; indirect approach
C) disinterested in; direct approach
D) in tune with; indirect approach
Answer:
A colleague of yours has just published an e-book titled, Ten Tips for Success. She plans
to promote the book via social networking. What advice can you offer to her about
promotional efforts via social media?
A) She should use brand acceleration to engage with opinion leaders.
B) She should use a low-key, indirect approach when promoting her book.
C) She should promote her book aggressively on each social media platform.
D) She should alter her social media presence, according to the network she’s using at
the time.
Answer:
A(n) ________ title on a graphic simply identifies the topic.
A) descriptive
B) informative
C) illustrative
D) prescriptive
Answer:
In a negative message, the explanation section should
A) distract readers with current events.
B) apologize for any inconvenience the message may cause.
C) lead readers to your conclusion before you state it.
D) establish common ground with the reader.
Answer:
The most effective and easiest mode of speech delivery in nearly all situations is
A) memorization.
B) reading from a prepared script.
C) speaking from an outline or notes.
D) impromptu speaking.
Answer:
Despite your numerous emails and voicemail messages, a normally dependable vendor
has not responded to your important question. Which of the following would be a
sensible next step?
A) Consider sending a printed message.
B) Broadcast “high-priority” or “urgent” emails at ten-minute intervals.
C) Use social media to vent your frustrations with the vendor.
D) Bombard the vendor with text messages until he responds.
Answer:
________ is a variation on blogging in which messages are sharply restricted to specific
character counts.
A) Podcasting
B) Microblogging
C) Crowdsourcing
D) Web syndication
Answer:
Project managers use ________ to track progress toward completing a project.
A) radial charts
B) Gantt charts
C) progress placards
D) routing paradigms
Answer:
The most common file format for uploading résumés directly to websites such as
Monster.com is
A) WordPerfect.
B) PDF.
C) Microsoft Word.
D) Microsoft Publisher.
Answer:
“Insurance premiums have increased, and cost-of-living raises have not kept up” is a
A) simple sentence.
B) compound sentence.
C) complex sentence.
D) compound-complex sentence.
Answer:
If you receive an offer of employment, your ability to negotiate salary and benefits will
depend on
A) the company’s compensation policies.
B) the strength of the job market.
C) the demand for your skills.
D) all of the above.
Answer:
Intercultural communication can challenge supervisors in all of the following ways
except
A) connecting on an interpersonal level with diverse employees.
B) providing motivation to diverse employees.
C) getting a limited range of views and ideas from diverse employees.
D) fostering cooperation and harmony among diverse employees.
Answer:
An analogy lets you
A) reason from one specific piece of evidence to another specific piece of evidence.
B) reason from one specific piece of evidence to a general conclusion.
C) reason from a generalization to a specific conclusion.
D) do all of the above.
Answer:
Which one of the following is NOT an element of a work plan in the body of an
unsolicited proposal?
A) An explanation of the steps you’ll take, their timing, and the methods or resources
you’ll use
B) Persuasive material to convince readers that a problem or an opportunity exists
C) Information about when work will start, how it will be monitored, and when it will
end
D) A description of how you’ll accomplish what must be done
Answer:
Suppose that you work in the returns-and-exchanges department at a big-box retailer. In
the normal course of refusing a customer’s request for an adjustment, you become
concerned about possible defamation charges. What should you do?
A) Stress why the customer is at fault.
B) Suggest that the customer do business elsewhere.
C) Consult your company’s legal advisors.
D) Speak your mind bluntly.
Answer:
A résumé with a ________ will serve you well for most business opportunities.
A) classic, conservative design
B) graphically intense design
C) recursive, nonlinear design
D) laid-back, informal design
Answer:
Which of the following is NOT a common organizational format for analytical reports?
A) Focusing on conclusions
B) Focusing on recommendations
C) Focusing on information
D) Focusing on logical argument
Answer:
As you create and refine your messages, evaluate your writing at all of the following
levels except
A) strong words.
B) effective sentences.
C) coherent paragraphs.
D) multimedia enhancements.
Answer:
A segmented or stacked bar chart
A) shows how individual components contribute to a total number.
B) shows the correlation between two items.
C) compares quantities that require different intervals.
D) identifies positive and negative values.
Answer:
Consider sending ________ if you haven’t heard from an employer after an interview
either by the promised date or within two weeks.
A) a message of inquiry
B) the URL to your personal blog
C) an invitation to like your Facebook page
D) a request for a time extension
Answer:
Xenophobia is the fear of
A) walking across bridges.
B) working in unfamiliar environments.
C) strangers and foreigners.
D) changing viewpoints or operating systems.
Answer:
A good way to test the thoroughness of your business message is to check it for
A) a main idea.
B) a purpose.
C) the who, what, when, where, why, and how.
D) accuracy.
Answer:
What is the tense of the verb in this sentence? “We had given Tim the money a week
before he arrived.”
A) Present
B) Past
C) Future
D) Past perfect
Answer:
The quality of paper is measured by
A) length and width.
B) weight and cotton content.
C) color and texture.
D) style of letterhead and corporate logo.
Answer:
When you’re choosing the best way to distribute a business message, be sure to weigh
the convenience offered by electronic communication against
A) barriers of time and geography.
B) security and privacy concerns.
C) nonverbal cues and implications.
D) none of the above.
Answer:
A(n) ________ includes items such as your name, title, company, and contact
information at the end of your email messages.
A) epigram
B) email signature
C) subject line
D) salutary close
Answer:
Briefly describe at least three strategies for writing effective multicultural messages.
Answer:
You have been asked to help a company find ways to reduce the amount it spends on
employee health and dental benefits. Write a purpose statement for the report you will
produce.
Answer:
Describe five characteristics of effective business messages.
Answer:
What are the four tasks involved in planning business messages?
Answer:
What is “quality of hire,” and how do companies use it?
Answer:
When is it a good idea to use the direct approach for persuasive messages?
Answer:
Describe seven strategies for writing readable content for slides.
Answer:
Delivering online presentations can be challenging. For example, small video images
can make it hard to determine whether audience members are bored or confused. Given
such challenges, what can you do to promote successful online presentations?
Answer:
When you’re using a search engine to find information on the Internet, what illusion
should you be aware of?
Answer:
List at least three benefits of effective listening in business.
Answer:
What six stages should you go through in preparing an effective outline for a
presentation?
Answer:
How can career counseling aid your search for employment?
Answer:
How does the termtopical organization pertain to informational reports?
Answer:
What should you keep in mind when you’re deciding what to include in a message of
condolence?
Answer:
In researching a proposal to expand your division, you find evidence that does not
support your line of reasoning. Should you include it in your report? Why or why not?
Answer:
When your AIDA message uses an indirect approach and is delivered by email, what
are two goals to keep in mind as you write the subject line?
Answer:
Give an example of one way to arouse audience attention at the beginning of a
presentation on your company’s new long-term disability insurance.
Answer: