Business Communication Chapter 14 Homework Even before giving your presentation, you can get things off to a good start by greeting audience members as you enter the room

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Solution and Answer Guide

Guffey/Loewy, Business Communication: Process & Product, 10e, 2022, 9780357129234;

Chapter 14: Business Presentations

Table of Contents

Zooming In—Critical Thinking Answers …………………………………………………………………………… 1

Jean-luc Doumont: A Globe-Trotting Engineer Teaches Speaking Skills ……………………………………………. 1

Zooming In—Your Turn Solution ……………………………………………………………………………………. 2

Applying Your Skills at an NGO …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 2

Ethics Check Answers …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 2

The Hazards of Memorization ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 2

When is a Social Lie a Lie? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 3

Critical Thinking Answers ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3

Activities Solutions …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 6

Zooming In—Critical Thinking Answers

Jean-luc Doumont: A Globe-Trotting Engineer Teaches Speaking Skills

• Why is being audience-centric and focusing on the purpose crucial to successful

business presentations?

Solution

Audiences are focused on what’s in it for them, so presentations that focus on audience

• Why does Jean-luc Doumont say, “Do your slides right… or don’t do them at all”?

Solution

When delivering a presentation, you want the audience to focus on you, not your slides.

Poorly designed slides that are difficult to read or that distract the audience are

• How can you build rapport with your audience?

Solution

Even before giving your presentation, you can get things off to a good start by greeting

audience members as you enter the room. When you are presenting, make eye contact with

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Zooming In—Your Turn Solution

Applying Your Skills at an NGO

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Ethics Check Answers

The Hazards of Memorization

• In one of your courses, you are witnessing a PowerPoint presentation, during which it

becomes obvious that the speaker has completely memorized her talk. However, she

stumbles badly a few times, struggling to remember her lines. Worse yet, you perceive

her accent as nearly impenetrable. How should the instructor and the class handle the

evaluation of such a presentation?

Solution

This sensitive subject should lead to a lively discussion. Perhaps not surprisingly, students

struggling with English hate public speaking even more than many U.S.-born students do. It

When is a Social Lie a Lie?

• Obviously, you wouldn’t want to tell callers that your colleague went to the restroom

or that your boss is responding to e-mail from a golf course in Pebble Beach. But what

about people who, for instance, hide behind voice mail and want you to lie about it?

When is it acceptable to tell white lies on the phone to maintain confidentiality and

decorum, and when is lying for others wrong?

Solution

Answers will vary because students may perceive the exact boundaries of propriety and

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Critical Thinking Answers

1. Why should even veteran speakers plan their presentations when addressing a

business audience instead of just “winging it”?

Solution

Very few people can speak off the cuff competently. Without a plan, it’s very easy to ramble

instead of focusing on just a few principal ideas. To avoid overwhelming their listeners,

2. Corporate communication consultant Dianna Booher believes that enthusiasm is

infectious and “boredom is contagious.” What does this mean for you as a presenter?

Solution

If you want to stay in control during the talk, build credibility, and engage the audience, you

must try to move naturally, use visual aids effectively, and radiate enthusiasm. According to

3. Why do many communication consultants encourage businesspeople to move beyond

bullet points? What do they recommend instead, and why?

Solution

PowerPoint is omnipresent in business. Millions of poorly designed and poorly delivered

presentations have tarnished PowerPoint’s reputation as an effective communication tool.

Just try a Google search for Death by PowerPoint, and you will see millions of hits. Moreover,

4. Name at least five effective techniques for reducing stage fright.

Solution

• Breathe deeply.

• Convert your fear.

• Know your topic and come prepared.

5. Etiquette expert Jacqueline Whitmore offers this advice to aspiring speakers: “A long,

dry presentation of facts is sure to be a yawn-inducer, so consider your presentation

as a conversation with your audience…. Ask questions, incorporate teambuilding

exercise, and ask for volunteers to come up to the front to help you demonstrate a

point. … Ask the group to stand, clap, or raise their hands, and give you frequent

feedback. And remember, a little humor goes a long way.” Consider what you’ve

learned in this chapter. Is this good advice for all audiences?

Solution

Knowing techniques to keep an audience interested is important. Etiquette consultant

Jacqueline Whitmore may have a point about keeping a talk lively and engaging by allowing

6. Deborah Grayson Riegel, a communication skills expert, has this to say about team

presentations: “I’ve found that group presentations tend to fall into the trap of

creating a feeling of shared accountability (‘we’re all in this together’) that translates

into a reality of no accountability (‘I’m sure someone else will test that the A/V set up

is working’). This means that core elements of presentation planning, design and

delivery often fall through the cracks, resulting in a mishmash of uncoordinated—and

sometimes competing—objectives, repeated or missing information, wildly different

styles in graphics, and the likelihood that the presentation will run significantly

under- or over-time. Add to that the feelings of frustration and resentment that

people working in teams often feel about carrying more weight than their partners,

and a team presentation is often a recipe for disaster.” Can you relate? How can you

ensure successful team presentations?

Solution

professional polished collaboration:

1. Who is accountable for this presentation overall (the person who gets to make final

decisions and have veto power)?

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Activities Solutions

14.1 Studying Iconic Speeches

Solution

14.2 Audience Analysis First

Solution

Be prepared to set your parameters for defining recent issue and also for limiting or not

limiting the resources students can use. Verbalizing why the topic will appeal to their

audience and how it relates to their needs will shift your students’ focus from themselves to

where it needs to be, on their audience.

14.3 Seeking Inspiration and Charisma: Hiring a Speaker

Solution

In teams or individually, students will have the opportunity to practice some of the insights

they gained in this chapter—for instance, how to analyze an audience and identify desirable

14.4 Following a Business Tycoon on Twitter

Solution

Students who don’t have a Twitter account must create a profile to be able to follow a

businessperson of their choice. Twitter is still not as popular among typical student groups

as Facebook, Instagram, and other social media sites. However, signing up is easy, and

14.5 Speaking Anxiety Be Banned!

Solution

This activity could help students come to grips with their fears. After completing this

14.6 Will You Get by Without Speaking in Your Field? Not Likely

Solution

You may want students to discuss this activity in groups of three or four and then have one

14.7 Outlining an Oral Presentation

Solution

This outline should be the basis for each oral presentation. You might want to ask students

to label each part of their presentation with the parts represented on the outline.

14.8 Life After Death by PowerPoint and Beyond

Solution

Electrical engineer turned “corporate comedian” Don McMillan is famous for his humorous

critique of PowerPoint misdeeds and other office life. He is a sought-after speaker and

presenter on a variety of business topics. The don’ts in the revised version “Life After Death

14.9 Examining a TED Talk

Solution

Answers will vary. TED talks are consistent in their quality because the organizers invite only

the most accomplished personalities from the fields of technology, entertainment, and

14.10 Showcasing Your Job

Solution

Students should present a three– to five-minute talk about the duties of a current or a past

14.11 Preparing the Perfect Elevator Pitch

Solution

This activity works best if you reveal the particulars of the topic at the last minute and the

14.12 Practicing Phone Skills by Role-Playing

Solution

Students’ telephone communication skills are often their weakest. This activity will give them

14.13 Professional Phone and Voice Mail Manners

Solution

This activity will help students practice leaving a professional voice mail message. Typical

14.14 Texting Like a Pro

Solution

Other typical scenarios could be used—for example, students could request callback on an

14.15 Selecting Business Presentation Topics

Solution

Students could first be required to submit an outline of their chosen topic. Then they would