Multiple Choice Questions (Students are to indicate the best answer for each
question by circling the correct letter.)
49. When your textbook describes public speaking as a form of empowerment, it means that public speaking is
a. a way to manipulate people.
* b. a way to make a difference in something we care about.
c. a way to make everyone see things through our frame of reference.
d. a way to demonstrate how clever we are.
e. a way to support ethnocentrism.
50. To say that public speaking is a way to make a difference about something we care about is to recognize that public speaking is
* a. a form of empowerment.
b. a skill similar to conversation.
c. an art more than a science.
d. all of the above.
e. b and c only.
51. As your textbook explains, many of the skills used in public speaking are the same as those used in everyday conversation. These skills include
a. telling a story for maximum impact.
b. tailoring your message to your audience.
c. organizing your thoughts logically.
* d. all of the above.
e. a and c only.
52. How much time does the average adult spend in conversation?
a. about 50 percent of waking hours
b. about 10 percent of waking hours
c. about 20 percent of waking hours
* d. about 30 percent of waking hours
e. about 40 percent of waking hours
53. Many of the skills used in public speaking are the same as those used in everyday conversation. These skills include
a. organizing your thoughts logically.
b. tailoring your message to your audience.
c. adapting to listener feedback.
* d. all of the above.
e. b and c only.
54. When you experience stage fright, your body is producing extra , a hormone that is released into the bloodstream in response to physical or mental stress.
* a. adrenaline
b. serotonin
c. potassium
d. glauconite
e. cortisone
55. According to your textbook, rather than trying to eliminate every trace of stage fright, you should aim at transforming it into
a. general anxiety.
b. visualized adrenaline.
c. professional stage fright.
* d. positive nervousness.
e. confident apprehension.
56. Which of the following strategies is least likely to help you deal with nervousness in your speeches?
a. thinking positively
* b. concentrating on your stage fright
c. working especially hard on your introduction
d. making eye contact with members of your audience
e. using visual aids
57. Which of the following does your textbook recommend as a way to deal with stage fright?
a. Acquire speaking experience.
b. Turn negative thoughts into positive ones.
c. Don’t expect perfection.
* d. all of the above.
e. a and b only.
58. Heather was in the midst of an excellent speech on campus history when she made a minor mistake by giving the wrong date for the opening of a campus building. She suddenly stopped speaking and said, “Oh, I messed up.” She then finished her speech, but all she could think about afterward was her mistake. What is the major piece of advice from your textbook that Heather needs to be reminded about?
* a. There is no such thing as a perfect speech.
b. You should work especially hard on your introduction.
c. Audiences usually can’t tell how nervous a speaker is.
d. You should take slow, deep breaths before you speak.
e. It is natural for public speakers to be nervous.
59. Which of the following does your textbook recommend as a way to deal with nervousness in your speeches?
a. Concentrate on thinking about your stage fright.
b. Work especially hard on your conclusion.
c. Avoid making eye contact with your audience.
d. Try to generate extra adrenaline as you speak.
* e. Think of your speech as an act of communication.
60. Research has shown that the anxiety level of most speakers drops off significantly
a. before they rise to speak.
b. as soon as they begin to speak.
* c. when they are 30 to 60 seconds into the speech.
d. after they reach the middle of the speech.
e. none of the above.
61. One way to build confidence as a speaker is to create a vivid mental blueprint in which you see yourself succeeding in your speech. According to your textbook, this process is called
a. representation.
b. imagistic practice.
c. anticipatory rehearsal.
d. foreshadowing.
* e. visualization.
62. Which of the following does your textbook recommend as a way to deal with nervousness in your speeches?
a. Visualize the worst things that could happen.
* b. Turn negative thoughts into positive thoughts.
c. Avoid making direct eye contact with the audience.
d. Stay up late the night before to finish preparing.
e. Generate extra adrenaline as you speak.
63. Which of the following does your textbook recommend as a way of dealing with nervousness in your speeches?
a. Remember that your nervousness is not usually visible to your audience.
b. Concentrate on communicating with the audience rather than on your nerves.
c. As you rehearse, visualize yourself giving a successful speech.
* d. all of the above
e. b and c only
64. Which of the following does your textbook recommend as a way to deal with nervousness in your speeches?
a. Tell your audience how nervous you are.
b. Avoid making eye contact with the audience.
c. Focus on achieving perfection in your speech.
* d. Visualize yourself giving a successful speech.
e. Memorize your conclusion word for word.
65. According to your textbook, when you employ the power of visualization as a method of controlling stage fright, you should
a. decrease the time necessary for preparing your speech.
b. keep your mental pictures from becoming too vivid.
* c. focus on the positive aspects of your speech.
d. all of the above.
e. a and b only.
66. Dealing with such matters as the logical relationships among ideas, the soundness of evidence, and the differences between fact and opinion are all part of what your textbook calls
a. deduction.
* b. critical thinking.
c. rational communication.
d. oral deliberation.
e. induction.
67. As you listen to a speech about campus crime, you relate the speaker’s ideas to your own knowledge, goals, and experience. According to your textbook, you are filtering the speech through your own
a. psychological screen.
b. cognitive field.
* c. frame of reference.
d. social perspective.
e. personal vision.
68. Because every person has a unique _____________________ based on his or her own knowledge, experience, and values, the meaning of a message can never be exactly the same to a listener as to a speaker.
* a. frame of reference.
b. personal screen
c. feedback mechanism
d. attitudinal core
e. psychological field
69. Which of the following aspects of public speaking is least likely to help strengthen your skills as a critical thinker?
a. researching your speech
b. outlining and organizing your speech
c. testing the logic of your arguments
* d. practicing the delivery of your speech
e. assessing the validity of your evidence
70. Everything a speaker says is filtered through a listener’s
* a. frame of reference.
b. credibility.
c. feedback.
d. personal screen.
e. psychological field.
71. According to your textbook, the knowledge, experience, goals, values, and attitudes through which each listener filters a message is called the listener’s
a. personal screen.
b. sphere of values.
c. attitudinal core.
* d. frame of reference.
e. psychological field.
72. As you present your speech, you notice that many of your listeners have interested looks on their faces and are nodding their heads in agreement with your ideas. According to your textbook, these reactions by your listeners are called
a. interference.
b. cognitive cues.
* c. feedback.
d. audience cues.
e. indicators.
73. According to your textbook, a listener anxious about an upcoming exam, worried about a recent argument with a friend, or distracted by cold air in the classroom would be experiencing
* a. interference.
b. situational cues.
c. communication apprehension.
d. psychological dissonance.
e. feedback.
74. Concern by a listener about an upcoming job interview, the lack of air conditioning, or a toothache are all examples of in the speech communication process.
a. feedback
b. avoidance
c. blockage
* d. interference
e. divergence
75. Recognizing that the audience for his graduation speech would be packed into a non-air-conditioned gymnasium during the hottest week of the year, Kane decided to keep his speech at the low end of his 10-to-15-minute time limit. In making this decision, Kane was adapting to which element of the speech communication process?
a. location
b. feedback
c. message
d. channel
* e. situation
76. A ringing cell phone or an audience member browsing the Web on her laptop during a speech are examples of which element in the speech communication process?
a. channel
b. message
c. feedback
* d. interference
e. confusion
77. Whatever a speaker communicates to someone else is termed the
a. channel.
b. code.
c. feedback.
* d. message.
e. source.
78. What, according to your textbook, is the term for anything that impedes the communication of a message?
a. divergence
b. blockage
c. intrusion
d. avoidance
* e. interference
79. Someone coughing in the audience or walking in late during a presentation are examples of what element in the speech communication process?
a. channel
b. message
c. feedback
* d. interference
e. disturbance
80. The means by which a message is communicated is termed the
* a. channel.
b. stimulus.
c. occasion.
d. catalyst.
e. setting.
81. As defined in your textbook, channel in the speech communication process refers to
a. the feedback sent to a speaker by the listener.
* b. the means by which a message is communicated.
c. the physical location where the communication takes place.
d. the process by which listeners adapt to the speaker.
e. the content a speaker communicates to someone else.
82. lets you know how your message is being received.
a. Vocal variety
b. Credibility
* c. Feedback
d. Interference
e. Audience adaptation
83. As Benita approached the podium, loud voices from the hallway filled the room. Before beginning her speech, she asked someone in the back of the room to close the door. In this case, Benita was dealing with
a. stage fright.
* b. interference.
c. nonverbal communication.
d. audience attitudes.
e. feedback.
84. In the midst of a speech about volcanoes, a speaker notices quizzical expressions on the faces of her listeners. In response, she says, “Let me explain that point again to make sure it’s clear.” When this happens, the speaker is
a. building her credibility.
* b. adapting to feedback.
c. compensating for the situation.
d. interpreting the audience’s frame of reference.
e. adjusting the channel.
85. As Christopher delivered his speech, he noticed that some members of his audience looked confused as he explained one of his main points. As a result, he slowed down and explained the point again. In this case, Christopher was
a. dealing with external interference.
b. adjusting the channel of communication.
c. interpreting the audience’s frame of reference.
d. compensating for the situation.
* e. adapting to audience feedback.
86. The tendency to see the beliefs, values, and customs of one’s own culture or group as “right” or “natural” is called
a. ethnicity.
b. egocentrism.
* c. ethnocentrism.
d. exclusivity.
e. essentialism.
87. According to your textbook, the belief that one’s own group or culture is superior to all other groups or cultures is termed
a. egocentrism.
b. ethnicity.
c. ecumenism.
* d. ethnocentrism.
e. exclusivity.
88. Renée is a U.S. college student who was asked to speak at an end-of-the-year banquet sponsored by the International Student Association. When Renée suggested in her speech that all students should behave like people in the United States, she was reflecting
a. effective audience analysis.
b. a sensitivity to cultural diversity.
c. the environmental dictates of the situation.
* d. an ethnocentric point of view.
e. her listeners’ frame of reference.
89. Mary listened to the campus president speak on the radio at the same time that Jamal was part of the audience in the hall where the president was speaking. Later, Mary said she thought the president’s words stated clearly that he opposed an increase in tuition. But Jamal said that the way the president avoided looking at students when he talked about tuition made it seem the president actually supported an increase in tuition. The difference in the messages Mary and Jamal received most likely resulted from the fact that
a. Jamal is a better listener than Mary.
b. Mary and Jamal both experienced feedback.
* c. Mary and Jamal received the message through different channels.
d. Mary and Jamal are majoring in different subjects.
e. Mary is a better listener than Jamal.
90. Public speakers who seek to communicate with listeners from cultures other than their own need to take special care to avoid in their speeches.
* a. ethnocentrism
b. vocalized pauses
c. personal statements
d. visual aids
e. gestures
91. As your textbook explains, ethnocentrism means
a. showing respect to other groups and cultures.
b. recognizing that listeners are interested in how a topic relates to them.
* c. believing one’s own group or culture is superior to all other groups or cultures.
d. insisting that listeners share a speaker’s frame of reference.
e. agreeing with the values and practices of other groups and cultures.
92. Sridhar is from India and has decided to give his informative speech on Indian marriage customs. Because he will be getting married back home the next summer, he is very excited about the topic. He is concerned, however, that his classmates, all of whom are from the United States, may think he is saying that marriage traditions in India are better than those in the United States. Sridhar’s concern indicates that he is sensitive to the problem of
a. egocentrism.
b. ethical relativism.
* c. ethnocentrism.
d. all of the above.
e. a and b only.