Public Speaking Matters 1st Edition by Floyd - Test Bank

Public Speaking Matters 1st Edition by Floyd – Test Bank

 

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Test Bank

Chapter 5: Know and Adapt to Your Audience

 

Learning Objectives

 

• Recall who comprises an audience and why you should analyze them.
• Recall the components of an audience analysis.
• Identify demographic traits.
• Recognize how to use demographic information about the audience to optimize the influence of a speech.
• Identify the difference between culture and ethnicity.
• Recognize cultural values.
• Recognize variations in cultural values and how they can be used in audience analysis.
• Recall the differences between individualistic and collectivistic cultures.
• Recall the differences between low-context cultures and high-context cultures.
• Recognize varying cultural needs for certainty.
• Recognize the differences between high-power-distance cultures and low-power-distance cultures.
• Recall the differences between long-term oriented cultures and short-term oriented cultures.
• Identify social characteristics.
• Define attitudes.
• Define beliefs.
• Define social values.
• Recognize the difference between pro-socials and pro-selves.
• Define the context of a speech.
• Recognize how to tailor a speech to fit its context.
• Identify methods for doing formal research on an audience.
• Recognize how to research an audience by using polls or questionnaires.
• Recognize how to assess the mood of an audience through casual observations.
• Recognize ways to adapt to an audience.
• Recall tips to conduct a beneficial audience analysis.

 

 

 

True/False

 

1. A stereotype is an inaccurate belief about what a person is like based on the characteristics of a group he or she belongs to.

Answer: False

Level: Understanding

Topic: Stereotypes

2. A person’s status as being physically handicapped or able-bodied is considered a demographic trait.

Answer: True

Level: Remembering

Topic: Demographic traits; Physical and mental capabilities

 

3. It is unethical to consider the ethnicity of your audience members when preparing for a speech.

Answer: False

Level: Understanding

Topic: Demographic traits; Ethnicity

 

4. Generally speaking, a speaker’s intentions are the most important factor in determining if what he or she says is offensive.

Answer: False

Level: Understanding

Topic: Ethical speech presentation; Inclusive language

 

5. People of the same ethnicity may come from different cultures.

Answer: True

Level: Understanding

Topic: Ethinicity; Cultural values

 

6. In high-context cultures, words are generally taken at face value.

Answer: False

Level: Understanding

Topic: Cultural values; High-context culture; Low-context culture

 

7. When speaking before an audience with a high-power-distance culture, it is usually best to rely on sources that reflect shared opinions and not expert advice.

Answer: False

Level: Understanding

Topic: Cultural values; High-power-distance culture; Low-power-distance culture

 

8. Citing liberal sources is most likely to be effective when speaking to an audience that is itself liberal.

Answer: True

Level: Remembering

Topic: Social characteristics; Attitudes

 

9. Audiences typically prefer a formal, well-thought-out speech, with visual aids, to an informal presentation.

Answer: False

Level: Understanding

Topic: Context; Audience purpose

 

10. The larger an audience is, the less likely it is that an informal style will be appropriate.

Answer: True

Level: Understanding

Topic: Context; Audience size

 

11. Talking over people’s heads tends to make them feel bored or insulted.

Answer: False

Level: Understanding

Topic: Context; Audience prior knowledge; Talking over people’s heads

 

12. A speaker should always expect other factors to compete for the attention of his or her audience.

Answer: True

Level: Remembering

Topic: Context; Audience competing demands

 

13. Polling the audience should be avoided if possible as audiences typically find it intrusive and irritating.

Answer: False

Level: Understanding

Topic: Audience analysis; Polling

 

14. The purpose of audience analysis is to get insights so you can adapt your message and delivery to your listener’s expectations.

Answer: True

Level: Remembering

Topic: Audience analysis; Adaptation to audience

 

15. One good use of audience analysis is to prepare you to debate your audience about points where they disagree with you.

Answer: False

Level: Understanding

Topic: Audience analysis; Adaptation to audience; Common ground

 

 

 

Multiple Choice

 

1. The audience for a public speaker’s speech consists of everyone who
   1. can hear the speech.
   2. is present at the speech.
   3. has access to the speaker’s words.
   4. might be interested in the speech’s topic.

Answer: C

Level: Remembering

Topic: Audience

 

2. The purpose of audience analysis is to
   1. help you determine who should be in the audience for a speech.
   2. guide you in what to say in a speech to a particular set of listeners.
   3. help determine what topic you should discuss in a particular speech.
   4. help identify which research methods you should use on a particular set of listeners.

Answer: B

Level: Understanding

Topic: Audience analysis

 

3. Which of the following is not typically studied as part of an audience analysis?
   1. The income level of audience members
   2. Audience members’ religious affiliations
   3. Common stereotypes about audience members
   4. Audience members’ feelings of individual importance

Answer: C

Level: Understanding

Topic: Audience analysis; Stereotypes

 

4. Evi is preparing for a seminar on choosing what colleges to apply to. She has learned that most of the students who will be attending are Asian American, so she decides to focus on colleges with strong math and science program. She has made the mistake of basing a decision solely on
   1. audience analysis.
   4. a hunch.

Answer: B

Level: Analyzing

Topic: Audience analysis; Stereotypes

 

5. Which of the following is not generally considered a demographic trait?
   1. religious beliefs
   2. sexual orientation
   3. economic status
   4. mental capabilities

Answer: A

Level: Remembering

Topic: Demographic traits

 

6. If you are considering giving a presentation about the merits of different music download services, it would be most helpful to know about the ______ of your audience.
   1. sex
   2. ethnicity
   3. physical capabilities
   4. age

Answer: D

Level: Understanding

Topic: Demographic traits; Age

 

7. All other things being equal, when giving a speech to a group composed primarily of men one of the best topics to choose would be ______, whereas before a group of women one of the best topics would be ______.
   1. sports; homemaking
   2. cars; education
   3. finance; personal relationships
   4. education; health care

Answer: C

Level: Remembering

Topic: Demographic traits; Sex

 

8. You have agreed to participate in a series of presentations at a local retirement community intended to entertain and inform the residents. You have determined that your audience will be made up mostly of people in their seventies. Some of them are in poor health, and most have limited funds available to them. Based on this, which topic is likely to appeal to your audience?
   1. Backpacking across the United States
   2. Films of the 1960s
   3. How to restore a classic car
   4. The best smartphone games of the year

Answer: B

Level: Applying

Topic: Demographic traits; Age; Adaptation to audience; Topic selection

 

9. Yvette is trying to build support for a proposed local tax increase. She is preparing to speak before a local civic group. Its members are exclusively women, older, and wealthy. Given this information, to achieve the best reception possible Yvette should tailor her message to focus on how the tax will
   1. allow the city to advertise itself as a destination for same-sex weddings.
   2. help pay for a new football stadium.
   3. enable implementation of experimental new online learning programs.
   4. maintain current funding for the library system.

Answer: D

Level: Applying

Topic: Audience analysis; Adaptation to audience; Topic selection

 

10. A culture’s ideas about the way things ought to be are its

Answer: A

Level: Remembering

Topic: Cultural values

 

11. Geert Hofstede and Edward T. Hall pioneered the study of
    1. modern public speaking techniques.
    3. cultural values.

Answer: C

Level: Remembering

Topic: Cultural values

 

12. When discussing cultural values, the term context covers
    1. the external environment surrounding and affecting a speech.
    2. whether or not people are comfortable with ambiguity.
    3. what is considered good, desirable, and valuable, or vice versa.
    4. the extent to which speakers are expected to say what they mean directly.

Answer: D

Level: Remembering

Topic: Cultural values; High-context culture; Low-context culture

 

13. When speaking before an audience from a high-context culture, you should
    1. rely on subtle, nonverbal cues to convey your meaning.
    2. emphasize group-wide benefits in your speech.
    3. provide extensive detail and explanations as part of your speech.
    4. emphasize the high social status of your sources to establish credibility.

Answer: A

Level: Remembering

Topic: Cultural values; High-context culture

 

14. When speaking before an audience from a need for certainty culture you should
    1. be sure to explain how today’s actions will have future benefits.
    2. cite sources that appeal to shared opinions rather than experts.
    3. offer concrete examples to back up your positions.
    4. emphasize the concept of individual uniqueness as part of your message.

Answer: C

Level: Understanding

Topic: Cultural values; Need for certainty

 

15. The belief that everyone should be treated equally is a sign of ______ culture.
    1. an individualistic
    2. a low-power-distance
    3. a high-power-distance
    4. an advanced

Answer: B

Level: Remembering

Topic: Cultural values; Low-power-distance culture

 

16. Gertrude is preparing to give a speech to her fellow employees at the Xenon Corporation intended to get them excited about potential new projects for the company. The corporation has a low-context culture with a tolerance for uncertainty. This being the case, how can she best match her speech to her audience’s cultural expectations?
    1. Saying what she means directly, and offering detailed, concrete examples.
    2. Providing a detailed message while using subtlety and nonverbal cues to smooth over potentially controversial news.
    3. Speaking directly to the point and not dwelling too much on details.
    4. Avoiding too many specifics and relying instead on body language tone of voice to convey her message.

Answer: C

Level: Analysing

Topic: Cultural values; Low-context culture; Tolerance for uncertainty

 

17. Pablo is going to speak before a business organization in a country with a high-power-distance, collectivist culture. He wants to convince them to invest in his new business project. How can he best match his pitch to the group’s cultural expectations?
    1. Stress that his project is supported by a wide range of people and that it will bring direct benefits to the audience members.
    2. Emphasize that it is their civic duty to support the project as it benefits the entire community, but that it will also bring direct benefits to them and other local leaders.
    3. Focus on the project’s direct benefits to the group members and how it is supported by leading experts in the field.
    4. Emphasize how his project is based on research by the field’s leading expert and that it will bring benefits for their entire community.

Answer: D

Level: Analyzing

Topic: Cultural values; High-power-distance culture; Collectivistic culture

 

18. Which of the following is not considered a social characteristic of an individual?
    1. Their political party affiliation
    2. Their religion
    3. Their level of comfort with ambiguity
    4. The value they put on sharing equally

Answer: C

Level: Understanding

Topic: Social characteristics; Attitudes; Beliefs; Social values

 

19. Devin will soon be giving a speech in front of his local homeowner’s association board requesting permission to cut down some trees on his property to improve his view of the nearby lake. How might knowing the social characteristics of the board members help him to craft his speech?
    1. If he knew the board is pro-social he could emphasize how removing the trees would also improve the view for some of the board members themselves.
    2. If he knew the board is politically conservative he could quote conservative politicians in support of his position.
    3. If he knew the board is collectivist in orientation he could stress the benefits to the entire community of removing the trees.
    4. If he knew the board is anti-social he could focus on making his case quickly and directly.

Answer: B

Level: Applying

Topic: Social characteristics; Attitudes

 

20. A person’s feelings about the best way to divide up resources among themselves and others determines his or her
    1. social values.
    2. social attitudes.
    3. political attitudes.
    4. level of individualism.

Answer: A

Level: Understanding

Topic: Social characteristics; Social values

 

21. Which of the following does not form part of the context for a speech?
    1. The audience’s prior knowledge of the subject matter
    2. The time of day
    3. The size of the audience
    4. The audience’s social characteristics

Answer: D

Level: Understanding

Topic: Context; Audience prior knowledge; Listener time; Audience size

 

22. Choose the response that best completes the following sentence. The reason why your audience is listening to your speech is important because
    1. it usually determines the subject matter for your speech.
    2. if they are attending voluntarily they will have higher expectations for the speech.
    3. it helps you determine the tone and style that they expect from you.
    4. it helps you focus your efforts at audience analysis.

Answer: C

Level: Understanding

Topic: Audience analysis; Audience feedback

 

23. Choose the response that best completes the following sentence. Knowing the size of your audience helps you
    1. decide what topic to speak about.
    2. determine its demographic traits.
    3. determine how formal your speech needs to be.
    4. budget the time that you have for your speech.

Answer: C

Level: Understanding

Topic: Audience analysis; Audience size

 

24. Choose the response that best completes the following sentence. To avoid running past your allotted time for a speech, you should always
    1. wait until the end before answering questions.
    2. estimate in advance how much material you can cover in the time allowed.
    3. use a timer to warn you when your time is almost up and then bring your remarks to a graceful conclusion.
    4. cover your most important or interesting points at the beginning of a speech in case you need to cut your remarks short.

Answer: B

Level: Understanding

Topic: Context; Listener time

 

25. Choose the response that best completes the following sentence. Carefully explaining something to your audience even when they already know all about it
    1. may make them feel bored and disengaged.
    2. risks confusing them.
    3. is expected in high-context cultures.
    4. is expected in cultures with a need for certainty.

Answer: A

Level: Understanding

Topic: Context; Audience prior knowledge

 

26. Maxine is a nuclear engineer who agreed to give a presentation on nuclear power generation to a high school science class. She assumed that the students had a solid background in physics, but most did not and as a result could not understand what she was talking about. Which of the following mistakes did Maxine make?
    1. Talking over the heads of the audience
    2. Failing to talk down to the audience
    3. Not considering that her audience was required to attend
    4. Using a low-context approach with a high-context audience

Answer: A

Level: Analyzing

Topic: Context; Audience prior knowledge; Talking over people’s heads

 

27. If your audience is distracted because it is late in the day and they want to go home, your best course of action is probably to
    1. ignore the situation and move on with your speech.
    2. acknowledge the situation and say you will be brief.
    3. politely insist that your listeners focus on your speech.
    4. adapt your speech by speaking quickly and dropping nonessential elements.

Answer: B

Level: Applying

Topic: Context; Listener time

 

28. Choose the response that best completes the following sentence. Studying the history and goals of a group before going before it to speak is an example of
    1. casual observation.
    2. polling the audience.
    3. finding common ground.
    4. formal research.

Answer: D

Level: Understanding

Topic: Audience analysis; Research

 

29. Which of following techniques of learning about an audience is the best choice if you want to get insight into your audience’s experiences after your speech has begun?
    1. casual observation
    2. a questionnaire
    3. a poll
    4. formal research

Answer: C

Level: Understanding

Topic: Audience analysis; Research

 

30. Which of the following techniques is most likely to help you match the tone of your speech to your audience’s mood?
    1. Studying the history of the group you will be speaking to
    2. Asking your audience for a show of hands near the beginning of your speech
    3. Watching and listening to your audience for a few minutes before your speech begins
    4. Having your audience members fill out and return a questionnaire the day before your speech

Answer: C

Level: Analyzing

Topic: Audience analysis; Causal observation

 

31. Choose the response that best completes the following sentence. After completing a good audience analysis you should
    1. consider the results and apply them to future speeches.
    2. adapt your message based on your listener’s needs.
    3. know which members of the audience will be receptive to your message and which are likely to reject it.
    4. drop material from your speech that you believe most of the audience will disagree with.

Answer: B

Level: Understanding

Topic: Audience analysis; Speechcrafting

 

32. Nicholas is preparing to give a speech in front of a church group, asking them to support a youth baseball league he is involved with. He has researched the church and knows that many of its members are recent immigrants from Russia. Based on this information Nicholas should plan on adjusting his language by
    1. giving a formal presentation on the nature of youth baseball and its benefits.
    2. taking an informal approach focused on the excitement and other benefits of youth baseball.
    3. bringing a multimedia slide show to serve as a visual aid in his presentation.
    4. relying more on body language and other nonverbal behavior to get his message about the nature of youth baseball and its benefits across to the audience.

Answer: A

Level: Analyzing

Topic: Audience analysis; Adaptation to audience; Language choice

 

33. Jamie is going to speak before a community group and ask them to support the construction of a new highway nearby. Her audience analysis tells her that her audience will consist of about a dozen people, primarily men, and mostly politically conservative. Based on this information, which of the following is the best advice you can give Jamie on how to handle her speech?
    1. Work a joke about the local baseball team’s poor performance into the introduction of the speech.
    2. Be sure to explain all of her points in detail to ensure there is no confusion.
    3. Find evidence that conservative political figures support this sort of project and include it in the speech.
    4. Adopt a formal tone and forgo the use of slides or other visual aids.

Answer: C

Level: Analyzing

Topic: Audience analysis; Attitudes; Evidence

 

34. If your audience analysis determines that your listeners will probably disagree with you on an important point you should
    1. focus on your similarities in your speech to help them see past the disagreement.
    2. focus on the point in question to help your audience understand your point of view.
    3. try to build up goodwill with the audience early in the speech before raising the controversial point.
    4. raise the controversial point early in your speech, then work on rebuilding goodwill with the audience during the rest of your presentation.

Answer: A

Level: Understanding

Topic: Audience analysis; Common ground

 

35. Choose the response that best completes the following sentence. Polling your audience about a sensitive topic
    1. is likely to make some listeners uncomfortable and should be avoided.
    2. works best if you have first established common ground by establishing your similarities with audience members.
    3. is only appropriate in informal settings and with small audiences.
    4. can be effective with young, liberal audiences but should be avoided with older, conservative audiences.

Answer: A

Level: Understanding

Topic: Polling, Ethics

 

 

 

 

Fill-in-the-Blank

 

1. The process of learning about your listeners or potential listeners is called ______ ______.

Answer: audience analysis

Level: Remembering

Topic: Audience analysis

 

2. The assumption that someone is interested in sports just because that person is a man is a ______.

Answer: stereotype

Level: Understanding

Topic: Stereotypes

 

3. The personal attributes of the people found in a given population are its ______ traits.

Answer: demographic

Level: Remembering

Topic: Demographic traits

 

4. Assuming that everyone in an audience is heterosexual ignores the fact that listeners can vary in their ______ ______.

Answer: sexual orientation [alternative: sexual orientations]

Level: Understanding

Topic: Demographic traits; Sexual orientation

 

5. African American and Hispanic are examples of different ______.

Answer: ethnicities [alternative: ethnicity]

Level: Understanding

Topic: Demographic traits; Ethnicity

 

6. A group’s ______ are the shared language, values, and other characteristics that set it apart from other groups.

Answer: culture

Level: Remembering

Topic: Cultural values

 

7. In groups with a ______ culture, people generally feel that their primary responsibility is to their families and communities.

Answer: collectivist

Level: Remembering

Topic: Cultural values; Collectivistic culture

 

8. In a ______ culture people are expected to quickly get to the point and say what they mean.

Answer: low-context

Topic: Cultural values; Low-context culture

 

9. People with a “live and let live” attitude that dislike restrictive rules have a high ______ ______ ______.

Answer: tolerance for uncertainty

Level: Remembering

Topic: Cultural values; Tolerance for uncertainty

 

10. A group where people value the idea that everyone is equal is said to have a ______ culture.

Answer: low-power-distance

Level: Remembering

Topic: Cultural values; Low-power-distance culture

 

11. In a culture with a ______ ______, people tend to value speed and efficiency.

Answer: short-term orientation

Level: Remembering

Topic: Cultural values; Short-term orientation

 

12. People from a culture that values the past and the future more than the present are said to have a ______ ______.

Answer: long-term orientation

Topic: Cultural values; Long-term orientation

 

13. An audience’s ______ ______ include its attitudes, beliefs, and way of thinking about the world.

Answer: social characteristics

Level: Remembering

Topic: Social characteristics

 

14. Your opinion on which films are best deserving of Academy Awards is an example of an ______.

Answer: attitude

Level: Understanding

Topic: Social characteristics; Attitudes

 

15. Ideas that people accept as true even if there is no evidence to support them are called ______.

Answer: beliefs

Level: Remembering

Topic: Social characteristics; Beliefs

 

16. People who try to maximize equality in the distribution of resources are ______.

Answer: pro-socials [alternative: pro-social].

Level: Remembering

Topic: Social characteristics; Social values; Pro-socials

 

17. ______ generally try to maximize their outcomes, even at the expense of equality within a group.

Answer: Pro-selves

Level: Remembering

Topic: Social characteristics; Social values; Pro-selves

 

18. If you tell someone something they already knew as if it was new information for them, you are ______ ______ to them.

Answer: talking down

Level: Remembering

Topic: Context; Audience prior knowledge; Talking down

 

19. Having your audience fill out a ______ before your speech can give you valuable information with which to adjust your speech.

Answer: questionnaire

Level: Understanding

Topic: Audience analysis; Polling

 

20. If you expect your audience to disagree with you about certain point you should try to find ______ ______ with them by focusing your similarities.

Answer: common ground

Level: Remembering

Topic: Adaptation to audience; Common Ground