Persuasive Communication Midterm Exam
Course Introduction
Persuasive Communication explores the principles and strategies behind influencing attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors through verbal and nonverbal messages. The course examines key theories of persuasion, message construction, audience analysis, and the ethical dimensions of persuasive efforts in personal, public, and professional contexts. Students learn how to design and deliver effective persuasive messages, critically evaluate persuasive attempts in media and society, and apply communication techniques to real-world situations such as marketing, public relations, advocacy, and interpersonal interactions.
Recommended Textbook
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook 4th Edition by Steven A. Beebe
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Speaking in Public
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Q1) The ability to speak with competence and confidence will provide empowerment.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) Which of the following is affected by a speaker's posture and gestures?
A) visual communication channel
B) auditory communication channel
C) internal noise
D) context
Answer: A
Q3) A speaking venue that is hot, crowded, or poorly lit can make it difficult for a speaker to deliver a speech and an audience to receive a speech. This demonstrates the impact of _____ on both speakerandaudience.
A) context
B) channels
C) encoding
D) decoding
Answer: A
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Chapter 2: Improving Your Confidence
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Q1) If you are really anxious about speaking, replace any negative, anxious thoughts with positive messages.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) Delaying speech preparation and rehearsal is usually an effective method to reduce speaker anxiety.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) The most experienced speakers are usually _____ speakers.
A) Average
B) Inflexible
C) Insensitive
D) Confrontational
Answer: C
Q4) Anxiety can actually improve your energy level and speech performance.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Page 4
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Chapter 3: Presenting Your First Speech
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Sample Questions
Q1) Being audience-centered begins even before you speak.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) The primary purpose of an introduction is to A) make the audience laugh.
B) tell what all of your sources are.
C) move your audience to action.
D) get the audience's attention.
Answer: D
Q3) In her speech about poor voter turnout, Mollie challenged her audience to register and to actually go out and vote at the next election. The purpose of her speech was to A) persuade.
B) inform.
C) entertain.
D) inspire.
Answer: A
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Ethics and Free Speech
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Sample Questions
Q1) Aristotle used the term ethos to refer to a speaker's competence.
A)True
B)False
Q2) _____ are the beliefs, values, and moral principles by which we determine what is right or wrong.
A) Ethics
B) Laws
C) Truths
D) Rules
Q3) In a digital era, free speech, especially via the Internet and mobile phones, has become a global issue.
A)True
B)False
Q4) After the September 11<sup>th</sup> terrorist attacks, the passage of the Patriot Act sparked a new debate over the balance between
A) foreign policy and domestic policy.
B) national security and free speech.
C) technology and free speech.
D) free speech and government spending.
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Chapter 5: Listening
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Q1) Kari is having lunch with a friend who has been just diagnosed with cancer. What kind of listening is likely to occur?
A) listening to evaluate
B) listening for pleasure
C) listening for information
D) listening to empathize
Q2) Tara comes into the classroom early on the day of her speech. She closes the blinds, checks the room temperature, and sets up the transparency machine. Which barrier to listening is Tara trying to overcome?
A) information overload
B) receiver apprehension
C) personal concerns
D) outside distractions
Q3) _____ is the process of listening to evaluate the quality, appropriateness, value, and importance of the information you hear.
A) Accommodation
B) Critical listening
C) Information overload
D) Reasoning
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Chapter 6: Analyzing Your Audience
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Q1) When a speaker uses terms like "African-American" and "Asian-American," the speaker is attending to
A) racial elements of psychological audience analysis.
B) ethnic elements of demographic audience analysis.
C) elements of situational audience analysis.
D) cultural elements of psychological audience analysis.
Q2) When you ethically use the information you gathered to customize your speech to your audience, you are performing
A) demographic analysis.
B) ethnocentrism.
C) audience adaptation.
D) psychological analysis.
Q3) In a psychological analysis, which of the following concepts are what the audience holds to be true or false?
A) values
B) attitudes
C) beliefs
D) feelings
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Chapter 7: Adapting to Your Audience as You Speak
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Q1) Aspeaker must be aware of nonverbal feedback from the audience in order to adapt the speech as he or she speaks.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following nonverbal responses are indicators of interest and support?
A) nods of agreement and general body movement.
B) a tilted head and a frozen smile
C) frequent applause and nods of agreement
D) feet shuffling and general body movement
Q3) Audience members that are moving around and shifting in their seats are more likely to be attentive to what you are saying.
A)True
B)False
Q4) If your audience seems confused or doesn't understand your point, you should be more redundant.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 8: Developing Your Speech
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Sample Questions
Q1) At the end of my speech, my audience will understand the basic principle of flight, is an example of a
A) general purpose.
B) blueprint.
C) specific purpose.
D) a central idea.
Q2) When selecting a speech topic, the audience is an equally important factor as the interests or knowledge of the speaker.
A)True
B)False
Q3) An informative speech has been assigned, so Angel starts to worry about what he can possibly present to his class. That night he takes out a blank sheet of paper and just starts writing down every possibleidea for a speech topic that he can think of. What is Angel doing?
A) brainstorming
B) procrastinating
C) topic narrowing
D) searching
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Chapter 9: Gathering Supporting Material
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Sample Questions
Q1) Your general speech topic is dog obedience, and you have arranged an interview with an authority. What is your next task?
A) Plan for the interview by conducting research and planning specific questions.
B) Determine how you will use the interview information in your speech.
C) Conduct the interview with your interviewee as professionally as possible.
D) Ask the interviewee if you may record audio or video of the interview.
Q2) It is essential to evaluate Web resources before using them for speech research.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Online databases provide access to bibliographic information, abstracts, and full texts for a variety of resources.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Evaluating a source for usability means making sure the information is NOT biased.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 10: Supporting Your Speech
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Q1) An explanation is a statement that makes clear how something is done or why it exists in its present form or existed in its past form.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The best types of illustrations are those that are NOT personal to the speaker.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The more experts who support your viewpoint and the larger the numbers you cite, reflect a principle within selecting the BEST supporting material known as A) magnitude.
B) variety.
C) proximity.
D) suitability.
Q4) In a speech, you should use only one brief illustration at a time, so as not to confuse your audience.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 11: Organizing Your Speech
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Sample Questions
Q1) In a speech organized in a cause-effect pattern, the cause must be covered first.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Deanna makes the claim in her persuasive speech that unregulated car emissions in major urban areas worldwide contribute to the depletion of the ozone layer, which contributes to global warming. Which typeof organizational pattern is reflected in this example?
A) problem-solution
B) spatial
C) topical
D) cause-effect
Q3) Transitions, previews, and summaries are all examples of
A) main ideas.
B) organization.
C) supporting material.
D) signposts.
Q4) Speakers should only use previews at the beginning of their speeches.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 12: Developing an Introduction
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Sample Questions
Q1) It is important in an introduction to build trust with the audience, to have believability. This is known as speaker
A) likability.
B) popularity.
C) credibility.
D) trustworthiness.
Q2) In an introduction, you may ask a question that doesn't require a response but makes the audience think about your topic. This is called
A) a primacy question.
B) a hypothetical question.
C) a rhetorical question.
D) an unanswerable question.
Q3) A speaker opens with the following question: "Did you know that on this date in 1954, the USS Nautilus, the first atomic submarine, was launched at Groton, Connecticut?" What device is being employedinthisintroduction?
A) a reference to a historical event
B) an effective use of humor
C) a startling fact or statistic
D) a preview of the topic
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Page 14
Chapter 13: Developing a Conclusion
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Sample Questions
Q1) In his speech about registering to vote, Dan explains the new legislation that allows voter registration to coincide with driver's license renewal. But he concludes by stating that anyone who is notregistered should immediately register in time for the next election. Finally, Dan reiterates: "Everyone please register to vote; it's your right and your duty as a citizen." What aspect of effective conclusions has Dan utilized?
A) an appeal to respond on the part of the audience
B) a personal reference to his own experience
C) an effective summary of main points in a speech
D) an inspirational appeal or challenge to the audience
Q2) In order to provide the audience with a sense of closure, you should use
A) verbal and nonverbal signals.
B) a formal statement expressing your intent to provide closure.
C) the exact same closing line you used in your introduction.
D) a startling quote or statistic.
Q3) Which of the following is a function of a speech conclusion?
A) restating the main ideas
B) providing new material
C) invoking guilt in the audience
D) fading out gradually
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Page 15
Chapter 14: Outlining and Revising Your Speech
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Q1) What is the major benefit of using standard outline form?
A) It points out important phrases you need to remember.
B) It helps you remember the main ideas of your speech.
C) It points out relationships between main ideas and supporting material.
D) It is neat and appropriate for speechmaking.
Q2) You should write your preparation outline in phrases rather than complete sentences.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The preparation outline should be written in standard outline form.
A)True
B)False
Q4) It is acceptable to use a manuscript of your speech for your speaking notes.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What tip is suggested regarding the use of speaking notes?
A) Type or print information so it can be easily read.
B) Use complete sentences throughout your notes.
C) Do not write out statistics or direct quotations.
D) Write out your entire introduction and conclusion.
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Chapter 15: Using Words Well
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Sample Questions
Q1) ________ refers to words unique to a speaker's particular hobby or profession.
A) Ethnic vernaculars
B) Regionalism
C) Jargon
D) Ebonics
Q2) ________ occurs when a sentence has two parts with parallel structures, but contrasting meaning.
A) Antithesis
B) Parallelism
C) Repetition
D) Alliteration
Q3) ________ occurs when two or more clauses or sentences have the same grammatical pattern.
A) Antithesis
B) Parallelism
C) Repetition
D) Alliteration
Q4) Sexist language is always a direct and intentional form of discrimination.
A)True
B)False
Page 17
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Chapter 16: Methods of Delivery
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Q1) A few minutes remain in the class period. The teacher assigns a student to stand before the class and give a brief speech on effective study habits. What method of delivery is utilized in this situation?
A) impromptu speaking
B) manuscript speaking
C) memorized speaking
D) extemporaneous speaking
Q2) Memorized speaking rarely sounds stiff, stilted, and overrehearsed.
A)True
B)False
Q3) One disadvantage of memorized is speaking is that you can't make on-the-spot adaptations to your audience.
A)True
B)False
Q4) In which of the following situations is the memorized speaking style acceptable?
A) during an emergency that requires precise wording
B) when you want to appear natural and conversational
C) when your speech doesn't require a strict organizational style
D) when you are accepting an award
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Chapter 17: Nonverbal Communication
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Q1) During a question-and-answer session, you can use regulating gestures to signal when you want to talk and when you want to invite others to do so.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Overall, speakers from ________ prefer a quieter, less flamboyant use of gestures.
A) Europe
B) Asia
C) The United States
D) Mexico
Q3) A politician who declines to comment on a reporter's question while holding up her hands to augment her verbal refusal is relying on a _____ gesture.
A) regulating
B) complementing
C) emphasizing
D) contradicting
Q4) Aspeaker who pounds one hand into another is using a repeating gesture.
A)True
B)False
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Page 19
Chapter 18: Verbal Communication
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Q1) When Muriel speaks, she often mumbles, slurs, or abbreviates words, making it hard for her audience to understand her. Muriel has problem with A) pronunciation.
B) inflection.
C) variation.
D) articulation.
Q2) As a rule, you should speak quieter than normal when speaking into stationary microphones.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Vocal volume is increased by
A) raising your pitch.
B) increasing the level of articulation.
C) projecting more air through your larynx.
D) using a rising intonation pattern
Q4) _____ is NOT considered an element of dialect.
A) Intonation pattern
B) Vowel production
C) Articulation pattern
D) Consonant production
Page 20
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Chapter 19: Adapting and Delivering Your Speech
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Q1) As a speaker, when you give your full attention to the questioner, listen politely, and respond courteously, you are
A) listening nonjudgmentally.
B) neutralizing hostile questions.
C) giving a "double-barreled" talk.
D) using organized signposts.
Q2) _____ is the assumption that your own cultural approaches are superior to those of other cultures.
A) Recency
B) Racial profiling
C) Prejudice
D) Ethnocentrism
Q3) A final mental rehearsal right before your speech will help ensure a successful delivery.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Japan would be considered a high-context culture.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 20: Selecting Presentation Aids
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Q1) When you use models as presentation aids, you should make sure they are large enough to be seen by all audience members.
A)True
B)False
Q2) ______ are a type of visual that consists of flat areas of varying lengths used to represent information.
A) Bar graphs
B) Pie graphs
C) Line graphs
D) Picture graphs
Q3) Most audiences, especially those in the corporate world, expect a speaker to use computer-generated presentation aids.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Using a dark background with lighter-colored words can have an unpleasant effect and make the words difficult to see.
A)True
B)False
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Page 22
Chapter 21: Preparing and Using Presentation Aids
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Q1) What action should a speaker take if his or her speech topic calls for an illegal or dangerous presentation aid?
A) Secure permission from university police or security officers.
B) Secure permission from the instructor.
C) Substitute an appropriate picture, chart, or other representation.
D) Take all necessary precautions.
Q2) When using objects as a presentation aid you should avoid
A) making reference to the object in your speech.
B) holding the object while you speak.
C) passing the object among members of your audience.
D) displaying the object during your speech.
Q3) Once you introduce a visual aid, you should keep it in front of the audience throughout your speech.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Speakers should limit text to key words and phrases when using computer-generated presentation aids.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 22: Informative Speaking
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Q1) A speech to inform shares information with others to enhance their knowledge or understanding of concepts and ideas.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The primary goals of informative speaking are to present information that the audience can understand and remember, while maintaining their interest.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Research suggests that two days after your speech, most audience members will still remember about 75 percent of your speech.
A)True
B)False
Q4) An informative speaker presents information, so the audience will A) be interested, understand, and remember.
B) listen, learn, and apply.
C) hear, understand, and connect.
D) think, remember, and ponder.
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Chapter 23: Understanding Principles of Persuasive Speaking
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Q1) Listeners are more likely to be persuaded if you help them solve their problems or meet their needs.
A)True
B)False
Q2) A proposition of value advocates a specific action-changing a policy, procedure, or behavior.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Appealing to a social need to persuade is effective because it reflects the desire to feel good about ourselves.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Controversial issues make excellent choices for persuasive speeches.
A)True
B)False
Q5) A belief is an easily learned predisposition to respond favorably or unfavorably toward something.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 24: Using Persuasive Strategies
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Q1) Which type of reasoning involves organizing an argument using a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion?
A) inductive reasoning
B) deductive reasoning
C) causal reasoning
D) reasoning by analogy
Q2) Aform of dynamism, often projected through delivery, that occurs when a speaker is perceived as charming, talented, and magnetic is
A) charisma.
B) honesty.
C) competence.
D) credibility.
Q3) The term used by Aristotle to describe appeals to human emotion is A) ethos.
B) logos.
C) pathos.
D) rhetoric.
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Chapter 25: Speaking on Special Occasions
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Q1) On the first anniversary of John F. Kennedy's death, a group of close friends and the Kennedy family gathered to pay tribute to JFK's life and accomplishments. Then President Johnson gave a brief speechatthe event. What is the term for this type of speech?
A) a commencement address
B) a presentation speech
C) a speech of dedication
D) a commemorative address
Q2) The speeches given at graduation ceremonies are known as commemorative addresses.
A)True
B)False
Q3) In a public relations presentation, the speaker should anticipate and prepare for criticism by
A) explaining more carefully the organization's plan.
B) ignoring any objections, and just remaining positive.
C) suggesting and countering potential problems or objections.
D) defending the position of the organization.
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Chapter 26: Speaking in Small Groups
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Q1) Analysis is a process of examining the causes, effects, symptoms, history, and other background information that will help a group eventually reach a solution.
A)True
B)False
Q2) A group leader who is objective, encourages group discussions and decisions, and guides when necessary is
A) a laissez faire leader.
B) a transformational leader.
C) an authoritarian leader.
D) a democratic leader.
Q3) A group leader who allows group members complete freedom in all aspects of the decision-making process and does little to help the group achieve its goal.
A) a transformational leader.
B) a laissez faire leader.
C) an authoritarian leader.
D) a democratic leader.
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