Professional Communication
Question Bank
Course Introduction
Professional Communication is designed to equip students with the essential skills needed to communicate effectively in a variety of workplace environments. The course covers key areas such as oral and written communication, public speaking, report writing, business correspondence, digital communication platforms, and cross-cultural communication. Students will engage in practical exercises, presentations, and collaborative projects that develop their ability to craft clear messages, present ideas persuasively, and respond appropriately to professional feedback. Emphasis is placed on ethical communication, active listening, and adapting messages to diverse audiences, ensuring students are prepared for the dynamic demands of modern professional settings.
Recommended Textbook
Business Communication 4th Canadian Edition by Isobel Findlay
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Communicating in a Changing Business World
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following BEST describes the result of having "family friendly" policies in companies?
A)They are good recruiting tools, but often result in relocation failures.
B)They are one of the six leading reasons that new managers fail.
C)They have given employees with children higher overall compensation levels.
D)They produce clear gains in productivity and customer service.
Answer: D
Q2) Which of the following is an example of information overload?
A)You cannot understand a message because it is in Japanese.
B)You cannot read the handwriting on an invitation.
C)You cannot read all the messages you receive, because there are too many.
D)You cannot receive electronic mail because your computer is down.
Answer: C
Q3) Clear communication reduces lawsuits.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q4) ____________ is the process of sending a message through a channel. Answer: Transmission
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Chapter 2: Adapting to Audiences
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Sample Questions
Q1) Why do readers tend to dislike it when writers discuss emotions in their documents?
Answer: Answers should discuss how emphasis on the writer's emotions does not display you-attitude, while documents that essentially tell a reader how to feel are typically viewed as obnoxious
Q2) Reader benefits are advantages that the reader gets by:
A)Using other services
B)Adopting their own ideas
C)Not buying the products
D)Following the policies
Answer: D
Q3) Which of the following is both grammatically correct and non-sexist?
A)"New accounts managers should explain the procedure to customers."
B)"The new accounts manager should explain the procedure to his customers."
C)"The new accounts manager should explain the procedure to her customers."
D)"The new accounts manager should explain the procedure to their customers."
Answer: A
Q4) Those asked to implement your ideas after they've been approved are classified as the _____ audience.
Answer: secondary
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Chapter 3: Planning, Composing, and Revising
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Sample Questions
Q1) _____ means making sure the final copy is free from typographical errors. Answer: Proofreading
Q2) Spell checkers have eliminated the need for proofreading.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Good writers aim for perfection in the first draft.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q4) "Editing" and "revising" are interchangeable terms.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q5) A planning guide can help you customize the basic patterns of organization typically used in business and administrative communication.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 4: Designing Documents, Slides, and Screens
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Sample Questions
Q1) Why should visuals tell stories? How can you find a story to tell?
Q2) Our short-term memory can only hold about seven bits of information at a time.This means that you should:
A)write no more than seven paragraphs.
B)use sentences of six words or less.
C)never write a document with more than seven points.
D)group large amounts of information into three to seven chunks.
Q3) You want to compare items over time.Which of the following visuals is the best one for this task?
A)A bar chart
B)A pie chart
C)A line graph
D)A table
Q4) _____ is the empty space on the page that can be used to emphasize the material by separating it from the rest of the text.
Q5) Why is good website design so important? What are guidelines to keep in mind when designing a website, and why will they make the site more effective?
Q6) Why should you use headings in documents?
Q7) How should you integrate a visual in a written document?
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Chapter 5: Communicating Across Cultures
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Sample Questions
Q1) Identify three guidelines to follow when writing to international audiences, and explain why these guidelines are important.
Q2) A(n) _____ chronic culture focuses on relationships, rather than clock time.
Q3) Why may Americans negotiating with Chinese make costly concessions?
A)It is very difficult for them to overcome language barriers.
B)Americans tend to use holistic thinking, which leads them to overlook important details.
C)Chinese tend to be inflexible.
D)Chinese are in less of a hurry, while Americans get nervous at delays.
Q4) In Aboriginal cultures, the _______________ emphasizes interdependence and the mental, spiritual, physical, and emotional, and may be followed in consensus decision making.
Q5) In North America, speaking in a monotone makes a person seem engaged and focused on business.
A)True
B)False
Q6) Our value, priorities, and practices are shaped by the ____________ in which we grow up.
Q7) Explain how immersion in local cultures can help a global business.
Page 7
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Chapter 6: Working and Writing in Teams
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is NOT a positive aspect of wikis?
A)They are good vehicles for stable, long-term information storage.
B)They can be useful for discussing controversial topics.
C)They are helpful project management tools.
D)They don't typically require intense information technology support.
Q2) Avoiding conflict promotes group cohesion and participation.
A)True
B)False
Q3) _____ record each motion in a meeting and the vote on it.
Q4) Which of the following options is NOT a factor that you should consider when you plan a meeting?
A)Whether some participants will need to connect remotely
B)Deadlines that may reduce scheduling options
C)How well participants know each other
D)Whether the participants are suitably homogeneous
Q5) What are the steps in the standard agenda, and why do they help guard against groupthink?
Q6) The __________ phase is the time in the life of a team when conflicts may arise as the team chooses a leader and defines the problem.
Q7) The _____ is a seven-step process for solving problems.
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Chapter 7: Routine Messages
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Sample Questions
Q1) Explain how to summarize a visit with a client or customer.
Q2) Block format is now the standard in formatting business letters.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a strong confirmation message?
A)It confirms an action, an event, an understanding, or an agreement.
B)It clarifies any necessary roles and responsibilities.
C)It identifies itself as a confirmation, not a new message.
D)It is reasonably lengthy, since it recreates an important conversation in as much detail as possible.
Q4) You are writing to a new client whom you met for the first time only the previous week.Which of the following would be the BEST complimentary close?
A)Sincerely
B)Thanks!
C)Yours respectfully
D)Looking forward to working together
Q5) The _____ line is the title of a document.
Q6) Why are subject lines important in routine messages?
Q7) Routine messages should use a(n) _____ ending.
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Negative Messages
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Sample Questions
Q1) Use a negative subject line if you're reporting on your reader's errors.
A)True
B)False
Q2) To maximize the chances of recipients reading negative e-mail messages, always make the subject line neutral or positive, even in serious situations.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Identify three features of rejection letters that job applicants have indicated they prefer, and explain why applicants appreciate these features.
Q4) Which of the following is LEAST likely to be an effective buffer?
A)Any good news you have to convey
B)A statement of a general principle
C)A chronology of events
D)A reason for the refusal
Q5) For memos, the context of communication is crucial.List three factors that influence the reader's reaction.
Q6) What is it about Maple Leaf Foods' 2008 listeriosis outbreak that has won praise for CEO Michael McCain?
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Chapter 9: Persuasive and Sales Messages
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Sample Questions
Q1) TV is still the primary medium for advertising.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The close of a sales or fundraising letter should be tentative when it asks for action (for example, "If you'd like to help ......"), to convey respect for the reader's decision.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following strategies is NOT a useful way to make the price of a product seem more attractive?
A)Emphasize that quality costs money.
B)Link the price to a benefit the product provides.
C)Show how much the product costs each day (e.g."For the price of just one cup of coffee a day ....").
D)Allow customers to charge sales or pay in installments.
Q4) One of the reasons people give for not contributing to fundraising campaigns is that a gift of $25 or $100 seems too small to matter.
A)True
B)False
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11
Chapter 10: Planning, Researching, and Documenting Reports
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Sample Questions
Q1) A _____ questions a large group of people; a _____ is a written list of questions that people fill out.
Q2) You are creating questions for a survey on the writing problems of students on your campus.You initially hand out surveys to tutors in the writing centre.What is this kind of sample called?
A)Convenience sample
B)Judgment sample
C)Random sample
D)Simple random sample
Q3) Reports that contain elements such as a title page, a transmittal, and a table of contents are called _____ reports.
Q4) Which of the following is NOT a component of a strong purpose statement?
A)The organizational problem (or challenge, or opportunity)
B)The amount of time that the organization will need to dedicate to solving the problem
C)The specific technical questions that must be answered in order to solve the problem
D)The rhetorical purpose, in terms of audience benefits
Q5) What are the pros and cons of online surveys?
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Chapter 11: Writing Proposals and Reports
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Sample Questions
Q1) When you're writing a report for a class project, your background reading can form the first draft of your list of references.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Save a copy of your questionnaire or interview questions to use as an appendix.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The _______________ in a report are action items that emerge from the report's findings and conclusions.
Q4) A(n) ____________ executive summary is part summary and part description; it allows you to comment about the kind of information and present the thesis and its proof.
Q5) In a report on the grade inflation on your campus, you distributed a questionnaire to 250 students and interviewed students, faculty, and the dean for undergraduate studies.Where would you include this information?
A)Scope section
B)Limitations section
C)Assumptions section
D)Methods section
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Chapter 12: Making Oral Presentations
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Sample Questions
Q1) _________ presentations teach the audience.
Q2) Early in your talk you should give an overview of the main points you plan to make. A)True
B)False
Q3) Presenters should simplify numbers by reducing them to two significant digits. A)True
B)False
Q4) ________ presentations motivate the audience to act or to believe.
Q5) Explain how a speaker should prepare for and handle questions from the audience.
Q6) A presentation that assumes its audience will be receptive to its solution, and that first explains the symptoms of a problem, then identifies the problem's causes, and finally offers the solution uses the ________________ organizational scheme.
Q7) If a question is hostile or biased, rephrase it before you answer it. A)True B)False
Q8) In a _____ presentation, the speaker speaks without interruption and questions are held until the end.
Page 14
Q9) 65% of our communication depends on __________________.
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Chapter 13: Employment Communications
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Sample Questions
Q1) Using gerunds ("ing" verbs) is preferable to using nouns in a résumé job description.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following is NOT a reason to use a chronological résumé?
A)Your education and experience are logical preparation for the position
B)You have impressive job titles, offices or honours
C)You have an atypical work history that may raise questions
D)You have shown good progress to your current position
Q3) Which of following communication behaviours is MOST likely to be successful in an interview?
A)Using technical jargon appropriate to the position
B)Making it clear that you are using the interview to learn about the company and what it can offer
C)Giving short answers of ten words or less
D)Responding neutrally to the interviewer's statements
Q4) Under the résumé heading "Activities," do not include volunteer work unless you are applying to a non-profit organization.
A)True
B)False
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