Public Speaking Practice Exam
Course Introduction
Public Speaking is a course designed to equip students with essential skills for effective oral communication in a variety of public settings. Through a combination of theory and practice, students will learn to research, organize, and deliver speeches with clarity, confidence, and persuasiveness. Topics include audience analysis, speech structure, overcoming speech anxiety, the use of visual aids, and adapting messages for diverse audiences. Students will also receive constructive feedback to refine their presentation style and develop strategies for engaging listeners, making this course valuable for both academic and professional contexts.
Recommended Textbook
Public Speaking Handbook 5th Edition by Steven A. Beebe
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18 Chapters
900 Verified Questions
900 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Introduction to Public Speaking
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Sample Questions
Q1) A person who practices _______ listens and analyzes information he or she hears in order to judge its accuracy and relevance.
Answer: critical thinking
Q2) Anything that interferes with the communication of a message is called ______. Answer: noise
Q3) A speaker's ability to translate the ideas and images in his or her mind into verbal or nonverbal messages that an audience can understand is termed A)feedback.
B)decoding.
C)encoding.
D)listening.
Answer: C
Q4) Having the resources,information,and attitudes that lead to action in achieving a desired goal is
A)an action plan.
B)empowerment.
C)self-confidence.
D)organization.
Answer: B
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Chapter 2: Speaking With Confidence
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Sample Questions
Q1) The more you anticipate the kind of reaction your listeners will have to your speech,the more anxiety you will acquire about delivering your speech.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) One study found that men are more likely to experience more anxiety than women when speaking to
A) people from a culture different from their own.
B) the opposite sex.
C) people with a higher education than their own.
D) people younger than they are.
Answer: A
Q3) Anxiety about a speech assignment decreases and confidence increases when speakers closely follow the directions and rules for developing a speech.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 3: Presenting Your First Speech
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Sample Questions
Q1) What are the three types of general purposes for speeches?
A)to inform,to persuade,to entertain
B)to entertain,to inspire,to elaborate
C)to elucidate,to elaborate,to entertain
D)to persuade,to elaborate,to convince
Answer: A
Q2) When selecting and narrowing a speech topic,it is NOT necessary to consider your own interests,talents,and experiences.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Every well-prepared speech has three major divisions: introduction,body,and conclusion.
A)True
B)False Answer: True
Q4) Different cultures have radically different expectations about public speaking.
A)True
B)False Answer: True
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Chapter 4: Speaking Freely and Ethically
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Sample Questions
Q1) You should NOT make statements in your speech that promote stereotypes or can be offensive to others.
A)True
B)False
Q2) While it is a freedom,free speech is not protected by law.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following would NOT need to be cited?
A)a direct quotation from a source
B)statistical information
C)common knowledge
D)a picture downloaded off the Internet
Q4) Patchwriting is failing to give credit for compelling phrases taken from another source.
A)True
B)False
Q5) A hypothetical illustration is considered unethical because it is false information. A)True
B)False
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Chapter 5: Listening to Speeches
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Sample Questions
Q1) The word ______ means "to judge or discuss."
Q2) You can keep you audience from tuning out by making sure your speech has a good balance between new information and supporting material.
A)True
B)False
Q3) _____ is the process of using a method or standards to evaluate the effectiveness and appropriateness of messages.
Q4) A way to combat information overload as a speaker is to avoid redundancy in your message.
A)True
B)False
Q5) By concentrating on both facts and major ideas,while also mentally summarizing the information you hear,you ultimately decrease your ability to remember messages.
A)True
B)False
Q6) What is the relationship between critical listening and critical thinking?
Q7) Explain the difference between facts and inferences,and provide an example of each.
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Chapter 6: Analyzing Your Audience
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Sample Questions
Q1) _____ reflects an individual's likes or dislikes.
Q2) Savena needed room to move during her speech,but when she arrived to make her presentation,she learned that she would have to use a microphone affixed to a lectern.Savena's mistake was not conducting a pre-speech
A)audience analysis.
B)formal demographic analysis.
C)situational analysis.
D)informal psychological analysis.
Q3) In order to plan for her class speech on the Patriot Act,Brenda passed around a brief questionnaire asking whether her classmates were for or against the act,and whether they thought parts of the act should change,etc.Was this a good idea?
A)No; by using the questionnaire,she revealed her speech topic to the class.
B)Yes; this is a smart audience analysis technique known as demographic audience analysis.
C)No; the class is a captive audience,so finding out their views ahead of time was not necessary.
D)Yes; this is a form of psychological audience analysis-a useful technique for any kind of audience.
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Page 8
Chapter 7: Developing Your Speech
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Sample Questions
Q1) A combination of your central idea and a summary of your main points is known as the
A)general purpose.
B)specific purpose.
C)central idea.
D)blueprint.
Q2) For his graduation ceremony,Brady decided to give his valedictory address on the topic "opposition to the rising costs of university tuition." What did Brady fail to do?
A)consider the occasion
B)narrow his topic
C)conduct a demographic analysis
D)consider the audience
Q3) You should state your central idea as a one-paragraph summary of your speech,and then generate main ideas by looking for natural divisions,reasons,or steps to support your central idea.
A)True
B)False
Q4) State the guidelines for preparing a specific purpose.
Q5) List four criteria for formulating a central idea.
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Chapter 8: Gathering and Using Supporting
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Sample Questions
Q1) In his speech about date rape on college campuses,Ryan cites statistics from state and county law enforcement documents; then he includes statistics from incidents on his own campus.Which principle of selecting the best supporting material is Ryan using?
A)proximity
B)suitability
C)variety
D)concreteness
Q2) A newspaper that prints the result of research study performed by the Mayo Clinic is considered a _______ source.
Q3) Fred's community is considering a city-wide smoking ban.He is trying to do research on the effects it will have on small business owners in the community.Which of the following would be the best way for him to gather information?
A)books
B)magazines
C)interviews
D)encyclopedias
Q4) List and explain the seven different types of supporting material.
Q5) List and explain five research strategies.
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Chapter 9: Organizing and Outlining Your Speech
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Sample Questions
Q1) ______ organization focuses on a situation and its causes or a situation and its effects.
Q2) Historical speeches and how-to speeches are the two kinds of speeches that are usually organized chronologically.
A)True
B)False
Q3) In his speech on varying explanations of how the earth came into existence,Eduardo begins with opinions,moves to inferences,and uses scientific facts in support of his last point.What principle of supporting material organization is Eduardo reflecting in his speech?
A)primacy-recency
B)"soft" to "hard" evidence
C)complexity
D)specificity
Q4) List the three rules for correct outlining and provide an example for each rule.
Q5) On the whole,U.S.speakers tend to be more linear and direct than speakers from Semitic,Asian,Romance,or Russian cultures.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 10: Introducing Your Speech
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Sample Questions
Q1) Startling an audience with the extent of a situation or problem invariably catches its members' attention but discourages them to listen further.
A)True
B)False
Q2) If your topic is timely,a reference to a _______ can be a good way to begin your speech.
Q3) An)_______is an illustration or a brief story.
Q4) A thoughtful _______ question can prompt your listeners' mental participation in your introduction,getting their attention and giving them a reason to listen.
Q5) It is important to build trust with the audience,to have them believe you and like you.This is known as speaker
A)likeability.
B)credibility.
C)trustworthiness.
D)popularity.
Q6) Explain the purpose of using a startling fact or statistic in a speech introduction and provide an example of how you could use one.
Q7) Why have quotations become such a common method of introducing a speech?
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Concluding Your Speech
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Sample Questions
Q1) ______ is the quality of a conclusion that makes a speech "sound finished."
A)Closure
B)Proximity
C)Credibility
D)Charisma
Q2) In addition to reemphasizing the central idea of the speech,the conclusion is also likely to restate the ________.
Q3) What is the purpose of referring to the introduction of a speech in the speech conclusion?
A)It provides a sense of closure.
B)It captures the audience's attention.
C)It gives the audience time to digest what they have heard.
D)It builds speaker credibility.
Q4) If your speech is informative,you should NOT ask your audience to take any sort of action after your speech.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Identify some verbal and nonverbal cues a speaker can use to provide closure.
Q6) Give an example of how to use a reference to the introduction in a speech conclusion.
Page 13
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Chapter 12: Using Words Well: Speaker Language and Style
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Sample Questions
Q1) A cliché is
A)the dictionary definition of a word.
B)used to present specific information in a speech.
C)an overused expression that may cause listeners to tune out.
D)a concrete word or phrase which exemplifies clear communication.
Q2) Specific words are concrete words,which appeal to one of our five senses.
A)True
B)False
Q3) To communicate successfully with the diverse group of listeners who comprise your audience,make sure your language is understandable,respectful,and unbiased.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Spoken communication is usually more formal and characterized by longer words and phrases than written communication.
A)True
B)False
Q5) The choice word structures can help give your message a distinctive style.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 13: Delivering Your Speech
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Sample Questions
Q1) Marian is speaking to a group from China,which she knows is a high-context culture.How should she adapt her delivery style to this culture?
A)Marian should deliver her speech slowly with little movement.
B)Marian should wear white because it stands out well.
C)Marian should use subtle gestures in her delivery.
D)Marian should use the same vocal inflection as they do.
Q2) In a public speaking situation,the speaker should pay attention to his or her emotions when delivering a speech because emotions are catching.This is explained by the
A)emotional contagion theory.
B)nonverbal expectancy theory.
C)communication delivery theory.
D)verbal expectancy theory.
Q3) A consistent style of pronouncing words that is common to an ethnic group or geographic region is
A)vocal variation.
B)articulation.
C)dialect.
D)intonation patterns.
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Page 15
Chapter 14: Designing and Using Presentation Aids
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Sample Questions
Q1) Why do many public speaking teachers discourage the use of chalkboards and whiteboards?
A)because they tend to distract the audience
B)because they are difficult to gain access to
C)because they require that the speaker be tech-savvy
D)because they force the speaker to turn his or her back to the audience
Q2) ________ is the use of images as an integrated element in the total communication effort a speaker makes to achieve the speaking goal.
Q3) _______combine images and sound to communicate ideas.
A)Objects
B)Audiovisual aids
C)Models
D)Audio aids
Q4) Which of the following is an advantage of using presentation aids in a speech?
A)They cover up a speaker's visible nervousness.
B)They help the audience understand and remember.
C)They can substitute for a general lack of information.
D)They can help a speaker stay within the time limit.
Q5) Identify and explain the four factors you should consider to select the right presentation aid.
Page 16
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Chapter 15: Speaking to Inform
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Sample Questions
Q1) Gus was asked to present information on the topic of art appreciation.This topic can be rather vague and subjective in nature; different pieces of art can be described in a multitude of ways.However,Gus found a way of clearly defining terms and concepts so the audience would have a common point of reference.For Gus,the primary goal of his informative speech was most likely to
A)enhance understanding.
B)maintain interest.
C)entertain the audience.
D)have the audience become art critics.
Q2) The type of informative speech you plan to make will often suggest ideas for supporting materials.
A)True
B)False
Q3) A speech about a _______ discusses how something works or describes a process that produces a particular outcome.
Q4) One way to talk about a person's life is in chronological order.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What are the four strategies to enhance audience understanding?
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Chapter 16: Understanding Principles of Persuasive Speaking
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Sample Questions
Q1) Explain the difference between attitudes,beliefs,and values and provide an example of each.
Q2) When a proposition in a persuasive speech focuses on having the listeners judge the worth or importance of something,it is a proposition of
A)fact.
B)value.
C)policy.
D)action.
Q3) Although Betsy lives in a state where carrying concealed weapons is legal,she wants to persuade her listeners that stricter handgun legislation should be passed.According to Maslow,which need is she addressing?
A)physiological
B)safety
C)social
D)self-esteem
Q4) ________ is the sense of mental discomfort that a person experiences when new information conflicts with that person's attitudes,beliefs,values,or behavior.
Q5) A ________ is a characteristic of something that you are describing.
Page 18
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Chapter 17: Using Persuasive Strategies
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Q1) In order to get members of an)_______audience to listen to you,it helps to acknowledge the opposing points of view that members of your audience may hold.
Q2) What is the term for a conclusion based on available evidence?
A)fact
B)example
C)inference
D)opinion
Q3) What is a fallacy? List and describe three types of common fallacies.
Q4) To use ________ as a strategy for persuasion,you first identify objections to your position that your listeners might raise and then overcome those objections with arguments and evidence.
Q5) Which of the following is an approach a speaker can use to gain the attention of a neutral audience and keep its members interest?
A)Clearly state your speaking objective.
B)Do not immediately announce that you plan to change their minds.
C)Consider making understanding rather than advocacy your goal.
D)Relate your topic not only to your listeners but also to their families,friends,and loved ones.
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Chapter 18: Speaking for Special Occasions and Purposes
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Q1) What are the two most important rules when making a speech of introduction?
A)Be brief and witty.
B)Be brief and persuasive.
C)Be brief and accurate.
D)Be accurate and self-serving.
Q2) In presenting an award,along with naming the award and the award recipient,you should also
A)list the other nominees who did not win the award.
B)discuss in detail the process for how the award recipient was chosen.
C)talk about the history and significance of the award.
D)tell a joke to calm the nerves of the award recipient .
Q3) Martina is concerned about her introductory speech for the guest speaker at her banquet.What should Martina keep in mind?
A)Audiences do not usually listen to introductions of speakers.
B)She should mention why she was chosen for this honor.
C)She should introduce the topic and the speaker,briefly and accurately.
D)She should tell as much about the speaker's credentials as she can find.
Q4) A ceremonial speech is also known as a epideictic speech.
A)True
B)False
Page 20
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