Deck 1: Speaking in Public 

Question 1

Most successful speakers are nervous before taking the floor.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

In specialized fields, technical knowledge is more important to employers than communication skills when deciding whom to hire and promote.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

As your textbook states, texting, tweeting, and other forms oelectronic communication have significantly reduced the need for public speaking.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

The teaching and study opublic speaking began more than 4,000 years ago.

Question 5

Thinking positively about your ability to give a speech is one way to control your anxiety about speaking.

Question 6

It has been estimated that being fully prepared for a speech can reduce stage fright by up to 75 percent.

Question 7

Fortunately, stage fright only affects inexperienced speakers.

Question 8

Public speaking requires the same method odelivery as ordinary conversation.

Question 9

When you adjust to the situation oa public speech, you are doing on a larger scale what you do every day in conversation.

Question 10

Public speaking usually requires more formal language than everyday conversation.

Question 11

For most beginning speakers, the biggest part ostage fright is fear othe unknown.

Question 12

Research has shown that for most speakers, anxiety decreases significantly after the first 30 to 60 seconds oa speech.

Question 13

As your textbook states, public speaking is a form oempowerment because it gives speakers the ability to manipulate people.

Question 14

Both public speaking and conversation involve adapting to listener feedback.

Question 15

Communication skills, including public speaking, are often more important to employers than a job candidate's undergraduate major.

Question 16

As a speaker, you can usually assume that an audience will be interested in what you have to say.

Question 17

Public speaking is more highly structured than everyday conversation.

Question 18

Some nervousness before you speak is usually beneficial.

Question 19

Thinking ostage fright as "stage excitement" or "stage enthusiasm" can help you get focused and energized for a speech.

Question 20

Many othe symptoms ostage fright are due to adrenaline, a hormone released into the bloodstream in response to physical or mental stress.

Question 21

As your textbook explains, visualization involves creating a mental picture oyourselsucceeding at your speech.

Question 22

A speaker's frame oreference and a listener's frame oreference will never be exactly the same.

Question 23

As your textbook explains, the best way to approach public speaking is to view it as an act ocommunication, rather than as a performance.

Question 24

The channel is the means by which a message is communicated.

Question 25

Critical thinking is a way othinking negatively about everything you hear in a speech.

Question 26

Your goal in public speaking is to have your intended message be the message that is actually communicated.

Question 27

Practicing speech delivery is one othe most important ways in which public speaking helps develop your skills as a critical thinker.

Question 28

Speakers who think positively about themselves and the speech experience are more likely to overcome their stage fright than are speakers who think negatively.

Question 29

Most othe nervousness public speakers feel internally is not visible to their listeners.

Question 30

Listeners usually realize how tense a speaker is.

Question 31

It is usually a bad idea to make eye contact with individual members oyour audience.

Question 32

Researchers suggest that you counter every negative thought you have about your speeches with at least five positive ones.

Question 33

Most othe time, the listener's frame oreference is identical to the speaker's frame oreference.

Question 34

The channel is the room in which speech communication takes place.

Question 35

You will do the best in your speeches iyou expect perfection every time.

Question 36

Audiences are usually critical ospeakers for making minor mistakes.

Question 37

Organizing ideas for presentation in a speech is an important aspect ocritical thinking.

Question 38

Using the power ovisualization to control stage fright means that you should approach your speech as a performance in which the audience is looking for perfection.

Question 39

In many aspects opublic speaking, you will employ the skills ocritical thinking.

Question 40

As your textbook explains, the speaker's message consists only owhat the speaker says with language.

Question 41

Because most people share the same frame oreference, the meaning oa message is usually the same to a listener as to a speaker.

Question 42

Speechmaking becomes more complex as cultural diversity increases.

Question 43

Although language changes from culture to culture, the meaning ononverbal signals is consistent across cultures.

Question 44

The nonverbal messages that listeners send back to speakers are called feedback.

Question 45

Ethnocentrism is the beliethat one's own group or culture is superior to all other groups or cultures.
Multiple-Choice Questions Students are to indicate the answer for each question by circling the correct letter.)

Question 46

Ethnocentrism is unique to Western cultures such as those in the United States and Europe.

Question 47

Interference can come from either inside or outside your audience.

Question 48

Ethnocentrism often leads to prejudice and hostility toward people odifferent racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds.

Question 49

As your textbook explains, many othe 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.

Question 50

When you give a speech to your classmates, you are engaged in one-way communication.

Question 51

Interference is anything that impedes the communication oa message.

Question 52

Public speakers who seek to avoid being ethnocentric need to show respect for the cultures othe people they address.

Question 53

Ethnocentrism needs to be avoided when you are in the role olistener as well as when you are in the role ospeaker.

Question 54

When your textbook describes public speaking as a form oempowerment, 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 make bad ideas seem good.

Question 55

Ethnocentrism is an advantage to speakers who seek to understand the values, beliefs, and customs oaudiences from different cultures.

Question 56

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

Question 57

Most public speaking situations involve two-way communication.

Question 58

Avoiding ethnocentrism means that you must agree with the values and practices oall groups and cultures.

Question 59

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.

Question 60

Ethnocentrism is a part oevery culture.

Question 61

Which othe 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

Question 62

According to your textbook, rather than trying to eliminate every trace ostage fright, you should aim at transforming it into
a. general tension.
b. visualized adrenaline.
c. professional stage fright.
d. positive nervousness.
e. performance anxiety.

Question 63

Which othe following does your textbook recommend as a way to deal with nervousness in your speeches?
a. Visualize yourself giving a successful speech.
b. Concentrate on communicating with the audience, rather than on your nerves.
c. Choose a topic you care about and prepare thoroughly for the speech.
d. all of the above
e. b and c only

Question 64

Which othe 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

Question 65

One way to build confidence as a speaker is to create a vivid mental blueprint in which you see yourselsucceeding in your speech. According to your textbook, this process is called
a. representation.
b. imagistic practice.
c. anticipatory rehearsal.
d. foreshadowing.
e. visualization.

Question 66

Whatever a speaker communicates to someone else is termed the
a. channel.
b. code.
c. feedback.
d. message.
e. source.

Question 67

According to your textbook, when you employ the power ovisualization as a method ocontrolling 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.

Question 68

Many othe 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.

Question 69

Which othe 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.

Question 70

Asad was giving an interesting speech about the earliest astronomical observatories-a subject he was very excited about-when he misidentified the founder othe Istanbul observatory. When he realized his mistake, he corrected it, but then he felt flustered and wasn't as confident for the rest ohis speech. What advice from your textbook should Asad keep in mind?
a. Audiences focus more on a speaker's ideas than on details of his or her delivery.
b. Most of a speaker's nervousness isn't visible to the audience.
c. There is no such thing as a perfect speech.
d. all of the above
e. b and c only

Question 71

Which othe following aspects opublic 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

Question 72

Research has shown that the anxiety level omost speakers drops ofsignificantly
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.

Question 73

Heather was in the midst oan excellent speech on campus history when she made a minor mistake by giving the wrong date for the opening oa campus building. She suddenly stopped speaking and said, "Oh, I messed up." Then she provided the correct date. The rest oher speech went well, but all she could think about afterward was her mistake. What is the major piece oadvice 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.

Question 74

Which othe 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. Tell a lot of jokes during your speech.

Question 75

Which othe 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.

Question 76

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

Question 77

All othe following are recommended by your textbook to help you deal with nervousness except:
a. Acquire speaking experience.
b. Focus on achieving perfection.
c. Remember that most nervousness is not visible to the audience.
d. Visualize yourself giving a successful speech.
e. Prepare your speech thoroughly.

Question 78

Which othe following does your textbook recommend as a way to deal 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

Question 79

Dealing with such matters as the logical relationships among ideas, the soundness oevidence, and the differences between fact and opinion are all part owhat your textbook calls
a. deduction.
b. critical thinking.
c. rational communication.
d. oral deliberation.
e. induction.

Question 80

According to the advice given in your textbook, iyou make a mistake when you are giving a speech, the best thing to do is
a. start that part of the speech over and deliver it the way you had planned.
b. keep going because your audience doesn't know what you had planned to say.
c. stop and tell your audience that you messed up because you are so nervous.
d. assume that your speech is a failure because you made a mistake.
e. read from your notes for the rest of the speech to avoid further mistakes.