Deck 14: Informative Presentations

Question 1

Which of these statements is an accurate reflection of the relationship between informative and persuasive presentations?

A) Both presentation types require information that is timely and credible.
B) Timeliness of information is important to an informative presentation but not to a persuasive one.
C) Credibility of information is important to an informative presentation but not to a persuasive one.
D) Timeliness of information is important to a persuasive presentation but not to an informative one.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

A good informative presentation is persuasive to the extent that you should convince your audience ______.

A) to act on the information you present in a particular way
B) that the information you provide is credible
C) that anyone who disagrees with your interpretation of the facts is wrong
D) that no one understands the topic better than you do

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The goal of a(n) ______ is to convey new information and increase your audience's understanding about a topic.

A) persuasive presentation
B) persuasive outline
C) informative presentation
D) information outline

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The fundamental difference between informative and persuasive presentations is the ______.

A) introduction
B) summary
C) speaker's credibility
D) speaker's intent

Question 5

What is the fundamental difference between informative presentations and persuasive presentations?

A) Only persuasive presentations seek to change the audience's behavior or belief.
B) Only informative presentations need to be concerned with the amount of information.
C) Only informative presentations require credible information.
D) Only persuasive presentations require timely information.

Question 6

Your classmate's assignment is to give an informative presentation on the differences among several different voting systems. By the end of the presentation, she asserts that the American political system is broken and that American elected representatives would better serve the public's interest if the Electoral College were abolished and a ranked voting system implemented in its place. In preparing for her presentation, your classmate failed to ______.

A) use a keyword outline
B) account for different learning styles
C) consider her speaker's intent
D) conduct an audience analysis

Question 7

What should you continually ask yourself to help ensure that your speaker's intent is appropriate for an informative presentation?

A) "Can I verify that my information is accurate?"
B) "What am I trying to do with this information?"
C) "How can I get my audience to behave the way I want them to in response to this information?"
D) "Will my audience care about this information?"

Question 8

Which of these strategies is flawed and may increase audience misunderstanding?

A) using your audience's prior knowledge
B) giving internal previews and internal summaries
C) presenting as much information as possible
D) paying attention to the audience's nonverbal cues

Question 9

Who or what is responsible for the degree to which an audience connects and engages with the information in an informative presentation?

A) the audience
B) the presenter
C) the person who conducted the audience analysis
D) the inherently interesting or uninteresting nature of the topic

Question 10

If you are able to explain a complex topic in a manner that an elementary school student would find accessible, you ______.

A) most likely understand the topic at only a superficial level
B) have been successful
C) have probably oversimplified the topic
D) have probably glossed over crucial details to a degree that borders on unethical

Question 11

Which type of informative presentation shows the audience how to do something and often gives them a chance to try what they have learned?

A) exploratory
B) descriptive
C) explanatory
D) demonstrative

Question 12

A(n) ______ speech shows the audience how to do something and sometimes gives the audience members a chance to try what they have learned.

A) demonstrative
B) descriptive
C) explanatory
D) exploratory

Question 13

A(n) ______ informative presentation describes interesting people, places, or events.

A) descriptive
B) exploratory
C) explanatory
D) demonstrative

Question 14

A(n) ______ informative presentation occurs when you invite the audience to learn or discover information about a topic.

A) descriptive
B) exploratory
C) explanatory
D) demonstrative

Question 15

Which of these is an example of a demonstrative presentation topic?

A) concept of body art
B) finding a summer job
C) a recent family vacation
D) evolving family dynamics

Question 16

Which of these statements accurately describes exploratory informative presentations?

A) They should resolve any unanswered questions on the topic.
B) Experts on the subject may be tentative with their conclusions.
C) They assume the audience has some previous knowledge about the topic.
D) They do not invite the audience to learn or discover.

Question 17

______ is a form of informative presentation that uses entertainment, often in the form of humorous stories, sad tales, or daring narratives of adventure, to inform audiences about important social issues.

A) Reality television
B) A feature story
C) Edutainment
D) Fake news

Question 18

______ informative presentations describe interesting people, places, or events. A key to this type of speech is allowing the audience to imagine interacting with the person, place, or event.

A) Explanatory
B) Exploratory
C) Demonstrative
D) Descriptive

Question 19

If you have ever had a moment when you wanted to share with someone something about some new or amazing facts you just learned, these same feelings are what you are trying to accomplish with a(n) ______ informative presentation.

A) exploratory
B) explanatory
C) descriptive
D) demonstrative

Question 20

You give a presentation detailing the life of Eleanor Roosevelt. This is an example of which type of informative presentation?

A) exploratory
B) explanatory
C) descriptive
D) demonstrative

Question 21

An accountant explains how to construct a "CD ladder," a technique that enables investors to benefit from the high interest rates of long-term certificates of deposit without losing access to their money for overly long periods of time. This is an example of which type of informative presentation?

A) exploratory
B) explanatory
C) descriptive
D) demonstrative

Question 22

A biology professor delivers a lecture on a recent discovery in genetics, the causes and ramifications of which are still largely a mystery to scientists. This is an example of which type of informative presentation?

A) exploratory
B) explanatory
C) descriptive
D) demonstrative

Question 23

A high school science teacher explains how plants derive energy from sunlight via photosynthesis. This is an example of which type of informative presentation?

A) exploratory
B) explanatory
C) descriptive
D) demonstrative

Question 24

What is a common reason why it might be necessary for a speaker to define new terms or ideas for the audience?

A) The topic is uninteresting, and definitions will make it more exciting.
B) The topic is technical and complex.
C) Most of the audience speaks a different language.
D) Most of the audience has never heard of the topic.

Question 25

Which organizational pattern groups information around central themes or ideas that can help audience members remember the new information in chunks or groupings?

A) chronological
B) topical
C) spatial
D) cause-and-effect

Question 26

Which organizational pattern would be most effective for a demonstration speech on how to set up a Twitter account?

A) spatial
B) cause-and-effect
C) chronological
D) topical

Question 27

An audience that knows that they will receive a(n) ______, or a psychological or physical benefit obtained from the speech, will be more eager to hear what you have to say.

A) award
B) bribe
C) accolade
D) reward

Question 28

What is an effective way to let the audience know early on what reward they can gain from your presentation?

A) Use a reward in the attention getter.
B) Pass around a sign-up sheet for extra credit points.
C) Set up drawings and offer door prizes.
D) Create flyers that advertise hors d'oeuvres.

Question 29

Which of these is true regarding audience involvement during a presentation?

A) Audience involvement is not important in a learning environment.
B) Involvement should be used to help audience members get over their stage fright.
C) Involvement helps the speaker connect and engage with the audience.
D) Involvement risks eroding audience members' attention because they know they might be asked to participate.

Question 30

______ learners like to learn from reports, essays, and handouts.

A) Visual
B) Kinesthetic
C) Read/write
D) Auditory

Question 31

______ learners will carefully listen to what you say to retain the information.

A) Kinesthetic
B) Visual
C) Read/Write
D) Auditory

Question 32

Hands-on demonstrations are best for ______ learners because these types of audiences need to actively be doing something related to the message.

A) kinesthetic
B) visual
C) read/write
D) auditory

Question 33

______ learners understand ideas and concepts through pictures, slides, maps, graphs, and diagrams.

A) Read/write
B) Visual
C) Auditory
D) Kinesthetic

Question 34

Which of these is an effective strategy for planning and delivering an informative presentation?

A) Give the audience incentive to listen by offering a reward.
B) Use your favorite organizational format regardless of the topic of your speech.
C) Present the information according to your own learning style.
D) Let your audience rely on context clues to deduce necessary terms and ideas.

Question 35

Defining terms at the beginning of a presentation is ______.

A) likely to increase audience misunderstanding.
B) necessary for audience understanding
C) likely to reduce audience engagement
D) a poor use of limited presentation time

Question 36

A math teacher explains how to "complete the square," a five-step technique for solving a quadratic equation. Which organizational patterns should the teacher use?

A) spatial
B) topical
C) chronological
D) cause-and-effect

Question 37

While delivering a presentation about the monastic traditions of 14th century England, you notice that about half of the faces in the room turn blank after you say the word erudite. You should ______.

A) continue with your presentation, because an attentive audience member should be able to figure out the meaning of the word from context
B) continue with your presentation, because the meaning of any given word isn't all that important
C) continue with your presentation, because a definition would be boring to the people who do know what the word means
D) back up and explain what the word means

Question 38

The different ways individuals like to obtain and process information are known as ______.

A) cognitive dispositions
B) left- or right-brain favoritism
C) information-processing preferences
D) learning styles

Question 39

Having frequent transitions, signposts, and internal summaries in your presentation will best help ______ learners retain the information better.

A) auditory
B) visual
C) kinesthetic
D) olfactory

Question 40

When a speaker presents information in pictures, graphs, and diagrams, he or she is most significantly helping ______ learners retain the information better.

A) auditory
B) visual
C) kinesthetic
D) olfactory

Question 41

Imagine you are giving a demonstrative presentation on relaxation through basic yoga, and you select four audience members to each demonstrate one basic yoga position. This technique would most help ______ learners better retain the information.

A) auditory
B) visual
C) kinesthetic
D) olfactory

Question 42

What is the best way for you as a speaker to address learning styles during your presentation?

A) Don't worry about it; you can't please everyone.
B) Tend toward the learning style that your instructor prefers.
C) Figure out your favored learning style, and stick with it.
D) Use a variety of tools that favor all four learning styles.

Question 43

Prior to delivering a PowerPoint presentation, your professor creates a PDF of the slides and e-mails it to everyone in the class. The PDF will be most helpful to students who favor which learning style?

A) kinesthetic
B) visual
C) auditory
D) read/write

Question 44

Joan is giving a presentation about weight loss. At the beginning of her introduction, she says, "What if I told you there was a simple way to lose one pound a week, every week, and still eat all the foods you love?" This question serves what role in Joan's presentation?

A) importance of topic
B) attention getter
C) thesis statement
D) preview of main points

Question 45

In the introduction portion of the outline for her informative presentation, Ajira prepares an attention-getting device, a thesis statement, and a preview of her main points. Which primary component of an informative presentation's introduction has Ajira left out?

A) a call to action
B) a preview of the rewards her audience will obtain from listening to her presentation
C) proof of her credibility as a speaker
D) a demonstration of the topic's importance

Question 46

In the conclusion portion of the outline for his informative presentation, Khasim prepares a restatement of his thesis and a creative ending. Which primary component of an informative presentation's conclusion does Khasim still need to prepare?

A) a call to action
B) proof of his credibility as a speaker
C) a restatement of his main points
D) a demonstration of the topic's importance

Question 47

You should restate your thesis and central idea in which part of your presentation?

A) transitions
B) conclusion
C) body
D) introduction

Question 48

The ______ help(s) connect one part of your speech to another.

A) introduction
B) body
C) conclusion
D) transitions

Question 49

The ______ help(s) signal to the audience that one part of the presentation is finished and the next part is starting.

A) transitions
B) introduction
C) body
D) conclusion

Question 50

What should you do if your audience already knows the topic of your informational presentation?

A) Make no changes and continue as you originally planned.
B) Continue as you originally planned, but apologize for providing the same information.
C) Attempt to apply the information in ways the audience may not have considered.
D) Attempt to convince the audience that you understand the information better than they do.

Question 51

Which statement is applicable to explanatory informative presentations?

A) They are usually presented in a chronological organizational pattern.
B) A speaker may conduct research and present his or her findings.
C) Topics are made relevant to the audience by relating them to historical events.
D) They may describe an interesting person or place.

Question 52

Which of these terms refers to a style of learning?

A) kinesthetic
B) chronological
C) cause-and-effect
D) spatial

Question 53

Which of these suggestions is likely to reduce audience misunderstanding?

A) Leverage your audience members' prior knowledge.
B) Avoid redundancy in your presentation.
C) Hint at, but do not explicitly define, complex terms in your speech.
D) Don't limit the amount of information that you present in an informational speech.

Question 54

Which of these suggestions will improve the quality of your introduction?

A) Don't overtly try to grab the audience's attention.
B) Clearly establish your call to action.
C) Preview your main points.
D) Ask the audience a hypothetical question.

Question 55

Al Gore's film, An Inconvenient Truth (2006), was a documentary integrating technology, media, and face-to-face communication. Seeking to educate audiences about climate change, the film was an example of ______.

A) chunking
B) kinesthetic learning
C) information overload
D) edutainment

Question 56

An infomercial is a classic example of the confusion between a persuasive presentation and an informative presentation. It is sometimes approached as a TV spot merely giving viewers information, when in fact its sole purpose is ______.

A) either informative or persuasive, depending on context
B) to help viewers do their research before making an important purchase
C) to convince viewers to buy the product
D) edutainment

Question 57

The key to any successful ______ presentation is your ability to convey new information in a way that connects and engages with the audience.

A) informative
B) persuasive
C) kinesthetic
D) edutainment

Question 58

______ is the organizational style in which an informative speech is grouped by space or location while the ______ organizational pattern is applied when describing events that happened in the past.

A) Spatial; chronological
B) Chronological; spatial
C) Topical; cause-and-effect
D) Cause-and-effect; topical

Question 59

Learning styles refer to the different ways individuals like to ______ information.

A) obtain and process
B) see and present
C) make deductions from
D) analyze and integrate

Question 60

A ______ outline is what you would present in front of the audience; it is based on the ______ outline.

A) keyword; full-sentence
B) full-sentence; keyword
C) topical; spatial
D) spatial; topical

Question 61

Juggling a lot of information changes how we act and think-and not in a good way.

Question 62

Both informative and persuasive presentations need to provide credible and timely information in order to be effective.

Question 63

In order to relate your topic to the audience, you should talk only about information with which your audience is already familiar.

Question 64

Because it's important that your presentation not turn into a glossary, a speech on a highly technical topic should not spend any more time on defining key terms than should a speech on any other topic.

Question 65

It is necessary to define key terms in your presentation because you cannot assume that your audience can use the contextual clues to figure out anything they are uncertain of.

Question 66

If you find yourself in a situation in which the audience members already know the topic or are educated on the topic, you can personalize the information for the audience so the audience members are still interested in the topic.

Question 67

When your speech will cover a complex subject, avoid being too technical so that you don't lose your audience.

Question 68

Edutainment uses entertainment as a way to inform audiences about important social issues.

Question 69

The key to a good demonstrative presentation is to choose a demonstration that the audience will want to learn, regardless of their ability to learn it within your allotted time period.

Question 70

Multimedia aids are a great way to add to a descriptive presentation and paint a picture for your audience.

Question 71

Informative presentations that demonstrate, explain, describe, or explore assume that the audience has at least heard about the topic in some form.

Question 72

"How to use a treadmill effectively" is a better topic for a 10-minute demonstrative speech than is "How to exercise."

Question 73

One of the keys to a good demonstrative presentation is to be general with your topic rather than too specific.

Question 74

The type of organizational pattern used by a speaker can make a huge difference in the level of understanding gained by the audience.

Question 75

Research has shown that "chunking" new information is an effective way to remember it.

Question 76

The less you can repeat your main points, the more your audience will remember.

Question 77

A question-and-answer period at the end of a presentation is an effective way to get the audience involved because it allows them to clarify what they've heard.

Question 78

Although an audience analysis can help you choose which learning style to favor, it is often best to use a variety of tools throughout your presentation.

Question 79

Kinesthetic learners are individuals who prefer to obtain and process information by hearing and speaking it.

Question 80

At the heart of an informative presentation is the ability to connect and engage with the audience.