Deck 9: Informing Your Audience

Question 1

A speaker knows he needs to restrict the amount of information given, but can't decide how to accomplish this. He should

A) cut examples and illustrations.
B) limit the number of items but explain them in depth.
C) touch only very briefly on a wide range of subjects.
D) paraphrase quotations and estimate numerical data.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

A speech of demonstration is sometimes called a _____ because it often uses that particular type of element to reach the audience.

A) speech of repetition
B) speech of explanation
C) speech of illustration
D) speech of process

Answer 2

D

Question 3

What are the three main types of informative speeches?

A) speeches of persuasion, argumentation, and occasion
B) speeches of description, definition, and demonstration
C) speeches of oration, exposition, and conviction
D) speeches of explanation, illustration, and narration

Answer 3

B

Question 4

If you want people to listen to your informative speech, relate the information to

A) your age, gender, and ethnicity.
B) their assumptions, stereotypes, and prejudices.
C) the tone, pitch, and inflection of your voice.
D) their needs, wants, and goals.

Question 5

In adjusting your level of complexity when sharing information, you should take into consideration a number of factors, but not necessarily

A) the amount of time you have available.
B) the volume of your voice and rate of your speech.
C) the level of knowledge the audience has about your topic.
D) the purpose or goal you hope to achieve.

Question 6

The celebrity chef is planning her presentation on how to create an elegant French dish. Which organizational pattern works best for speeches like hers?

A) motivated sequence
B) topical
C) temporal
D) spatial

Question 7

In giving advice for a speech of demonstration, the text recommends that speakers avoid

A) attempting to do too much by adding presentation aids.
B) skipping steps the audience is familiar with.
C) demonstrating every stage in the sequence.
D) trying to label or name the steps.

Question 8

In his presentation, a microbiologist shares the meaning of three types of bacterial infections that his research staff is working on. He is giving a speech of

A) denotation.
B) demonstration.
C) description.
D) definition.

Question 9

An engineer from the water treatment plant gives a talk at the town meeting explaining how the latest water-purifying technology works. This is an example of a speech of

A) description.
B) definition.
C) demonstration.
D) departmentalization.

Question 10

A surgeon's presentation to first-year medical students has a low level of abstraction. This means that his talk is

A) complex and philosophical.
B) rambling and long-winded.
C) specific and concrete.
D) illogical and confusing.

Question 11

A student makes sure she avoids the pitfalls of many beginning speakers. For instance, she reminds herself that inexperienced speakers tend to make the mistake of

A) speaking too loudly.
B) giving a presentation that is too short.
C) assuming audiences won't understand sophisticated concepts.
D) trying to be too complex.

Question 12

A presidential candidate purposely mixes very general ideas and concepts with very specific details and statistical data in her campaign speech. What is she doing?

A) limiting the amount of information
B) varying the level of abstraction
C) providing support for the central idea
D) repeating the points to be remembered

Question 13

A political advisor needs to present all the events leading up to the latest U.S. military intervention on foreign soil. Which organizational pattern would be most appropriate?

A) temporal pattern
B) topical pattern
C) problem-solution pattern
D) spatial pattern

Question 14

A sports analyst is giving a presentation entitled, "Football and Soccer: What's the Difference?" This speech will focus primarily on

A) definition.
B) action.
C) demonstration.
D) description.

Question 15

A student has decided to present a speech of definition. Which instruction would apply to her as she begins to plan it?

A) Proceed from the known to the unknown.
B) Give a general overview and then get to the specifics.
C) Avoid dictionary definitions.
D) Guide the audience through the procedure step by step.

Question 16

It often helps to provide _____ to recap what you have said, indicate how it relates to what will follow, and generally reinforce your message.

A) question-and-answer breaks
B) internal summary transitions
C) delivery outlines
D) abstractions

Question 17

To commemorate an anniversary, a marketer for Bell Labs will give a speech on three scientific achievements by Alexander Graham Bell. Which pattern should she use?

A) spatial
B) who? what? where? when? and why?
C) pro-and-con
D) topical

Question 18

If you try to relate new information to old information, your listeners will tend to

A) forget the old information that they already know.
B) perceive the new information as even more strange and unfamiliar.
C) learn the new information more easily.
D) be bored with or uninterested in the new information.

Question 19

Organization works well when a speaker wants to describe

A) a series of historical episodes.
B) a place or geographical location.
C) an event or process.
D) a set of categories or classifications.

Question 20

A thesis states the central idea of a speech of demonstration. This indicates that the speaker will show the audience

A) how to do something or how something operates.
B) the meaning or definition of particular objects, events, or locations.
C) a level of expertise on a subject.
D) that a particular opinion or viewpoint should be embraced.

Question 21

Name and briefly define the three types of informative speeches.

Question 22

What single type of organizational pattern works best for just about any speech of demonstration, and why? Provide several guidelines for structuring such a speech.

Question 23

List three specific things that will make a speech easy for the audience to remember. Briefly discuss each item.

Question 24

One of the major difficulties in demonstrating a process during a speech is _____.

Question 25

The best way to focus the listeners' attention is to tell them to focus their attention, and where to focus it.

Question 26

In informative speaking, it is better to briefly present five items as a quick overview than to present two items and spend time explaining them in depth with examples, illustrations, and descriptions.

Question 27

Discuss how these three principles of informative speaking can make a speech more effective and understandable: limit information, adjust complexity, and vary abstraction level.

Question 28

When describing objects or people, it makes sense to use _____ or _____ organization styles.

Question 29

These are examples of speeches of definition: "The top peaks of the Rocky Mountains," "The magical mind of Walt Disney," and "The first St. Patrick's Day parade."

Question 30

Listeners remember information best when they see it as _____and _____ in their lives.

Question 31

To be effective, varying the levels of abstraction within the speech involves combining both _____ and _____.

Question 32

Your roommate is giving a demonstration speech on how a car engine works. She should give the individual steps first, and then present the overall picture.

Question 33

"What is cancer?" "What is a weapon of mass destruction?" "What is the difference between a vegetarian and a vegan?" These are all topics for informative speeches of _____.

Question 34

What is a speech of definition? How would you go about structuring and creating it? Trace the steps you would take.

Question 35

_____ are especially helpful support for the main ideas in speeches of demonstration.

Question 36

The "Who? What? When? Where? and Why?" pattern of organization offers a set of categories that are especially useful in speeches of demonstration.

Question 37

It is wise to look at yourself , the speaker, as a first principle of informative speaking, since you - and only you - will influence the information to be given and how it is to be presented.

Question 38

What is the thesis of a speech? Think of five broad topics you might consider for a speech of description, then write a thesis for each one.

Question 39

The main points of a speech of definition are produced by asking strategic questions of the thesis.

Question 40

If a speaker patterns the message, the audience will recognize this and will be able to understand and retain more because they have a framework to work from.