Deck 10: Oral Reports and Presentations

Question 1

Li wants to create variety in her seminar presentation and needs some ideas.Which of the following should NOT be recommended to Li as way of increasing the seminar's variety value?

A) Li could do something different every seven minutes.
B) Li could pace the stage.
C) Li could get the audience to talk in pairs.
D) Li could get the audience writing.
E) Li could hand out a quiz.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

If a speaker began her talk by saying, 'On any given Saturday night, one quarter of all the people in Australia will be watching the same television program,' you would see the statement as:

A) a startling statement.
B) a personal experience.
C) an example.
D) a personal reference.
E) a deliberate lie.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

2.In the introduction to a talk, which three of the following are necessary?
a. Focusing the audience's attention on your message.
b. Establishing your credibility.
c. Showing how the topic is important to them, not just to you.
d. Giving a summary of all the points you intend to make.
e. Keeping the audience guessing about the main theme of your talk until near the end, then springing it upon them.

Answer 3

a, b, c

Question 4

Varying your pitch in a speech means:

A) talking faster at times, and slower at others.
B) talking louder at times, and softer at others.
C) talking higher at times, and lower at others.
D) talking gently at times, and harshly at others.
E) talking persuasively at times, and defensively at others.

Question 5

One goal of your conclusion is to:

A) put yourself at ease.
B) leave your audience with a memorable idea or suggestion.
C) make the structure of the speech obvious.
D) suggest to the audience that you have more to say.
E) stop the audience fidgeting.

Question 6

Telling a humorous story as part of the introduction is valuable to the speaker if:

A) it provides a contrast to an otherwise boring talk.
B) it is really funny.
C) it relates to the content of the speech.
D) it is memorable.
E) it is clean.

Question 7

To create effective visual aids, be sure that:

A) you only use expensive materials.
B) you only include information that you will emphasise in your speech.
C) you only use fancy typefaces.
D) you always use as many pictures or 'clip art' items as possible.
E) the audience can see them.

Question 8

Which of the following is the BEST definition of the term 'articulation'?

A) Articulation is the rate words are spoken at.
B) Articulation is the varying of pitch.
C) Articulation is the volume of speech.
D) Articulation is the use of pausing and silence to improve clarity.
E) Articulation is the formation of words with the tongue, lips, teeth and soft and hard palate.

Question 9

You have determined that your audience will be hostile to the idea of raising fees, yet you believe that a rise in fees is necessary.Under these circumstances, you should:

A) begin the speech with a challenge to audience fairness.
B) avoid any speech topic that involves raising fees.
C) not worry about what the audience thinks.
D) begin by getting the audience to agree that existing needs are not being met, then suggest how a rise in fees would meet those needs.
E) end the speech with a warning that standards will fall unless fees go up.

Question 10

David is giving a talk at a local community organisation and has decided to allow questions at any time throughout the talk.What could be an advantage of allowing this?

A) The questions raised could be points that David was planning on covering off on anyway.
B) The questions raised could sidetrack David's topic development.
C) The questions raised could make the talk seem more relaxed and conversational.
D) The questions raised could be unnecessary.
E) The questions raised could take up too much time.

Question 11

Which one of the following statements does the textbook support?

A) A speech should never be written out in full.
B) An address must be long and full of statistics.
C) An oral report should be a personal narrative containing jokes.
D) A talk is shorter and more informal than a speech or address.
E) A lecture must be formal and serious.

Question 12

The textbook recommends a number of strategies to combat the dreaded 'ers' and 'ums' that many speakers use when they are nervous.Which of the following is not one of the ways to overcome the 'ums'?

A) Speak more rapidly.
B) Speak more slowly.
C) Use silent pauses.
D) Rehearse the speech with family or friends.
E) Use a pause to identify the word you want to use next.

Question 13

Probably the most important reason for employing gestures in a speech is that:

A) gestures relax the speaker and relieve nervous tension.
B) almost all speech textbooks recommend the use of gestures.
C) effective gestures alert the listener to main points.
D) effective gestures may lead the audience to overlook weaknesses in the speech.
E) effective gestures reinforce the speaker's remarks.

Question 14

The textbook talks about the Murphy's Law of presentations.What does this refer to?

A) When you are doing a presentation, relax, because everything will work out fine.
B) Experienced presenters are the most successful at presenting.
C) Presenters need to be well-prepared and practiced, as whatever can go wrong will go wrong on the day of the presentation.
D) Reliance on audiovisual aids can be disastrous for public speaking.
E) A presenter's nerves make problematic presentations.

Question 15

It is important to organise and develop speech material:

A) to emphasise your strengths and hide your weaknesses.
B) in a way that is best suited to your audience.
C) in a way that makes it easier on you.
D) to highlight your expertise in the subject.
E) so that you will not run out of material.

Question 16

Which of the following would not help a speaker overcome speech fright?

A) Using notes.
B) Using controlled movements.
C) Being well-prepared and practiced.
D) Using visual aids.
E) Shallow breathing.

Question 17

1.Reporting, narration, instruction, demonstration, analysis, description, illustration - these are the seven modes of expression used in oral presentation.Which one is used in each of the following speech extracts from a talk?
a. I saw the car swerve over to the right, mount the kerb and slam into a power pole.
b. Please remember to release the brake before engaging the drive gear and pressing the accelerator pedal.
c. The speaker finished her talk on Thai cuisine, and then passed around the room small helpings of duck curry.
d. The speaker suggested there were three main causes of road fatalities: speed, intoxication and inexperience.
e. One hundred years ago, the cliff-side, now a mass of weeds from people's gardens, was full of blue orchids and the purple glory of sarsaparilla.

Question 18

What is one of Edward Tufte's criticisms of PowerPoint?

A) PowerPoint creates a professional image for presentations.
B) PowerPoint dumbs down the content of presentations by forcing a simplistic bullet point structure.
C) The audience can look to the PowerPoint presentation for guidance.
D) PowerPoint presentations can be projected onto a large screen.
E) PowerPoint presentations can be printed out and distributed to the audience.

Question 19

Asking a question during your talk is a good technique used to:

A) humiliate the audience.
B) get your listeners thinking about an idea.
C) entertain an audience.
D) startle an audience.
E) improve your own knowledge about the subject.

Question 20

The number of visual aids used in a speech should be limited because:

A) visual aids are unlikely to be remembered.
B) some visual aids are difficult to see.
C) you may be speaking in an environment that is not equipped for certain aids.
D) the focus should be on you, the speaker, not on mechanical objects.
E) they take too long to prepare.