Deck 4: Interpersonal Communication

Question 1

Mirror neurons, which are subtle patterns of brain cells, help us

A) communicate with ourselves
B) understand people of a different generation
C) empathize with others
D) reflect our own opinions into the conversation

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Your manager discusses your job performance with you. She says, "Could you summarize for me what I've told you?" Your manager is attempting to overcome communication barriers by the method of

A) asking for feedback.
B) minimizing defensive communication.
C) displaying a positive attitude.
D) using multiple channels.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

To become a persuasive communicator,

A) be adamant about selling your proposal.
B) speak in the second person.
C) do not listen to people's objections.
D) establish a yes pattern at the outset.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which one of the following characteristics of a message is the least likely to encounter barriers?

A) factual
B) complex
C) emotionally arousing
D) clashes with the receiver's mental set

Question 5

According to the voice-quality study, the most annoying voice quality is

A) high-pitched and squeaky.
B) mumbling.
C) whining and complaining.
D) weak and wimpy.

Question 6

The purpose of nonverbal communication is to

A) convey the feeling behind a message.
B) clarify the spoken word.
C) reemphasize the spoken word.
D) prevent the spoken word from being interpreted too literally.

Question 7

A recommendation for improving listening skills is

A) judge delivery, not content.
B) restate what you hear.
C) let listening come more naturally.
D) listen for facts.

Question 8

A key component of understanding the receiver is to

A) engage in one-way communication.
B) recognize his or her emotional state.
C) offer him an incentive for listening.
D) summarize your key points.

Question 9

What or who is noise in the communication process?

A) anything that disrupts communication
B) the channel by which the message is sent
C) the individual who receives and attempts to understand the message
D) the individual attempting to send a

Question 10

In regard to communications, it has been observed that a positive attitude

A) decreases a person's credibility.
B) helps create a feeling of trust.
C) is often interpreted by the receiver as manipulation.
D) creates subtle barriers to communication.

Question 11

Defensive communication often occurs because the receiver is attempting to

A) create communication barriers.
B) confuse the sender.
C) impress the sender.
D) protect his or her self-esteem.

Question 12

One component not involved in the communication process is

A) environment.
B) channel.
C) sender.
D) static.

Question 13

Getting physically close to another person is usually interpreted as conveying

A) a positive attitude.
B) a negative attitude.
C) dominance.
D) readiness to enter into conflict.

Question 14

A major purpose of feedback in interpersonal communication is to

A) know whether a message has been received and understood.
B) prevent noise from taking place.
C) make the sender appear more impressive.
D) size up the climate for communication.

Question 15

The warm-cold dimension is important to the communication process because

A) we need to be able to communicate with people of different climate zones
B) we tend to invite the same behaviour as we send
C) we tend to select our messages based on the power structure of our relationship
D) we need a choice of tone when we are angry or upset

Question 16

Studies indicate that we generally communicate along one of two dimensions:

A) open-closed.
B) dominate-subordinate
C) oppress-submit.
D) simple-complex.

Question 17

The aspect of nonverbal communication offering the clearest indication of interpersonal attitudes is

A) facial expressions.
B) gestures.
C) interpersonal distance.
D) posture.

Question 18

Generally speaking, the more attention paid to the other person during face-to-face interactions:

A) the more nervous the other person will be
B) the more likely the other person is to make a critical error of judgement
C) the more likely the other person is to pay attention to the speaker
D) the more valued and important that person feels

Question 19

The three major components of communication are

A) sending, receiving, and understanding.
B) listening, hearing, and understanding.
C) sending, creating interference, and receiving.
D) speaking, writing, and questioning.

Question 20

The least useful of the following for communicating persuasively is to

A) establish goals as you go along in your presentation.
B) explore the reasons for a person's objections.
C) use power words.
D) develop fallback positions.

Question 21

When two people metacommunicate, they

A) misinterpret what each other is saying.
B) agree to disagree.
C) agree to agree.
D) communicate about how they are communicating.

Question 22

Repeating in your own words what a person said is an example of

A) an open-ended question.
B) paraphrasing.
C) verbal following.
D) communication overload.

Question 23

A communication style difference noted between men and women is that women are more likely to

A) talk out solutions to problems with another person.
B) want solutions rather than empathy when talking about problems.
C) be directive in conversation.
D) be critical of the work of coworkers.

Question 24

In stressful conversations, what should you NOT do? a) Mutter uh-huh, but not incessantly
B) Try not to speak at all, only listen
C) Ask open-ended questions
D) Ask yourself if anything he or she is saying could benefit you.

Question 25

A communication style difference noted between men and women is that men are more likely to

A) use conversation for rapport building.
B) want empathy more than solutions.
C) use talk to display knowledge and skill.
D) compliment the work of a coworker.