Question 1

Jamal was chosen by his union to update the employees about the looming strike. The hall he is to speak in holds 500 people but has poor lighting, yet is equipped with a sound and computer system. Jamal decided to incorporate PowerPoint slides of charts and graphs that show the topics being negotiated. What one factor regarding this speaking situation helped Jamal determine how he would deliver his speech? Choose the BEST answer.
A) The size of his audience
B) The demographics of his audience
C) The time limit
D) The size and shape of the room

Accepted Answer

The size and shape of the room influenced Jamal's decision to incorporate PowerPoint slides in his speech. The poor lighting in the hall may make it difficult for the audience to see written material or handouts, but a computer system with slides allows visual aids to be projected clearly for everyone to see.

Question 2

What is one advantage of choosing a speech topic using your own experiences?
A) It is easier to visualize your topic, making the entire public speaking experience easier.
B) You are required to do less research.
C) There is less preparation.
D) You do not need to prepare an outline.

Accepted Answer

Choosing a speech topic based on your own experiences allows you to have a personal connection with the topic, making it easier to visualize and convey to the audience. However, it still requires preparation, research, and an outline to effectively communicate the message.

Question 3

Demographics refer to
A) age, sex, and ethnic/cultural/religious background.
B) physical characteristics.
C) demonstrating a predetermined methodology.
D) the population.

Accepted Answer

Demographics refer to the characteristics of a specific population, including age, sex, and ethnic/cultural/religious background.

Question 4

A prominent politician spoke to a first-grade class about the importance of registering to vote. During his speech, the politician used jargon the children did not understand. The politician failed to reach the children because he did NOT do which of the following?
A) Exercise his authoritative opinion
B) Analyze his audience
C) Establish his credibility
D) Cite his sources

Accepted Answer

The politician failed to analyze his audience, which is why he used jargon that the first-grade children did not understand. It is important to use language that is appropriate and understandable to the audience you are speaking to in order to effectively communicate your message.

Question 5

Ilene was preparing her informative speech on the band "Panic at the Disco." The majority of the class consisted of returning students whose ages ranged from 42 to 65. What should Ilene have considered when deciding her speech topic?
A) Demographics
B) Geographics
C) Ideographics
D) Stratigraphics

Accepted Answer

Ilene should have considered demographics, which refers to the characteristics of a particular group of people, such as their age range. Since the majority of the class consisted of older adults, she may have wanted to choose a topic that would be more relevant and interesting to them.

Question 6

Maslow used a hierarchy to describe basic human
A) desires.
B) audiences.
C) orientation.
D) needs.

Accepted Answer

Maslow's hierarchy of needs describes basic human needs. The hierarchy is often depicted as a pyramid, with basic physiological needs such as food, water, and shelter at the bottom, followed by safety, love and belonging, esteem, and finally self-actualization at the top.

Question 7

Appealing to the lowest level of Maslow's hierarchy of needs can evoke sympathy and interest. This most basic human need for water and air, for example, is what Maslow identifies as _____ needs.
A) safety
B) esteem
C) physiological
D) belonging

Accepted Answer

Maslow identifies physiological needs as the most basic human needs, including the need for water, air, food, and shelter. Safety needs are the next level in the hierarchy, followed by love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.

Question 8

Discussing the dangers of texting while driving, or drinking too much caffeine, is taking which of Maslow's needs into consideration?
A) Safety
B) Belonging
C) Esteem
D) Physiological

Accepted Answer

The discussion of the dangers of texting while driving or drinking too much caffeine is related to the need for safety, which is a basic physiological need according to Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

Question 9

Jarek was to deliver a 3- to 5-minute informative speech on the history of hip-hop. In preparation for his speech, he had his MP3 player ready to play several of his favorite "classics," and PowerPoint slides of the five most influential groups in hip-hop. Before he even made it through the second main point of his speech, he had to move straight to the conclusion. What did Jarek fail to take into account when analyzing the situation?
A) The size of his audience
B) The time limit
C) The size and shape of the room
D) The lighting

Accepted Answer

Jarek failed to take into account the time limit of his speech, which was 3 to 5 minutes. He prepared too much content and did not adjust it to fit within the time frame.

Question 10

One way to pick an appropriate speech topic and be able to adapt it to the audience is to look at audience characteristics. When we think of the many different "hats" people wear, what are we taking into consideration?
A) Occupation
B) Economic status
C) Societal roles
D) Needs

Accepted Answer

Considering the "hats" people wear refers to their societal roles, which encompass the various positions they hold within society, such as parent, student, or community leader. These roles influence their interests, concerns, and perspectives, making it a crucial factor to consider when choosing and adapting a speech topic.

Question 11

There are three ways to gather information when determining the characteristics of your audience. They are
A) examination, discussion, and opinion-poll.
B) observation, interviews, and surveys.
C) spying, intrusive questioning, and eavesdropping.
D) observation, intrusive questioning, and examination.

Accepted Answer

Observation, interviews, and surveys are the best ways to gather information when determining the characteristics of your audience. By observing your audience, you can gain insights into their behaviors and habits. Interviews allow you to ask direct questions and get specific answers. Surveys can reach a wider audience and provide quantitative data. Note that the other answer choices (A and C) suggest unethical or inappropriate methods for gathering information. Choice D includes intrusive questioning, which may not be well-received by your audience.

Question 12

One of the easiest and often least time-consuming ways we can determine some audience demographics is through
A) polling.
B) surveys.
C) observations.
D) interviews.

Accepted Answer

The answer of One of the easiest and often least...

Question 13

An information-gathering tool, which can pose a variety of general questions such as age, group, education, marital status, and income bracket, is a(n)
A) observation.
B) survey.
C) interview.
D) Likert scale.

Accepted Answer

A survey is a common information-gathering tool that can pose general questions to a large group of individuals in order to gather data on demographics or other topics of interest. Observations, interviews, and Likert scales are different research methods with different purposes and techniques.

Question 14

What type of scale does the following question use: "Do you strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with the following statement: Children with parents who continually fight are worse off than children whose parents are divorced."
A) Modified scale.
B) Likert scale.
C) Adaptive scale.
D) Primary scale.

Accepted Answer

The question uses a Likert scale, which asks respondents to indicate their level of agreement or disagreement with a statement using a response scale that typically ranges from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree."

Question 15

If, after you have considered yourself, the situation, and the audience, you find that you still have a difficult time deciding on a suitable topic, what should you try?
A) Rewriting your introduction
B) Picking presentational aids
C) Brainstorming
D) Analyze your goals in life

Accepted Answer

Brainstorming is a useful technique to generate ideas for a topic. It involves writing down all the possible topics that come to your mind, regardless of how feasible they seem. This can help you to narrow down your choices and find a suitable topic for your presentation. Rewriting your introduction or picking presentation aids may be helpful in refining your existing topic, but they may not necessarily help you to generate new ideas. Analyzing your goals in life may be helpful for personal growth, but it may not be relevant to choosing a presentation topic.

Question 16

Julianne is giving a speech at a local business about losing weight with diet and exercise. While doing her research, she realizes that there are several technical terms she would like to use but does not know if her audience will understand them. Julianne sends out a survey to the intended audience to gauge their understanding of the topic. What area of audience characteristics is Julianne taking into consideration?
A) The audience's attitude
B) The audience's needs
C) The audience's wants
D) The audience's knowledge

Accepted Answer

Julianne is taking into consideration the knowledge level of her intended audience with regards to the technical terms she would like to include in her speech.

Question 17

The general purpose of a speech
A) decides whether your overriding goal is to inform, to persuade, or to entertain.
B) decides what you hope to accomplish, which aspect you will cover, and your intended audience.
C) includes the major ideas of your speech.
D) includes the main points of your speech.

Accepted Answer

The general purpose of a speech is to determine the overarching goal, which is typically to inform, persuade, or entertain the audience.

Question 18

Discussing forensic evidence to members of the community, the crime scene investigator defined the terms, "alternative light source," "oblique lighting," and "latent fingerprints" to his audience because he felt that those terms were unrecognizable and uncommon. In doing so, the crime scene investigator
A) adapted to his audience.
B) personally connected with his audience.
C) addressed the interest of his audience.
D) provided his audience with a thesis statement.

Accepted Answer

The crime scene investigator adapted to his audience by defining uncommon terms in order to make the information more understandable.

Question 19

April told her audience, "Participating in an internship program will help you fulfill your graduation requirements for your major, add experience to your resume, and give you an opportunity to apply what you've learned to the workplace." This is an example of what kind of statement?
A) Opening statement
B) General purpose statement
C) Thesis statement
D) Specific purpose statement

Accepted Answer

This is a thesis statement because it presents the main argument or point that the speaker will be elaborating on throughout the presentation.

Question 20

Amy decided that her _____ would be "to inform her class about the three ways to effectively discipline a preschool child."
A) thesis statement
B) specific purpose
C) general purpose
D) call for action

Accepted Answer

The answer of Amy decided that her _____ would be...

Quiz 11: Selecting a Speech Topic and Adapting to the Audience

What is one advantage of choosing a speech topic using your own experiences?

Demographics refer to

A prominent politician spoke to a first-grade class about the importance of registering to vote. During his speech, the politician used jargon the children did not understand. The politician failed to reach the children because he did NOT do which of the following?

Ilene was preparing her informative speech on the band "Panic at the Disco." The majority of the class consisted of returning students whose ages ranged from 42 to 65. What should Ilene have considered when deciding her speech topic?

Maslow used a hierarchy to describe basic human

Appealing to the lowest level of Maslow's hierarchy of needs can evoke sympathy and interest. This most basic human need for water and air, for example, is what Maslow identifies as _____ needs.

Discussing the dangers of texting while driving, or drinking too much caffeine, is taking which of Maslow's needs into consideration?

One way to pick an appropriate speech topic and be able to adapt it to the audience is to look at audience characteristics. When we think of the many different "hats" people wear, what are we taking into consideration?

There are three ways to gather information when determining the characteristics of your audience. They are

One of the easiest and often least time-consuming ways we can determine some audience demographics is through

An information-gathering tool, which can pose a variety of general questions such as age, group, education, marital status, and income bracket, is a(n)

What type of scale does the following question use: "Do you strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with the following statement: Children with parents who continually fight are worse off than children whose parents are divorced."

If, after you have considered yourself, the situation, and the audience, you find that you still have a difficult time deciding on a suitable topic, what should you try?

The general purpose of a speech

April told her audience, "Participating in an internship program will help you fulfill your graduation requirements for your major, add experience to your resume, and give you an opportunity to apply what you've learned to the workplace." This is an example of what kind of statement?

Amy decided that her _____ would be "to inform her class about the three ways to effectively discipline a preschool child."