Pre-assessment, Introduction to Communication (HRC1) (PHRC)

Which scenario illustrates the dimension of communication competence of motivation?

A middle school student fails two classes, and tells his parents so they can help arrange tutoring

A teacher of a public speaking class asks students to give a presentation on the development of the automobile. Students are asked to use a sensory aid to enhance their presentations.What is an example of an appropriate sensory aid for this presentation?

A slideshow of early car designs

What is an example of a situation where making a persuasive speech would be appropriate?

A sports journalist needing to present the credentials of a Hall of Fame candidate to a selection committee

Which scenario illustrates the dimension of communication competence of communication skills?

A student incorporates suggestions from a teacher for persuading his group to agree with his class project proposal

Which scenario illustrates the dimension of communication competence of communication skills?

A teacher tries to improve active listening by practicing giving nonverbal feedback

A journalism student needs to communicate with his teacher about a grade that he feels is inaccurate. He wants to express his emotions as well as his thoughts as clearly as possible. Which is the appropriate medium to use?

A telephone call

Maria is going to a concert with a close friend. The concert features a musical act that Maria does not know much about, so she visits the band's website. The website contains a variety of information, such as video clips, photographs, a biography, a discography, and a merchandise store that reveals the band's perspectives and feelings on a variety of topics. After reading the information and viewing several video clips, Maria is excited to go to the concert. Which two concepts of communication is the website using to communicate effectively?Choose 2 answers

1) Multiple cues 2) Personality and emotion

The vice president of a company invites an employee to join a team tasked with recreating and innovating a current product. The project requires considerable creative work, critical evaluation, and compromise. Although the vice president admits the project will challenge traditions and will require people to be comfortable with disagreement, she expresses confidence that the project can be accomplished. As work on the project progresses, team members are upset when others disagree with their ideas and resist ideas that change the product from the way it is currently. Ultimately, the team disbands without achieving its goal.Which two concepts of team challenges and dysfunctions is this situation an example of?Choose 2 answers

1) System norms 2) Groupthink

In the documentary An Inconvenient Truth, Former Vice President Al Gore gives a presentation on global warming. The film includes technical jargon, which Mr. Gore clarifies using a conversational style and imagery. The film is available on DVD and other digital media formats. Which communication criteria for selecting a medium of communication guided this choice of message delivery? Choose 3 answers

1)Multiple cues 2)Natural language 3)Personality and emotion

Which scenario illustrates the dimension of communication competence of motivation?

A college student calls their parents on the telephone to tell them they did not receive a scholarship

Lin, who grew up in Taiwan, and Jordan, who grew up in the United States, are both in a public speaking course in the United States together and are practicing for a presentation. Jordan recommends Lin make eye contact with the audience during her presentation. Lin is uncomfortable making eye contact, but she knows that people in the United States make more eye contact during presentations.What should Lin do to improve her communication skills?

Adapt to the norms of the host culture by learning the norms for public communication and trying to follow them

Since she started dating Sam, Kelly has noticed that she likes herself more and feels validated.According to fundamental interpersonal relationship orientation (FIRO) theory, which human need is this relationship meeting?

Affection needs

Morgan and Tyler have been dating for two years. They decide to move in together. Which relationship maintenance strategy is this couple using to maintain a good relationship?

Assurance

A candidate for a job interview is distracted by the chaotic environment of the interview location. The candidate concludes that the employer is inconsiderate and disorganized.Which personal barrier to competent listening contributed to the candidate's conclusion?

Bias and judgement

Casey and Parker have been friends for years. Casey is explaining how much his new friendship with Alex means to him. Parker wonders if Casey is trying to say that he no longer wants to be friends. Casey then decides to not make assumptions about what Parker means.Which listening skill is Casey demonstrating?

Checking his self-talk

Taylor, Reagan, and Blake are part of a team that is developing a mobile application. During a discussion of ideas for the mobile application, Taylor suggests they add a gaming feature. Taylor's suggestion sparks an idea to look at old video games, which leads to Reagan and Blake teaching the other team members about genres of old video games. Ultimately, they agree on the gaming feature to add to their app and how they will build it into the design.Which criterion for successful and high-performing teams is illustrated in this scenario?

Collaboration

A small business owner has been invited by a former professor to visit a class for small-business entrepreneurs, and give a presentation to educate students about business networking. He asks the professor for information about the students in the class, such as the number of students, and what ideas they have for their own businesses so he can develop the right message to best benefit the class.Which step is the business owner implementing in the plan for effective self-presentation, according to Waldeck, Kearney, and Plax?

Creating a strategy

Lee and Jordan are co-workers who joke around at work. Lee has invited Jordan for dinner with Lee's family at their home. Jordan says something funny, but slightly inappropriate, and is intently observing the reaction of everyone in Lee's family in order to determine what kind of humor is acceptable in Lee's home. Which of the 4 primary challenges to communication does Jordan's behaviors address?

Effective communication requires significant intellectual and psychological resources.

Lee is watching a friend give a successful presentation. When his friend finishes, Lee gives his friend a thumbs up.Which type of nonverbal communication is Lee demonstrating?

Emblem

A team meets to fulfill a work assignment. At the end of the first meeting, everyone is confused about what they want to accomplish. This leads to conflict when the desired outcomes are not met.Which course of action would have resolved this conflict?

Ensuring the team's objectives were sufficiently clear

A person looks at a picture of a receptionist smiling widely behind a hotel reception desk and only sees the smiling receptionist and not the blurred plaques of hotel information behind the receptionist.Which principle of organization explains this?

Figure

Three coworkers are leading the first of several meetings for a newly formed group at their company. After introductions, they state that the purpose of the group is to improve the customer experience at their company.Which criterion for a successful and high-performing team is illustrated in this scenario?

Goal orientation and purpose

Blake expects to be late for a lunch appointment with a close friend and wants to apologize for the unexpected delay. Although the appointment is in 90 minutes and Blake's friend uses a smartphone, a telephone conversation is not likely because Blake knows his friend has a business meeting that doesn't end until right before and will be busy at work until their lunch appointment. How should Blake contact his friend in order to effectively convey his regret?

He should send a text message.

People at a workplace have been given a task and divided into two teams: Group A and Group B.Group A divides the task so everyone can work individually. The members do not communicate about their work or progress, so no feedback is shared. Their product ends up being below expectations.Group B divides the task among smaller groups of two or three members. The groups check in regularly to show their work and share feedback. Their product ends up being well above expectations.Which team characteristic is evident in the differences between these two workgroups?

High performance

Kelly and Blake are working together on a class presentation. Kelly is from Taiwan, and Blake is from the United States. Blake tells Kelly to make eye contact with the audience during the presentation. Kelly is uncomfortable making eye contact because he does not have the same social status as those who will be in the audience.Which type of culture is Kelly from, based on his notation of social status?

High power distance

Carter is working with a group of American students in her communication class. Carter grew up in a different culture. She is worried about working with the students from the United States because she believes that students from the United States are loud and overbearing.What should Carter do in order to be a competent intercultural communicator?

Learn to be cautious about using labels and generalizations

Morgan is giving a presentation to her class. When several of her classmates start whispering, she puts a finger to her lips and says, "Shh."Which type of nonverbal communication is Morgan demonstrating?

Illustrator

A work group has been assigned to come up with ideas for the yearly company party. Before anyone else speaks, Casey suggests that they go to a local theme park. Other team members follow with their ideas.What is Casey doing in this scenario?

Initiating ideas

A recent college graduate attends a picnic and meets a partner from a law firm where she would like to work. The graduate tells the law firm partner, "I start law school in a few weeks. It has been my goal since high school to practice law with Dewey, Cheatham, and Howe."Which stage of relationship development is the graduate demonstrating in this scenario?

Initiation

Jordan makes a speech promoting new legislation. During the question and answer session that follows the speech, he appears to have difficulty answering several important objections to the legislation.Which communication strategy for avoiding resistance and maximizing persuasiveness has Jordan overlooked in preparing his speech?

Inoculating against counterarguments

Juanita is an instructor for a communication class at a state university. At the beginning of the first class, she goes over her expectations and explains that she expects everyone to be on time and participate and that part of their final grade is based on participation. She notices a look of concern on a couple of students' faces, and she wonders if they just don't like the idea of being on time, participating, or something else. The two students, who have come from a different school environment that never encouraged in-class participation are worried that their grades will suffer due to their shyness. Which of the 4 primary challenges to communication does this scenario demonstrate?

Intercultural understanding can be difficult

Cameron is normally on a first name basis with his boss, Dr. Kelly Smith. However, when traveling to Singapore with Kelly for business, Cameron calls her Dr. Smith.What is Cameron demonstrating that he understands about this culture?

It is a high power distance culture.

Cameron is in a meeting with a colleague, and they are discussing a disagreement. The colleague says she is open to Cameron's idea, but Cameron notices that the colleague's arms are folded across her chest and her facial expressions appear tense. Cameron interprets this posture as his colleague communicating that she is actually not open to his idea.Which type of nonverbal behavior did Cameron notice?

Kinesics

Blake, who is an editor for internal documentation for her company, has been asked to travel to India to meet the documentation team.What should Blake do first in preparing for her trip?

Learn as much as she can about the people

Jordan and Taylor, who are in the same public speaking class, are both from the United States and both enjoy horseback riding and jazz music. One day when speaking to the class, Jordan emphasizes that she is a better horseback rider than Taylor.Which aspect of culture is this scenario an example of?

Masculine communication style

Dylan and Alex, who have been friends for a long time, live together. Dylan feels that she needs to spend more time working on her current project, and Alex feels they do not spend enough time together. Neither has brought up the issue. Alex decides to cook a special meal for Dylan and share that he wants to spend more time together.Which relationship maintenance strategy is Alex using?

Openness

A voter decides to watch a televised political debate. Although the voter disagrees with one particular candidate, he decides to research the merits of this candidate's platform. The voter thinks carefully about the candidate's statements and logically evaluates the merit of this candidate's ideas.Which listening strategy is the voter practicing?

Overcoming a personal bias barrier

Sam tells his friend Tyler about an upsetting incident that occurred at work. When Sam is finished, Tyler asks, "Sam, is this what you are saying?" Tyler then restates the situation as he understood it. Which listening skill is Tyler practicing in this situation?

Paraphrasing

Dancers for a dance performance are gathering to the stage for the final performance of the evening. As the director of the performance announces the stage location for each dancer, the dancers nod in agreement to the director; however, several dancers are not in the correct place when the performance begins.Which personal communication barrier is likely the cause of the miscommunication between the director and several of the dancers?

Passive listening

John opens his mailbox and finds a letter from a friend. John is on his way to an appointment so he places the letter on a table so he can read it when he returns home. Which phase of the linear model of communication is being illustrated in the scenario?

Perceiving

A community meeting is being held at a busy sports bar within the neighborhood. The residents are concerned that this is not the best place to hold the meeting if they will be expected to listen effectively.Which communication barrier are the residents concerned with?

Physical noise

Chris is teaching a history class. While she values interaction and participation in the classroom, she has a number of international students who do not participate. Instead of reducing points for lack of participation, Chris does not call on them because she realizes that they are actually showing her respect.Which cultural feature is Chris adapting to?

Power distance

Morgan and Casey have been in a romantic relationship for 30 years. Morgan feels bored by doing the same things over and over. For example, every year they spend the holidays with Casey's family.Which relational dialectic tension is this couple experiencing?

Predictability and novelty

Jordan is preparing an outline for a presentation intended to convince his audience of the best solution to a problem. Jordan plans to begin the presentation with a quote that will engage the audience and generate interest in the topic.What should Jordan do next, according to Monroe's motivated sequence?

Provide evidence of the problem

Joe sees Blake coming out of the synagogue. Joe wonders if Blake is Jewish.Which method of organizing stimuli is illustrated in this scenario?

Proximity

A team meeting is called for four members of a quality control group. Chris says, "I heard the best joke last night." Taylor says, "Chris, why don't we wait until the meeting is over to hear the joke? We have a lot to get done today. Cameron will read us the minutes from our last meeting, and then Reagan will give us an update."What is Cameron doing in this scenario?

Recording the meeting process

Peyton and Quinn are having a conversation. As Peyton is talking, Quinn opens his mouth to say something. Before he actually speaks, Peyton stops talking and asks Quinn if he would like to add to the conversation. Which type of nonverbal communication did Peyton notice?

Regulator

Two people have been increasing the amount of time spent together. One of them brings hot cocoa and pastries to share to a study session. Which stage of relationship development is described in this scenario?

Relationship intensification

Dylan teaches a business communication class to international students. Several of Dylan's students avoid eye contact and appear to not be listening.Which cultural behaviors help Dylan understand these students?

Rules that Dylan and the students follow

Chris's father, Sam, is going on a business trip to another country. The day that Sam leaves, Chris discovers the dishwasher is not working. The repairs to the dishwasher cost $300. Chris needs Sam's approval to fix the dishwasher. Chris scans the repair estimate and emails it to his father with the request for money. Five hours go by, and Chris has not heard back from his father.What did Chris fail to consider about the communication media he used to contact his father?

Sam has very limited access to his email while traveling.

A college student is searching the Internet for sources for a research project and comes across a website that does not support their thesis so the student immediately dismisses the website as something not worth reading.Which stage of perception is illustrated in this scenario?

Selection

Two friends go to a baseball game. They spend the entire game talking instead of watching the game. They enjoy their conversation and do not notice the score of the game and do not realize that their team lost the game. Which principle of perception is illustrated in this scenario?

Selective attention

Peyton requested a meeting with his supervisor regarding a potential promotion to a supervisor role. Peyton wants the promotion due to the salary increase but believes he is too young and inexperienced to manage others. He is worried his boss will reject his application.What do Peyton's thoughts exemplify, based on this scenario?

Self esteem

Blake, who has just graduated from college, is looking for a job. Blake emails the same cover letter and résumé to about 20 different companies but does not receive any replies. Blake concludes that this is because those companies do not recognize good talent.Which concept below explains Blake's conclusion?

Self-serving bias

committee that is working on a fundraising event for a local church is experiencing a lot of conflict. Everyone disagrees on what is supposed to happen in the committee and even how to run the meetings. Several of the members go to the pastor of the church and ask for help.Which action would help the pastor manage the conflict occurring in the committee?

Setting ground rules

John and Leslie, who are in a relationship, both like to play sports. However, John likes hockey, and Leslie likes golf. While on vacation, the couple argues over which sport to play.Which relationship maintenance strategy would help John and Leslie resolve this conflict?

Shared connections and openness

Kelly, Sam, Tyler, and Dylan are working together on a task force to bring more diversity to their campus. Kelly is adamant that they bring more women to campus as speakers. Dylan states that they should seek out the best person to speak regardless of gender. Sam agrees with Kelly to a point and says, "We should try to find more female speakers, but if we can't easily find any, that's the best we can do." Which stage of Tuckman's stages of group development is this scenario an example of?

Storming

What is an example of a situation where an informative speech would be appropriate?

Students in a driver's education class being shown how to properly install the spare tire on their car

John wins two tickets to attend a professional basketball game and decides to ask his friend Casey to go with him. John needs to tell Casey right away because the game is that evening at 8 p.m. However, Casey has a busy schedule, and John is not sure how to reach her.How should John contact Casey in order to reach her quickly and effectively?

Text message from a cell phone

A speaker gives a presentation on plants. The speech is full of sensory aid support, such as videos, audio, handouts, and even an interactive element. Upon receiving the post-speech feedback, it's clear the majority of the audience did not like the speech and found it distracting and hard to follow.Based on this information, what is the likely reason for the audience's negative feedback?

The audience didn't like the sensory aids.

A student practices delivering a speech with a friend. The friend notices that the student frequently interjects "um" between statements and shares this observation. The student thanks the friend for this information.Which area of the Johari Window describes the nature of the friend's feedback?

The blind area

Reese and Jordan are upset that they have been given menial tasks within a group. They approach the leader and ask to either be taken out of the group, or to be given greater responsibility.Which action should their leader take in order to manage this conflict?

The leader should make sure that member roles are managed well.

Alex belongs to a group of colleagues who meet to discuss advances in their field. Alex constantly interrupts the other members of the group and does not allow them to speak.What role is Alex playing in this group?

The person who dominates the group

A group of community members are concerned about a local park that is run-down and unsafe. They hold a meeting and come up with several ideas that they take to the local city council. The city council adopts none of the group's ideas. They are very upset and feel that their ideas have been unfairly dismissed.Why did this conflict occur?

The team was not supported by its system.

Which scenario illustrates the dimension of communication competence of knowing what is appropriate?

Two sisters have an argument and one tries to resolve it by asking the other to talk.

Tyler has designed plans for a housing project that he is excited to show his team. Tyler plans to deliver his presentation through an application that allows him to host a conference that includes both audio and video.Why is Tyler's communication medium choice an effective one?

Tyler needs a medium that supports the use of visuals.

Reagan and Blake have been in a romantic relationship for a few months. Reagan's mother recently fell and broke her hip, so Reagan is spending every weekend helping her mother. Reagan tells Blake that she feels bad that they do not have much time to spend together. Blake says that Reagan's mother is more important at this time.Which relationship maintenance strategy is Blake using?

Understanding

Peyton works part time at a local software company and attends classes full time at a university. In order to stay connected, Peyton communicates with colleagues, classmates, family, and friends using multiple social media websites, email, and texts every day. Peyton often feels overwhelmed by the volume of communication she encounters. Which of the 4 primary challenges to communication does this scenario demonstrate?

We over-rely on digitally mediated communication

Which example represents a complete and successful communication in the linear model?

You recognize the team logo on a garment worn by someone you encounter in public.

What is an example of the transactional model of communication?

You saw someone smile at you to indicate they like the team jersey that you are wearing.