Speech Midterm Practice Questions + Final Questions

In an informative speech, the speaker acts as

A teacher

A speech title should

All Answers are Correct: Be brief Encapsulate the main thrust of your speech Attract the attention of your audience

When gauging your audience's disposition toward the speech topic, you should take into account their

All Answers are Correct: Interest in the topic, knowledge about the topic, attitude toward the topic

When using statistics in a speech, you should

All Answers are correct: round off complicated statistics, identify the sources of your statistics, and use statistics sparingly.

Listening for pleasure or enjoyment is called ____________ listening

Appreciative

Sloppy ________ is the failure to form particular speech sounds crisply and distinctly.

Articulation

Which of the following statements is most clearly directed at the practicality issue in a persuasive speech on a question of policy?

Because this solution has worked in other states where it has been adopted, we can be confident that it will work here.

If you need information about a specific person, you should consult a ____________ such as Who's Who, Dictionary of Hispanic Biography, or Contemporary Black Biography.

Biographical Aid

The ____________ is the longest and most important part of the speech.

Body

____________ are used in libraries to classify books and periodicals and to indicate where they can be found on the shelves.

Call Numbers

The ____________ lists all the books, periodicals, and other resources owned by a library.

Catalogue

Which of the following is the most general and abstract?

Communication

"To inform my audience about three major theories of climate change" is an example of a specific purpose statement for an informative speech about

Concept

The more __________ a word, the more specific it will be.

Concrete

The _______ meaning of a word is what the word suggests or implies.

Connotative

When a speaker uses a __________ ending, the speech builds in force until it reaches a zenith of power and intensity.

Crescendo

Listening to understand the message of a speaker is called ____________ listening.

Critical

___________ is listening to provide emotional support for a speaker.

Empathic listening

The name of the main speaker should usually be stated at the ______ of a speech of introduction.

End

_______ is the name used by Aristotle for what modern students of communication refer to as

Ethos

What method of organizing is used in a persuasive speech with the following main points? 1. The problem of eating disorders affects more than 10 million Americans 2. The causes of eating disorders include peer pressure, fad diets, and the media's glamorization of thinness. 3. An effective solution to eating disorders must address all three of these causes.

Problem-Cause-Solution

Violating the accepted standard of sound and rhythm for words in a given language is an error in ________.

Pronunciation

___________ is the pattern of sound in a speech created by the choice and arrangement of words.

Rhythm

Which of the following is the most concrete and specific?

White House

Which of the following does your textbook recommend as a way to help you deal with nervousness in your speeches?

Work especially hard on your speech introduction

Which of the following is an example of a speech for a special occasion?

a speech presenting an award to a retiring teacher

A ____________ is a word or phrase that connects the ideas of a speech and indicates the relationship between them.

connective

The tendency to see the beliefs, values, and customs of one's own culture or group as "right" or "natural" is called ________

ethnocentrism

"Do you think gun control is a workable solution to the problem of violence in U.S. schools?" is an example of a(n) ____________ question.

fixed-alternative

Which of the following does your textbook discuss as major factors in demographic audience analysis?

gender, age, group membership, and sexual orientation

________ are changes in the pitch or tone of a speaker's voice.

inflections

Dr. Kristin Lutz is preparing an informative talk about the genetic relationship between twins for a group of expectant parents. The most important factor Dr. Lutz should consider when analyzing her audience is probably its

knowledge of the topic

"Our mission is to serve justice, to right wrong, and to protect democracy" is an example of

parallelism

According to your textbook, if you quoted your sixteen-year-old niece on the impact of media violence on high-school students, you would be using ____________ testimony.

peer

A ____________ is a list, compiled early in the research process, of works that look as if they might contain helpful information about a speech topic.

preliminary bibliography

What method of organization is used in a persuasive speech with the following main points? 1. Fraudulent charity fundraising has become a widespread problem. 2. The problem can be solved by a combination of government initiative and individual awareness.

problem-solution order

The ____________ is what a speaker wants the audience to remember after it has forgotten everything else in a speech

residual message

Words such as "First," "Next," "Finally," and "Above all" are often used as ____________ to indicate where a speaker is in the speech or to help focus attention on key issues.

signposts

"To persuade my audience that the U.S. space program provides many important benefits to people here on earth" is an example of a(n):

specific purpose statement

The ____________ is a single infinitive phrase that states precisely what a speaker hopes to accomplish in her or his speech

specific purpose statement

When practicing your speech delivery, you should do all the following except

try to learn your speech word for word.

Distributing handouts is usually an excellent way to present visual aids during a speech

False

In a preparation outline, you should state your main points in brief phrases.

False

Reasoning from principle involves moving from a specific principle to a general conclusion.

False

Taking account of your listeners' racial, ethnic, or cultural background is an important factor in situational audience analysis.

False

When your general purpose is to ____________, you act as a teacher or lecturer.

Inform

____________ is the use of language to defame, demean, or degrade individuals or groups.

Name-calling

A _________ outline is a brief outline used to jog a speaker's memory during the presentation of a speech

Speaking

Because each person has a different frame of reference, the meaning of a message will never be exactly the same to a listener as to a speaker

True

Emotional appeal is often necessary when a speaker is trying to move an audience to action.

True

Even if the audience knows your speech topic, you should usually restate it clearly and concisely at some point in the introduction

True

Even though there can be gray areas when it comes to assessing a speaker's goals, it is still necessary to ask ethical questions about those goals.

True

Examples are especially useful for getting listeners involved in a speech.

True

Listening and critical thinking are so closely allied that training in listening is also training in how to think.

True

Of all the kinds of speeches, perhaps none depends more on the creative and subtle use of language than does the commemorative speech.

True

The fallacy of false cause is often known by its Latin name, post hoc, ergo propter hoc.

True

If you want to use a photograph as a visual aid for a speech, your textbook recommends that you

show the photograph to the audience using presentation technology.

The most important question to ask when assessing analogical reasoning is whether the analogy creates a logical dilemma.

the two cases being compared are essentially alike

The most effective order of main points in a speech depends on your

topic, purpose, and audience.

____________ is the branch of philosophy that deals with issues of right and wrong in human affairs.

Ethics

According to your textbook, a(n) ____________ example is a story, narrative, or anecdote developed at some length to illustrate a point.

Extended

Adapting your message to the needs of a particular audience means that you must inevitably compromise your beliefs.

False

After conducting a research interview, you should wait a few days to review and transcribe your notes.

False

Even if you can't identify the author or sponsoring organization for an Internet document, you can still use the document in your speech as long as it is up to date.

False

For the sake of clarity, you should usually employ the generic "he" when speaking in public.

False

If you need information from a newspaper such as The New York Times, you have little alternative to thumbing through back issues of the paper until you find what you need.

False

It is crucial to fit all the information you want your audience to retain on a single chart

False

It is only necessary for a speaker to identify his or her source when quoting verbatim—not when paraphrasing.

False

Listeners usually find generalizations more interesting and convincing than specific statements.

False

The primary rule of using gestures in a speech is to gesture frequently and emphatically so that listeners notice what you are doing.

False

The purpose of a speech of introduction is to reveal the major points that will be made by the main speaker.

False

True or false: Because persuasion aims to change the beliefs or actions of listeners, speaking to persuade is one of the few cases in which a speaker does not need to consider her or his ethical obligations.

False

True or false: Concentrating on the target audience means that a persuasive speaker can ignore the rest of the audience.

False

You should usually avoid using detailed examples because they will bore your audience.

False

While listening to a speech about gun control, Scott thought back to his experiences as an intern with the police department and decided that the speaker was knowledgeable about the subject. Scott was:

Filtering the message through his frame of reference

Even if your speech as a whole is ethical, you can still be guilty of ____________ plagiarism if you fail to give credit for quotations, paraphrases, and other specific parts of the speech that are borrowed from other people.

Incremental

Identify the flaw in the following central idea for a speech: "Something should be done about climate change."

It's too vague

As your textbook explains, upon reaching the lectern to start a speech, you should

Make eye contact with your audience

Speakers who lack vocal variety are said to speak in a ________.

Monotone

A direct appeal to your audience for action is most appropriate in the conclusion of a(n) ________ speech

Persuasive

The primary purpose of speechmaking is to

To gain a desired response from listeners

"Conversational quality" refers to speech delivery that sounds spontaneous to matter how many times it has been rehearsed.

True

A hypothetical example is an example that describes an imaginary or fictitious situation.

True

An informative speech about a process explains a systematic series of actions that leads to specific result or product

True

As a general rule, the larger your audience is, the more formal your speech presentation should be.

True

Avoiding ethnocentrism is important for listeners as well as for speakers.

True

Questions are particularly effective as signposts because they invite subliminal answers and thereby get the audience more involved in the speech

True

Research shows that speakers in the United States who fail to establish eye contact may be seen by listeners as insincere or even dishonest.

True

The impact of an extended example often depends as much on the speaker's delivery as on the content of the example.

True

The more you assume your listeners know about the topic of your informative speech, the more you run the risk of being misunderstood

True

True or false: "To persuade my audience that Congress should revise the laws governing medical malpractice" is a specific purpose for a persuasive speech on a question of policy.

True

Using inclusive language is an important part of being an audience-centered public speaker.

True

Usually you should use only two fonts on any single presentation technology slide - one for the title or major headings, another for subtitles or other text.

True

You should never cite an article in your speech on the basis of the abstract alone.

True

The major traits of a good acceptance speech are brevity, humility, and _________.

graciousness

As Mark Twain noted, "The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed ________."

pause

Three kinds of search aids discussed in the chapter for finding documents on the Internet are

search engines, virtual libraries, and government resources.