Public Speaking Matters 2nd Edition By Kory Floyd – Test Bank

Complete Test Bank With Answers

 

 

Sample Questions Posted Below

 

Public Speaking Matters, 2e (Floyd)

Chapter 5 Know and Adapt to Your Audience

1) Judgments made on the basis of stereotypes are automatically inaccurate.

Answer: FALSE

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Understand

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation

2) A person’s status as being physically handicapped or able-bodied is considered a demographic

trait.

Answer: TRUE

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Remember

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3) It is unethical to consider the ethnicity of your audience members when preparing for a

speech.

Answer: FALSE

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Understand

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4) Generally speaking, a speaker’s intentions are the most important factor in determining if what

he or she says is offensive.

Answer: FALSE

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Understand

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5) People of the same ethnicity may come from different cultures.

Answer: TRUE

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Understand

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6) In high-context cultures, words are generally taken at face value.

Answer: FALSE

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Understand

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Copyright © 2019 McGraw-Hill7) When speaking before an audience with a high-power-distance culture, it is usually best to

rely on sources that reflect shared opinions rather than expert advice.

Answer: FALSE

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Understand

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8) Citing liberal sources is most likely to be effective when speaking to an audience that is itself

liberal.

Answer: TRUE

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Remember

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9) Audiences typically prefer a formal, well-prepared speech that includes visual aids, rather than

an informal presentation.

Answer: FALSE

Topic: Listeners’ situation

Bloom’s: Understand

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10) The larger an audience is, the less likely it is that an informal style will be appropriate.

Answer: TRUE

Topic: Listeners’ situation

Bloom’s: Understand

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11) Talking over people’s heads tends to make them feel bored or insulted.

Answer: FALSE

Topic: Listeners’ situation

Bloom’s: Understand

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12) A speaker should always expect other factors to compete for his or her audience’s attention.

Answer: TRUE

Topic: Listeners’ situation

Bloom’s: Remember

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Copyright © 2019 McGraw-Hill13) Polling the audience should be avoided, if possible, as audiences typically find it intrusive

and irritating.

Answer: FALSE

Topic: Gathering audience information

Bloom’s: Understand

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14) The purpose of audience analysis is to gain insights so you can adapt your message and

delivery to your listener’s expectations.

Answer: TRUE

Topic: Adaptation to audience

Bloom’s: Remember

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15) One good use of audience analysis is to prepare you to debate your listeners about points on

which they disagree with you.

Answer: FALSE

Topic: Adaptation to audience

Bloom’s: Understand

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16) The audience for a public speaker’s speech consists of everyone who

A) can hear the speech.

B) is present at the speech.

C) has access to the speaker’s words.

D) might be interested in the speech’s topic.

Answer: C

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Remember

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17) The purpose of audience analysis is to

A) help you determine who should be in the audience for a speech.

B) guide you in what to say in a speech to a particular set of listeners.

C) help determine what topic you should discuss in a particular speech.

D) help identify which research methods you should use on a particular set of listeners.

Answer: B

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Understand

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Copyright © 2019 McGraw-Hill18) Which of the following is not typically studied as part of an audience analysis?

A) audience members’ income level

B) audience members’ physical and mental capabilities

C) common stereotypes about audience members

D) listeners’ ethnic backgrounds

Answer: C

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Understand

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19) Evi is preparing for a seminar on choosing what colleges to apply to. She has learned that

most of the students who will be attending are Asian American, so she decides to focus on

colleges with strong math and science programs. She has made the mistake of basing her

decision solely on

A) audience analysis.

B) a stereotype.

C) her listeners’ age.

D) a hunch.

Answer: B

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Analyze

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20) Which of the following is not generally considered a demographic trait?

A) body mass index

B) sexual orientation

C) economic status

D) mental capabilities

Answer: A

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Remember

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21) If you are considering giving a presentation about the merits of different music download

services, it would probably be most helpful to know about your listeners’

A) sex.

B) ethnicity.

C) physical capabilities.

D) age.

Answer: D

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Understand

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Copyright © 2019 McGraw-Hill22) You have agreed to participate in a series of presentations at a local retirement community

intended to entertain and inform the residents. You have determined that your audience will be

made up mostly of people in their seventies. Some of them are in poor health, and most have

limited funds available to them. Based on this, which topic is most likely to appeal to your

audience?

A) backpacking across the United States

B) films of the 1960s

C) how to restore a classic car

D) the best smartphone games of the year

Answer: B

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Apply

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23) Yvette is trying to build support for a proposed local tax increase. She is preparing to speak

before a local civic group. Its members are exclusively older wealthy women. To achieve the

best reception possible, Yvette should tailor her message to focus on how the tax will

A) allow the city to advertise itself as a destination for same-sex weddings.

B) help pay for a new football stadium.

C) enable implementation of experimental new online learning programs.

D) maintain current funding for the library system.

Answer: D

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Apply

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24) A culture’s ideas about the way things ought to be are its

A) values.

B) heritage.

C) orientation.

D) demographics.

Answer: A

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Remember

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Copyright © 2019 McGraw-Hill25) Geert Hofstede and Edward T. Hall pioneered the study of

A) modern public speaking techniques.

B) demographics.

C) cultural values.

D) context.

Answer: C

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Remember

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26) When discussing cultural values, the term “context” covers

A) the external environment surrounding and affecting a speech.

B) whether or not people are comfortable with ambiguity.

C) what is considered good, desirable, and valuable, or vice versa.

D) the extent to which speakers are expected to say what they mean directly.

Answer: D

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Remember

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27) When speaking before an audience from a high-context culture, you should

A) rely on subtle, nonverbal cues to convey your meaning.

B) emphasize group-wide benefits in your speech.

C) provide extensive detail and explanations as part of your speech.

D) emphasize your sources’ high social status to establish credibility.

Answer: A

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Remember

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28) When speaking before an audience from a culture with a high need for certainty, you should

A) be sure to explain how today’s actions will have future benefits.

B) cite sources that appeal to shared opinions rather than experts.

C) offer concrete examples to back up your positions.

D) emphasize the concept of individual uniqueness as part of your message.

Answer: C

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Understand

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Copyright © 2019 McGraw-Hill29) The belief that everyone should be treated equally is a sign of a(n) ________ culture.

A) individualistic

B) low-power-distance

C) high-context

D) advanced

Answer: B

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Remember

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30) Gertrude is preparing to give a speech to her fellow employees at the Xenon Corporation

intended to get them excited about potential new projects for the company. The corporation has a

low-context culture with a high tolerance for uncertainty. This being the case, how can she best

match her speech to her audience’s cultural expectations?

A) Say what she means directly, and offer detailed, concrete examples.

B) Provide a detailed message while using subtlety and nonverbal cues to smooth over

potentially controversial news.

C) Speak directly to the point, without dwelling too much on details.

D) Avoid too many specifics and rely instead on body and language tone of voice to convey her

message.

Answer: C

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Analyze

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31) Pablo is going to speak before a business organization in a country with a high-power-

distance, collectivist culture. He wants to convince them to invest in his new business project.

How can he best match his pitch to the group’s cultural expectations?

A) Stress that his project is supported by a wide range of people and that it will bring direct

benefits to the audience members.

B) Emphasize that it is their civic duty to support the project, as it benefits the entire community,

but that it will also bring direct benefits to them and other local leaders.

C) Focus on the project’s direct benefits to the group members and how it is supported by leading

experts in the field.

D) Emphasize how his project is based on research by the field’s leading expert and that it will

bring benefits for their entire community.

Answer: D

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Analyze

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Copyright © 2019 McGraw-Hill32) Which of the following is not considered a psychological characteristic of listeners?

A) their political attitudes

B) their religious beliefs

C) their level of comfort with ambiguity

D) the value they put on sharing equally

Answer: C

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Understand

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33) Devin will soon be giving a speech in front of his local homeowner’s association board

requesting permission to cut down some trees on his property to improve his view of the nearby

lake. How might knowing the psychological characteristics of the board members help him to

craft his speech?

A) If he knows the board is pro-social, he could emphasize how removing the trees would also

improve the view for some of the board members themselves.

B) If he knows the board is politically conservative, he could quote conservative politicians in

support of his position.

C) If he knows the board is collectivist in orientation, he could stress the benefits to the entire

community of removing the trees.

D) If he knows the board is anti-social, he could focus on making his case quickly and directly.

Answer: B

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Apply

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34) People’s preferences for allocating resources among themselves and others are known as

their

A) social values.

B) social attitudes.

C) political attitudes.

D) level of individualism.

Answer: A

Topic: Listeners’ situation

Bloom’s: Understand

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Copyright © 2019 McGraw-Hill35) Which of the following does not form part of the context for a speech?

A) the audience’s prior knowledge of the subject matter

B) the time of day

C) the size of the audience

D) the audience’s psychological characteristics

Answer: D

Topic: Listeners’ situation

Bloom’s: Understand

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36) Choose the response that best completes the following sentence: “The reason why your

audience is listening to your speech is important because

A) it usually determines the subject matter for your speech.”

B) if they are attending voluntarily they will have higher expectations for the speech.”

C) it helps you determine the tone and style that they expect from you.”

D) it helps you focus your efforts at audience analysis.”

Answer: C

Topic: Listeners’ situation

Bloom’s: Understand

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37) Choose the response that best completes the following sentence: “Knowing the size of your

audience helps you

A) decide what topic to speak about.”

B) determine its demographic traits.”

C) determine how formal your speech needs to be.”

D) budget the time that you have for your speech.”

Answer: C

Topic: Listeners’ situation

Bloom’s: Understand

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38) To avoid running past your allotted time for a speech, you should always

A) wait until the end before answering questions.

B) estimate in advance how much material you can cover in the time allowed.

C) use a timer to warn you when your time is up and then speak for an additional 3-4 minutes.

D) cover your most important or interesting points at the beginning of a speech in case you need

to cut your remarks short.

Answer: B

Topic: Listeners’ situation

Bloom’s: Understand

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Copyright © 2019 McGraw-Hill39) Carefully explaining something to your listeners even when they already know all about it

A) may make them feel bored and disengaged.

B) risks confusing them.

C) is expected in high-context cultures.

D) is expected in cultures with a high need for certainty.

Answer: A

Topic: Listeners’ situation

Bloom’s: Understand

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40) Maxine is a nuclear engineer who agreed to give a presentation on nuclear power generation

to a high school science class. She assumed that the students had a solid background in physics,

but most of the students did not. Consequently, they had a difficult time understanding what she

was talking about. Which of the following mistakes did Maxine make?

A) talking over the audience’s heads

B) talking down to the audience

C) not considering that her audience was required to attend

D) using a low-context approach with a high-context audience

Answer: A

Topic: Context; Listeners’ situation

Bloom’s: Analyze

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41) If your listeners are distracted because it is late in the day and they want to go home, your

best course of action is probably to

A) ignore the situation and move on with your speech.

B) acknowledge the situation and say you will be brief.

C) politely insist that your listeners focus on your speech.

D) adapt your speech by speaking quickly and dropping nonessential elements.

Answer: B

Topic: Listeners’ situation

Bloom’s: Apply

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42) Studying the history and goals of a group before speaking to that group is an example of

A) casual observation.

B) polling the audience.

C) finding common ground.

D) formal research.

Answer: D

Topic: Gathering audience information

Bloom’s: Understand

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Copyright © 2019 McGraw-Hill43) Which of following techniques of learning about an audience is the best choice if you want

to get insight into your audience’s experiences after your speech has begun?

A) casual observation

B) a questionnaire

C) a poll

D) formal research

Answer: C

Topic: Gathering audience information

Bloom’s: Understand

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44) Which of the following techniques is most likely to help you match the tone of your speech

to your audience’s mood?

A) studying the history of the group you will be speaking to

B) asking your audience for a show of hands near the beginning of your speech

C) watching and listening to your audience for a few minutes before your speech begins

D) having your audience members fill out and return a questionnaire the day before your speech

Answer: C

Topic: Gathering audience information

Bloom’s: Analyze

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45) Nicholas is preparing to give a speech in front of a church group, asking them to support a

youth baseball league with which he is involved. He has researched the church and knows that

many of its members are recent immigrants from Russia. Based on this information, Nicholas

should plan on adjusting his language by

A) giving a formal presentation on the nature of youth baseball and its benefits.

B) taking an informal approach, focusing on the excitement and other benefits of youth baseball.

C) bringing a multimedia slide show to serve as a visual aid in his presentation.

D) relying more on body language and other nonverbal behavior to get his message about the

nature of youth baseball and its benefits across to the audience.

Answer: A

Topic: Adaptation to audience

Bloom’s: Analyze

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Copyright © 2019 McGraw-Hill46) Jamie is going to speak before a community group and ask them to support the construction

of a new highway nearby. Her audience analysis tells her that her audience will consist of about a

dozen people, primarily men, and mostly politically conservative. Based on this information,

which of the following is the best advice you can give Jamie on how to handle her speech?

A) Work in a joke about the local baseball team’s poor performance into the introduction of the

speech.

B) Be sure to explain all of her points in detail to ensure there is no confusion.

C) Find evidence that conservative political figures support this sort of project and include it in

the speech.

D) Adopt a formal tone and forgo the use of slides or other visual aids.

Answer: C

Topic: Adaptation to audience

Bloom’s: Analyze

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47) If your audience analysis determines that your listeners will probably disagree with you on

an important point, it is helpful to

A) focus on your points of agreement to help them see past the disagreement.

B) focus on the issue in question to help your audience understand your point of view.

C) try to build up goodwill with the audience early in the speech before raising the controversial

point.

D) raise the controversial point early in your speech, then work on rebuilding goodwill with the

audience during the rest of your presentation.

Answer: A

Topic: Adaptation to audience

Bloom’s: Understand

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48) Polling your audience about a sensitive topic

A) is likely to make some listeners uncomfortable and should be avoided.

B) works best if you have first established common ground by establishing your similarities with

audience members.

C) is only appropriate in informal settings and with small audiences.

D) can be effective with young, liberal audiences but should be avoided with older, conservative

audiences.

Answer: A

Topic: Adaptation to audience

Bloom’s: Understand

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Copyright © 2019 McGraw-Hill49) The process of learning about your listeners or potential listeners is called

A) audience analysis.

B) psychological analysis.

C) need for certainty.

D) inclusive language.

Answer: A

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Remember

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50) When Bella learns that her new neighbor Charlie is a florist, she assumes that Charlie is gay.

In this instance, Bella’s assumption is based on a

A) high-context culture.

B) casual observation.

C) psychological characteristic.

D) stereotype.

Answer: D

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Understand

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51) The term to describe personal attributes of individuals in a given population is

A) ethnicity.

B) psychological characteristics.

C) demographic traits.

D) social values.

Answer: C

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Remember

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52) Which of the following is considered an ethnic category?

A) Asian American

B) African American

C) Hispanic

D) Caucasian

Answer: C

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Understand

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Copyright © 2019 McGraw-Hill53) A group’s ________ constitutes the shared language, values, and other characteristics that set

it apart from other groups.

A) ethnicity

B) culture

C) demographic traits

D) economic status

Answer: B

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Remember

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54) Because he comes from a(n) ________ culture, Lei believes that his primary responsibility is

to his family and community, rather than to himself.

A) individualistic

B) low-power-distance

C) collectivistic

D) high-context

Answer: C

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Understand

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55) People in a ________ culture are expected to quickly get to the point and say what they

mean.

A) long-term orientation

B) high need for certainty

C) high-power-distance

D) low-context

Answer: D

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Remember

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56) People with a “live and let live” attitude who dislike restrictive rules have a high

A) tolerance for uncertainty.

B) short-term orientation.

C) level of individualism.

D) need for certainty.

Answer: A

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Remember

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Copyright © 2019 McGraw-Hill15

Copyright © 2019 McGraw-Hill57) A group in which people value the idea that everyone is equal is said to have a ________

culture.

A) long-term orientation

B) low-context

C) low-power-distance

D) collectivistic

Answer: C

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Remember

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58) In a culture with a ________, people tend to value speed and efficiency.

A) high-power-distance

B) need for certainty

C) low level of individualism

D) short-term orientation

Answer: D

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Remember

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59) People from a culture that values the past and the future more than the present are said to

have

A) a low level of collectivism.

B) long-term orientation.

C) a high tolerance for uncertainty.

D) low power-distance.

Answer: B

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Remember

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60) An audience’s ________ include its attitudes, beliefs, and way of thinking about the world.

A) social values

B) psychological characteristics

C) need for certainty

D) power distance

Answer: B

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Remember

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Copyright © 2019 McGraw-Hill61) Your opinion on which films are best deserving of Academy Awards is an example of a(n)

A) attitude.

B) belief.

C) conviction.

D) notion.

Answer: A

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Remember

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62) Ideas that people accept as true even if there is no evidence to support them are called

A) beliefs.

B) attitudes.

C) convictions.

D) notions.

Answer: A

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Remember

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63) People who try to maximize equality in the distribution of resources are

A) pro-socials.

B) anti-socials.

C) mixed socials.

D) mainstreamers.

Answer: A

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Remember

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64) If you tell people something they already knew as if it were new information for them, you

are

A) conducting audience analysis.

B) talking over their heads.

C) getting their attention.

D) talking down to them.

Answer: D

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Remember

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Copyright © 2019 McGraw-Hill65) Having your audience fill out a(n) ________ before your speech can give you valuable

information.

A) interview

B) casual observation

C) questionnaire

D) evidence

Answer: C

Topic: Know your listeners

Bloom’s: Remember

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Copyright © 2019 McGraw-Hill