Deck 20: Making Oral Presentations

Question 1

Making a good presentation is mostly a factor of having a good delivery.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

You can use some of the techniques for composing a written message while composing your oral presentation.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Giving a presentation is in many ways very similar to writing a message.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Make your purpose in giving the presentation as specific as possible.

Question 5

Persuasive presentations motivate the audience to act or to believe.

Question 6

Monologue presentations work best because you involve the audience in what is essentially a conversation.

Question 7

When you adapt your ideas to your audience, measure the message you'd like to send against where your audience is now.

Question 8

Visuals can help you involve your audience in your presentation, which is likely to result in a more positive response.

Question 9

Use 14-point type for visuals you prepare with a word processor.

Question 10

Well-designed visuals can serve as an outline for your talk.

Question 11

The beginning and end of a presentation are positions of emphasis.

Question 12

It's a good idea to consider several possible openers for your presentation.

Question 13

In terms of organizing a presentation, it's more common to use a direct pattern of organization.

Question 14

Audience members want the sense that you're talking directly to them.

Question 15

Since eye contact is usually appreciated during presentations in the U.S., it's a good strategy to stare at audience members.

Question 16

Making eye contact with an audience is likely to elicit a more positive response.

Question 17

After your presentation, give an answer to every question posed even if you're not sure your answer is correct, because otherwise you'll lose credibility.

Question 18

If you're a good speaker-that is, you have a good oral delivery-you're bound to give a good oral presentation.

Question 19

Goodwill presentations entertain and validate the audience while informative presentations motivate the audience to act or to believe.

Question 20

The purpose of your talk is the same as your introduction.

Question 21

The professionalism of your presentation may be measured by the quality of your visuals.

Question 22

Static visuals are usually more effective than those with animation.

Question 23

Limit the amount of information on a visual to 40 words or less.

Question 24

Use animation schemes such as fades, zooms, and wipes to control the information displayed in a way that supports the main points.

Question 25

Even better than canned stories are anecdotes that happened to you-the more embarrassing they are, the better.

Question 26

When giving a monologue presentation, you can expect interruptions from the audience.

Question 27

A dialogue presentation is one in which you answer questions from the audience while you're presenting.

Question 28

A sales presentation is a conversation, even if the speaker stands before an audience with charts and overheads.

Question 29

Color overheads are better for providing information than for persuading people to act.

Question 30

Research shows that a presentation based on well-designed visuals will need a minimum of two visuals per minute.

Question 31

During your presentation, it's a good idea to consciously contract and then relax your muscles to stay limber.

Question 32

The point of making eye contact is to establish connections with groups of people in the audience.

Question 33

During group presentations, the most effective approach is to let each member speak about a separate point.

Question 34

Visuals for a presentation can be more complex than visuals in written documents because you can explain them to the audience.

Question 35

You need to give a presentation on the procedures for the new mandatory retirement program at your company. You should give a(n)

A) Informative presentation.
B) Overview presentation.
C) Persuasive presentation.
D) Goodwill presentation.
E) None of the above.

Question 36

All of the following area examples of strong openers and closes EXCEPT

A) Startling statement.
B) Narration.
C) Anecdote.
D) Quotation.
E) All of the above are examples.

Question 37

In the Pro-Con pattern of organization, you

A) Discuss three aspects of the topic.
B) Start with the past, move to the present, and end by looking ahead.
C) Explain the symptoms of a problem, identify its causes, and suggest a solution.
D) Give the reasons in favor of something, then those against it.
E) None of the above.

Question 38

For career day, you give a 30-minute presentation to junior high school students. You start with an employee training video to about your company's manufacturing processes. Then, you use animated PowerPoint slides originally created for subcontractors who manufacture parts to your precise specifications. When you're finished speaking and ask for questions, the room is silent. Chances are there are no questions because your presentation

A) Was thorough and, therefore, successful.
B) Too complex for the students to fully appreciate.
C) Interesting enough to leave the students thinking.
D) Just plain boring.
E) None of the above.

Question 39

You are responsible for creating an acceptable proposal for a project for your company. It has to be completed in three weeks, which leaves you very little time to negotiate changes with management. You should

A) Write a proposal and not ask for feedback until it's done.
B) Send a draft to the people who need to approve it so that they can send it back with comments.
C) Give an oral presentation to the people who need to approve it and negotiate changes at the presentation.
D) Send a draft to the people who need to approve it and call each of them the next day to get feedback.
E) None of the above.

Question 40

In the middle of a presentation, you think of an example that is not on your outline. You should add this new point to your planned material if

A) You have only one other example for that point in your outline.
B) You know that the room is free after your talk so you can go a little over your time.
C) The example will clarify a point because it is relevant to your audience's experiences and interests.
D) The audience is clearly impatient and wants to leave.
E) All of the above.

Question 41

You're asked to give a sales presentation to a client who is considering purchasing one of your company's luxury yachts. To prepare, you should

A) Plan every aspect of the presentation carefully so there is no need for the client to do more than listen.
B) Let the client do all of the talking; after all, she will be signing the check.
C) Treat the presentation as a conversation, assuming the client will talk at least part of the time.
D) Just show the client a video and the company's Web site.
E) None of the above.

Question 42

As one of your city's top planners, you're to speak to local businesspeople about raising revenue for sidewalk improvements by doubling fees for off-street parking near their taverns and restaurants. While you don't need their approval, you certainly want it. Should you plan on meeting with the group more than once?

A) No, because people generally loathe meetings, and if they don't buy into the idea now, they won't buy into it later.
B) No, because the goal is to get them excited about the project-and then to let that excitement provide momentum for their support.
C) Yes, because people may need more than one meeting to see how the fee increase might benefit them.
D) Yes, because more than one meeting will help gain publicity with the local media.
E) None of the above.

Question 43

To open your presentation on air travel today, you plan to share statistics from 1954 describing the number of people choosing to travel by airplane. You then will tell an anecdote about the last time you traveled by jet and coincidentally sat next to someone who was married in 1954. Is this a good strategy?

A) Yes, because people will naturally see the connection between two events linked by a year.
B) Yes, because during the 1950s, air travel was exotic for most people, and the statistics will prove that fact.
C) No, because the romance and adventure of air travel during the 1950s is long over.
D) No, because audiences today may identify better with more recent events and statistics than those more than 50 years old.
E) None of the above.

Question 44

You use humor to open your presentation on the effects of globalization for U.S. businesses, adopting a "foreign"accent and speaking diabolically about draining the country of its best jobs. You hear a murmur but not much of what you would actually call laughter. Chances are, you

A) Offended your audience with a crass stereotype.
B) Amazed your audience with your charming burlesque.
C) Stunned your audience with a fearsome concept.
D) Went over your audience's head.
E) None of the above.

Question 45

Which of the following is NOT an example of a signpost?

A) Saying "You may wonder what you can do about this problem."
B) Writing a new topic heading on the board
C) Saying "Now we have come to the crucial point . . ."
D) Asking if everyone in the room can hear you
E) An overhead stating the next point you will discuss.

Question 46

The point of making eye contact is to establish

A) Authority as the speaker by demonstrating honesty and competence.
B) One-on-one contact with the individual members of your audience.
C) Keep people from interrupting, as strong eye contact dissuades rude behavior.
D) Maintain an air of confidence.
E) None of the above.

Question 47

You're to give a presentation to civic leaders and businesspeople, some of who are highly skeptical of your proposal to fund a sports arena with tax dollars. To prepare for questions, you should

A) List every fact or opinion you can think of that might challenge your position.
B) Treat each objection seriously.
C) Prepare visual aids that can help answer questions.
D) All of the above.
E) Only A and B

Question 48

Explain the methods for adapting your ideas to your audience.

Question 49

List the four modes for creating strong openers.

Question 50

Explain three ways to calm your nerves just before and while giving an oral presentation.

Question 51

_________ isn't the only way to set an audience at ease; _________ at audience members before you begin.

Question 52

Turn your _________ into energy, _________ at the audience, and use _________ _________.