Deck 4: Planning Business Messages

Question 1

For some messages,certain audience members might be more important than others.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Most audiences expect your messages to supply complete details and not just a summary of the main points.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Selecting the right medium for your message does not matter as long as the message arrives undamaged.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Using the journalistic approach you can quickly tell whether a message fails to deliver.

Question 5

If your message is intended strictly to inform,you control the message.

Question 6

When allocating your time among the three stages of the writing process,you should use about a fourth of the time for planning,half the time for writing,and a quarter of the time for completing.

Question 7

The three general purposes of business messages are to inform,to persuade,and to collaborate.

Question 8

Informal means of gathering information include browsing through company files,chatting with colleagues,and asking your audience for input.

Question 9

When you get a vague request for information,the best way to handle it is to provide all the information you can and to allow audience members to pick and choose what is useful to them.

Question 10

A good way to test the thoroughness of your message is to use the journalistic approach: asking yourself whether you have covered the who,what,where,why,and how.

Question 11

Analyzing your audience needs is something you do after you send the message in order to prepare for questions.

Question 12

The writing process includes three major phases: planning,writing,and completing.

Question 13

Once you have established your purpose,it's best to consider whether it is worth pursuing at this time.

Question 14

No matter how you feel personally about a situation,your communication reflects your organization's priorities.

Question 15

Collaborative messages are high in audience participation but low in communicator control.

Question 16

If audience members share your general background,they'll probably understand your material without difficulty.

Question 17

If you seek to persuade your audience,you surrender all control over your message.

Question 18

During the planning stage,you organize your message by preparing an outline.

Question 19

To collaborate with audience members,you need maximum participation.

Question 20

If you expect your audience to be skeptical,you will need to provide more proof and introduce your conclusions and recommendations more gradually.

Question 21

Media richness refers to the relative costs of advertising in the various mass media.

Question 22

The most straightforward business messages are routine and positive ones.

Question 23

It doesn't matter how well your message is organized as long as you feel you're getting your point across.

Question 24

Face-to-face communication is the richest medium.

Question 25

Time is not a significant consideration when you are selecting a medium for your message.

Question 26

Organizing ideas using a graphic method is called a "storyteller's tour."

Question 27

In any kind of business communication,it's best to emphasize the points that you think will have the most impact on your audience.

Question 28

The scope of your message is the range of information you present.

Question 29

A medium is a verbal form of communication.

Question 30

Messages can be unethical simply because information is omitted.

Question 31

A disadvantage of electronic media is that it is not conducive to speedy feedback.

Question 32

A message's topic,purpose,and main idea are virtually identical.

Question 33

Memos are short,printed messages for external audiences.

Question 34

When you know your audience will be receptive to your message,use a direct approach.

Question 35

The main advantage of written communication is that the writer has an opportunity to plan and control the message.

Question 36

Brainstorming is when someone has an emotional outburst.

Question 37

The direct approach suggests that you start with the evidence first and build your case before presenting the main idea.

Question 38

If you want to emphasize the confidentiality of a message,use a medium such as a fax or an email.

Question 39

The biggest disadvantage to email is that it reduces the communicator's control over the message.

Question 40

To use many electronic media options successfully,a person must have at least some degree of technical skill.

Question 41

The three-step writing process consists of planning,writing and ___________

A) feeling.
B) delivering.
C) completing.
D) feedback.

Question 42

When choosing between the direct and indirect approaches,analyze your audience's likely reaction to your purpose and message.

Question 43

The general purpose of a business message determines ________________

A) the gender of the speaker or writer.
B) the amount of audience participation that is needed.
C) the location of the audience.
D) none of the above.

Question 44

You'll need a lot of facts and figures to demonstrate your points if your subject is complex and unfamiliar or if your audience is skeptical.

Question 45

When you have bad news,try to put it somewhere in the middle,cushioned by other more positive ideas.

Question 46

Test your purpose by asking __________________

A) is your news is bad.
B) does someone else want to deliver it.
C) is your audience highly receptive.
D) is the timing is wrong.

Question 47

The primary audience for your message is made up of __________________

A) all who receive it.
B) the decision makers.
C) those people with the highest status.
D) those people who represent the opinions and attitudes of the majority.

Question 48

When you are preparing a long and complex message,an outline is indispensable.

Question 49

Which of the following is not a general purpose common to business communication?

A) To inform
B) To persuade
C) To negotiate
D) To collaborate

Question 50

Without an outline you may be inclined to ramble.

Question 51

If you require a lot of collaboration with your audience,then _____________

A) communicator control will be high and audience participation will be low.
B) communicator control will be high and audience participation will be high.
C) communicator control will be low and audience participation will be low.
D) communicator control will be low and audience participation will be high.

Question 52

A report meant for a wide distribution requires _________________

A) you to expect a favourable response.
B) a more formal style.
C) that you and your audience share the same general background.
D) many printed copies.

Question 53

In the direct approach,the evidence comes first,and the main idea comes later.

Question 54

A persuasive message asks your audience to give up something such as time,money,power,and so on.

Question 55

The only way to plan a business message is to use a formal alphanumeric outline.

Question 56

If audience members have different levels of understanding of the topic,_________________

A) give a brief overview only.
B) aim your message at the most influential decision makers.
C) aim your message at the lowest common denominator.
D) give a lot of detail to ensure everyone fully understands.

Question 57

Routine messages call for the direct approach.

Question 58

The three-step writing process consists of ________________

A) planning, writing, and completing.
B) informing, persuading, and collaborating.
C) defining the purpose, the main idea, and the topic.
D) satisfying the audience's informational, motivational, and practical needs.

Question 59

The direct approach is used for short messages,such as memos and letters; the indirect approach is used for long messages,such as reports and proposals.

Question 60

Even if your subject is routine and the audience is positively inclined toward your message,you need to include a lot of facts and figures to demonstrate your points.

Question 61

Aside from being easy to understand,routine messages are _____________

A) the main idea.
B) easy to prepare.
C) offer supporting evidence.
D) pleasing to your audience.

Question 62

When meeting your audience's informational needs,you emphasize points _______________

A) of greatest interest to the audience.
B) that are uncontroversial.
C) that will have the least impact on the audience.
D) that don't need supporting evidence.

Question 63

The chief advantage of oral communication is ________________

A) the ability to plan and control the message.
B) the opportunity to meet an audience's information needs.
C) the ability to transmit highly complex messages.
D) the opportunity for immediate feedback.

Question 64

Whatever the length of your message,____________

A) the number of support points should be three or four.
B) the number of support points should be limited to half a dozen or so.
C) the number of support points will depend on whether the message is oral or written.
D) the number of support points can be unlimited if your audience is knowledgeable about the topic.

Question 65

When you have bad news to convey,it's a good idea to _______________

A) put the bad news at the beginning of your message, thus getting it out of the way immediately.
B) begin with a neutral statement that leads to the bad news gradually.
C) put the bad news at the very end of your message.
D) put off communicating the bad news in hopes the person will get the bad news from someone else.

Question 66

Posters and signs are best used for messages that ________________

A) require no interactivity.
B) require a quick response.
C) require the attention of others.
D) require feedback.

Question 67

Which of the following is not one of the benefits of a well-organized message?

A) It makes the message more acceptable to the audience.
B) It saves the audience's time.
C) It ensures that the audience will agree with the message.
D) It helps the audience understand the message.

Question 68

Everything in a well-written business message _______________

A) is included in the outline.
B) either supports the main idea or explains its implications.
C) is entertaining.
D) does all of the above.

Question 69

It is preferable to use the direct approach with ___________

A) routine, good-news, and goodwill messages.
B) bad-news messages.
C) persuasive messages.
D) all of the above.

Question 70

The specific evidence included in a business message should be _________________

A) as abstract as possible.
B) minimal if your subject is complex or unfamiliar.
C) enough to be convincing but not so much that it's boring.
D) all of the same type, such as examples or statistics.

Question 71

You'll need more words to build a consensus about a complex and controversial subject,especially if the members of your audience are ___________

A) elderly.
B) young.
C) pleased.
D) skeptical.

Question 72

A good way to test the thoroughness of your business message is to check it for ______________

A) a main idea.
B) a purpose.
C) the who, what, when, where, why, and how.
D) accuracy.

Question 73

The main idea of a message is ___________________

A) a specific statement about the topic of your message.
B) the broad subject of a message.
C) identical with the topic.
D) facts that have little emotional impact on your audience.

Question 74

A written message is preferable to an oral one when _______________

A) immediate feedback is desired.
B) the audience is large and geographically dispersed.
C) the message is relatively simple.
D) the information is controversial.

Question 75

During the __________ stage of the composition process,you define your purpose,analyze your audience,and select the channel and medium for the message.

Question 76

When preparing an "organization chart" to help organize a message,you begin with ____________

A) the main idea.
B) the major points.
C) supporting evidence.
D) whatever you want to begin with.

Question 77

The richest communication medium is ___________

A) a phone call.
B) a memo.
C) an email.
D) a face-to-face.

Question 78

It is better to use the indirect approach if your audience will ___________

A) have a positive reaction.
B) be neutral about what you have to say.
C) be displeased by what you have to say.
D) be above you in the hierarchy.

Question 79

Which of the following is an example of a message topic?

A) "To get the board of directors to increase the research and development budget."
B) "Competitors spend more than our company does on research and development."
C) "Funding for research and development."
D) "The research and development budget is inadequate in our competitive marketplace."

Question 80

Voice mail is a poor choice for ___________

A) short messages.
B) lengthy messages.
C) direct messages.
D) indirect messages.