Deck 4: Planning Business Messages

Question 1

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

Answer 1

True

Question 2

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

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Having fewer strong points is a better approach than using many weak points.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Ethics should guide your decisions when determining how much detail to include in your message.

Question 5

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

Question 6

To collaborate with audience members,you need maximum participation.

Question 7

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

Question 8

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

Question 9

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 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

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

Question 12

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

Question 13

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

Question 14

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

Question 15

Major supporting points clarify your main idea.

Question 16

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

Question 17

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

Question 18

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

Question 19

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

Question 20

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 21

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 22

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

Question 23

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

Question 24

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

Question 25

Ethics should guide your decisions when determining how much detail to include in your message.

Question 26

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

Question 27

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

Question 28

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

Question 29

If audience members have different levels of understanding of the topic,aim your message at the most influential decision makers.

Question 30

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

Question 31

Brainstorming is when someone has an emotional outburst.

Question 32

The most straightforward business messages are routine and positive ones.

Question 33

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

Question 34

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

Question 35

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

Question 36

Memos are short,printed messages for external audiences.

Question 37

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

Question 38

A medium is a verbal form of communication.

Question 39

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

Question 40

Face-to-face communication is the richest medium.

Question 41

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 42

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

Question 43

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

Question 44

Test your purpose by asking __________________

A)is your news bad?
B)does someone else want to deliver it?
C)is your audience highly receptive?
D)Is the time right?

Question 45

Without an outline you may be inclined to ramble.

Question 46

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 47

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

Question 48

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

Question 49

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 50

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 51

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 52

Routine messages call for the direct approach.

Question 53

The topic is the overall subject;the main idea is _________________

A)the same as the topic.
B)a specific statement about the topic..
C)a general statement about the topic.
D)not as important as the topic.

Question 54

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

Question 55

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 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

Always back up your supporting points with carefully selected examples and.

A)humour.
B)explanation.
C)visuals
D)evidence.

Question 58

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 59

The last step in the three-step writing process consists of ___________

A)planning.
B)delivering.
C)completing.
D)writing.

Question 60

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

Question 61

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 62

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

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

Written messages ___________

A)are short messages.
B)reduce opportunity for timely feedback.
C)are general.
D)are not focused.

Question 65

The richest communication medium is ___________

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

Question 66

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 67

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 68

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 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)a skeptical audience.

Question 70

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 71

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 72

Aside from being easy to understand,routine messages _____________

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

Question 73

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 74

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 75

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 76

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 77

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 78

___________________should guide your decisions when determining how much detail to include in your message.

A)Length
B)Medium
C)Ethics
D)Clarity

Question 79

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 80

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.