Deck 1: Understanding the Foundations of Business Communications

Question 1

Senior executives spend less and less of their workday communicating as they take on more leadership responsibility.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Discuss the five ways in which you can make your communication efforts as effective as possible.

Answer 2

To make your communication efforts as effective as possible,focus on making them practical,factual,concise,clear,and persuasive.First,provide practical information.Give recipients useful information,whether it's to help them perform a desired action or understand a new company policy.Second,give facts rather than vague impressions.Use concrete language,specific detail,and information that is clear,convincing,accurate,and ethical.Even when an opinion is called for,present compelling evidence to support your conclusion.Third,present information in a concise,efficient manner.Concise messages show respect for people's time,and they increase the chances of a positive response.Do your best to simplify complex subjects to help your readers,and make sure you don't inadvertently complicate simple subjects through careless writing.The ability to explain a complex subject in simple terms is immensely valuable,whether you're training new employees or pitching a business plan to investors.Fourth,clarify expectations and responsibilities.Craft messages to generate a specific response from a specific audience.When appropriate,clearly state what you expect from audience members or what you can do for them.Finally,offer compelling,persuasive arguments and recommendations.Show your readers precisely how they will benefit by responding the way you want them to respond to your message.

Question 3

What is the name of all the parties affected by the actions of an organization?

A)Employees
B)Managers
C)The community
D)Stakeholders
E)The government

Answer 3

D

Question 4

What can you do to show an audience how they will benefit from your message?

A)Offer compelling arguments and recommendations
B)Clarify expectations and responsibilities
C)Present information in an efficient manner
D)Provide practical information
E)Give vague impressions

Question 5

How can strong communication skills lead to lower employee turnover in an organization?

A)Employees will create stronger ties in the marketplace
B)There is more opportunity to influence perceptions and trends
C)Employees will feel more engaged with their work
D)There will be fewer critical safety issues
E)There will be higher returns on investments

Question 6

If you have difficult or complex information to share,how can you help the audience understand and accept your message?

A)Use ethical information
B)Use simple terms to explain the subject
C)Clearly state your expectations of the audience
D)Offer compelling evidence
E)Show the audience how they will benefit

Question 7

What is the key reason why strong communication skills are important for your career?

A)You might be asked to interact with customers
B)You might have to communicate with employees who work in technical areas
C)You must be able to express your thoughts clearly and persuasively
D)You might later want to start your own business
E)You must be able to respond to the changing nature of the work environment

Question 8

Why are strong communication skills important to your career,regardless of your major?

Question 9

Improving your communication skills may be the single most important step you can take in your career.

Question 10

Which of the following is an outcome of strong communication skills within an organization?

A)Less trust between senior leadership
B)The ability to target important communities in the marketplace
C)A better understanding of perceptions and trends
D)Increased productivity and faster problem solving
E)The ability to develop marketing messages

Question 11

All of the following EXCEPT ________ will make your business messages more effective.

A)providing practical information
B)clarifying expectations and responsibilities
C)presenting information concisely and efficiently
D)discussing personal issues and complaining about problems

Question 12

Which of the following is the process of transferring information between senders and receivers?

A)Communication
B)Negotiation
C)Productivity
D)Engagement
E)Impressionism

Question 13

To make communication efforts as effective as possible,communication should be

A)practical,timely,and personal.
B)concise,clear,and electronic.
C)electronic,ethical and practical.
D)positive,personal,and quick.
E)practical,factual,and clear.

Question 14

If you start a company or become an executive in an established firm,you can expect to spend the majority of your time

A)budgeting.
B)traveling.
C)communicating.
D)plying your trade.

Question 15

Improving your communication skills will enhance your career because

A)having great ideas won't help you much,unless you can communicate them effectively.
B)the higher you rise in an organization,the more important your communication skills will be.
C)you'll need to connect with decision makers outside of your area of expertise.
D)all of the above.

Question 16

What can communicators do to ensure facts,rather than vague impressions,are shared?

A)Provide practical information
B)Present information in a concise manner
C)Offer compelling arguments and recommendations
D)Identify areas of responsibility
E)Use concrete language with specific detail

Question 17

Strong communication skills are important even for employees with technical skills,such as engineers and accountants.

Question 18

Describe five characteristics of effective business messages.

Question 19

Which of the following is one of the essential goals of communication?

A)Successful negotiations
B)Sharing
C)Data development
D)Engagement
E)Career development

Question 20

Communication is the process of

A)transferring information and meaning.
B)listening actively.
C)writing messages.
D)none of the above.

Question 21

Generally speaking,limitations of the formal communication network

A)discourage employees from taking advantage of social media.
B)have not affected the popularity of social media in the business environment.
C)have helped to spur the growth of social media in the business environment.
D)do none of the above.

Question 22

The quality of performing at a high level and conducting oneself with pride and purpose is known as

A)expediency.
B)professionalism.
C)entrepreneurialism.
D)impression management.

Question 23

Which of the following is one of the six distinct traits that best defines professionalism?

A)Actively listening to others
B)Being dependable and accountable
C)Clarifying expectations and responsibilities
D)Offering compelling and persuasive arguments
E)Conveying decisions and providing information to help employees do their job

Question 24

The term digital information fluency encompasses all of the following elements EXCEPT

A)recognizing information needs.
B)searching efficiently to locate reliable sources of information.
C)using gathered information ethically.
D)using random methods to present ideas and information.

Question 25

Which one of the following is NOT one of the traits possessed by professionals?

A)Meeting minimum qualifications
B)Demonstrating a sense of etiquette
C)Maintaining a positive outlook
D)Being dependable and accountable

Question 26

Which of the following is one of the six distinct traits that best defines professionalism?

A)Being a team player
B)Offering compelling and persuasive arguments
C)Clarifying expectations and responsibilities
D)Actively listening to others
E)Conveying decisions ad providing information to help employees do their job

Question 27

What communication network is being followed when ideas follow the lines of command in an organization?

A)Horizontal
B)Grapevine
C)Critical
D)Formal
E)Ethical

Question 28

Which of the following indicates the expected norms of behavior in a given situation?

A)Etiquette
B)Bias
C)Emotional intelligence
D)The "you" attitude
E)Ethics

Question 29

Every organization has ________,which encompasses all communication that occurs outside the lines of command in the company's organization structure.

A)a lateral communication network
B)a peer-to-peer communication network
C)an informal communication network
D)an adjacent communication network

Question 30

Which of these skills is used to evaluate evidence completely and objectively in order to make sound recommendations?

A)Decoding skills
B)Professionalism
C)Critical thinking
D)Persuasive arguments
E)A formal communication network

Question 31

What is the informal communication network used when employees interact in a social setting?

A)The grapevine
B)Horizontal
C)Upward
D)Downward
E)Audience-centered

Question 32

How can communicators ensure they are using an audience centered approach to their communication?

A)Incorporate a strong sense of etiquette
B)Send the message through several communication channels
C)Develop the message in a way that is meaningful to the audience
D)Provide instructions to the audience on how to decode the message
E)Create communication barriers for all information other than that which you are conveying

Question 33

Which of the following is an expected behavior on the job?

A)Using text messaging whenever possible
B)Communicating ethically
C)Saving time by limiting research sources
D)Ensuring others are listening to what you have to say
E)Using text language and shortened forms of grammar and spelling whenever possible

Question 34

An audience-centered approach to communication involves

A)saying whatever it takes to win over the members of your audience.
B)embedding a layer of technology between you and your audience members.
C)respecting,understanding,and meeting the needs of your audience members.
D)focusing on how the members of the audience can help you obtain your goals.

Question 35

What is the ability to evaluate evidence completely and use that evidence to form a logical conclusion?

A)Professionalism
B)Audience-centered approach
C)Critical thinking
D)Digital information fluency
E)Ethics

Question 36

When solving complex organizational problems,how does information flow between departments?

A)In the rumor mill
B)Through the grapevine
C)Informally
D)Vertically
E)Horizontally

Question 37

In the formal communication network,what type of communication path is used when information flows from leadership to employees?

A)Upward
B)Horizontal
C)Vertical
D)Downward
E)Multidirectional

Question 38

According to the concept of emotional intelligence,if you'll be speaking to people you don't know and you can't find out more about them

A)don't worry because you can adjust to their needs on the fly.
B)always put your own needs before their needs.
C)rely on chance and circumstance to help you relate to their needs.
D)use common sense and imagination to relate to their needs.

Question 39

What is the ability to relate to the needs of others?

A)Etiquette
B)Emotional intelligence
C)Informal communications
D)Formal communications
E)Critical thinking

Question 40

Which of the following is one way employees can practice the "you" attitude in their communication efforts?

A)Explain their educational background and expertise
B)Include a great detail of background information so the audience knows the communication was thoughtful
C)Use easy to understand language
D)Assume the audience has a high degree of emotional intelligence
E)Learn as much as possible about the audience's biases and style

Question 41

To actually receive a message,a person needs to do all of the following EXCEPT

A)comprehend the message.
B)sense the presence of the message.
C)select it from other competing messages.
D)perceive it as an actual message.

Question 42

Identify six of the critical communication skills that employers expect you to have.

Question 43

What is a communication medium?

A)The form a message will take
B)The appropriate length of a message
C)The communication channel used
D)The number of potential distractions a message might encounter
E)The identification of the audience preference in receiving messages

Question 44

When someone is determining how to express an idea,which stage of the communication model are they engaging in?

A)Having an idea
B)Transmitting the message through a channel
C)Determining how the audience will respond to the message
D)Encoding the idea as a message
E)Producing the message in a transmittable medium

Question 45

The voice technology known as ________ converts human speech to computer commands.

A)speech synthesis
B)digital vocalics
C)vocal mnemonics
D)speech recognition

Question 46

Discuss professionalism and explain the six distinct traits of a professional.

Question 47

Which type of communication barrier could be the result of multitasking?

A)Channel breakdowns
B)Technology
C)Competing messages
D)Noise and distractions
E)Filters

Question 48

Which of the following is an example of a communication channel?

A)Email
B)Mobile phone
C)Letter
D)Memo
E)Twitter

Question 49

Critical thinking includes using time management skills and accepted standards of texting and instant messaging language.

Question 50

Which of the following is one way to increase the chance that your message is received by the audience?

A)Consider the audience's expectations for delivery
B)Always send the message via email so there is a copy available
C)Call the audience to let them know a message is being sent
D)Copy leadership on the message
E)Minimize the use of spam filters

Question 51

How can upward communication help an executive solve problems and make intelligent decisions?

A)By eliminating the rumor mill
B)By replacing written documents
C)By encouraging digital records
D)By identifying trends
E)By being audience centered

Question 52

Within the context of social media,________ refers to a sense of openness,of giving all participants access to the information they need to understand the messages they are receiving.

A)transformation
B)transcendence
C)transparency
D)translucency

Question 53

Which of the following is one way an employee can minimize distractions created by messages?

A)Respond to the message as soon as it is received
B)Delete all messages older than 2 weeks
C)Use short text messages whenever possible
D)Use headphones to minimize interruptions
E)Set aside specific times to deal with messages

Question 54

Adopting the "you" attitude is part of developing an audience-centered approach to communication.

Question 55

The ________ is the form a message takes and the ________ is the system used to deliver the message.

A)channel; medium
B)medium; channel
C)schema; pipeline
D)package; tunnel

Question 56

Which of the following is one way to help the audience understand your message?

A)Tell the audience what software you are using
B)Use images and designs your audience is familiar with
C)Tell the audience your goals and needs
D)Embed links to more detailed discussions about your topic
E)Tell the audience your expectations of them

Question 57

What is professionalism? Why is communication important to professionalism?

Question 58

What is one of the goals of the sender when thinking about how an audience might respond to the message?

A)That the receiver will provide verbal feedback
B)That the receiver will be able to encode the message
C)That the message can be transmitted through several channels
D)That technology will be used to improve the downward communication process
E)That the receiver will be motivated to respond

Question 59

Why is it important to get feedback from audience members after they receive a message?

A)To ensure the verbal and nonverbal messages are consistent
B)To help the audience remember the message
C)To evaluate the effectiveness of the message
D)To determine if the audience is motivated to respond
E)To ensure the message was decoded correctly

Question 60

To adopt an audience-centered approach to communication,what do you need to learn about your audience? List at least three specific attributes.

Question 61

A barrier to communication can be caused by

A)the structure and culture of an organization.
B)the common habit of multitasking.
C)human or technological intervention between senders and receivers.
D)all of the above.

Question 62

When crafting a message,which of these is a good way to demonstrate empathy?

A)Address the company's needs
B)Send the message using multiple channels
C)Address the audience's needs
D)Use familiar images
E)Tell the audience why they should care

Question 63

Discuss the 8 steps in the communication model.

Question 64

What takes place when a receiver distorts information to make it fit their "mental map" of reality?

A)Ethics
B)Critical thinking
C)Cultural differences
D)Clarification
E)Selective perception

Question 65

The term ________ refers to groups that are affected by or have an interest in a company's actions.

A)coalitions
B)stakeholders
C)confederacies
D)partnerships

Question 66

Business communication that is interactive,conversational,and open to those who wish to join follows which type of communication model?

A)Published
B)Broadcasted
C)Social
D)Passive
E)Reshaped

Question 67

The more two people or two groups of people share experiences (personal,professional,and cultural)the more likely it is that receivers will get the intended meanings senders encode into their messages.

Question 68

________ is the process of transferring information and meaning between senders and receivers.

A)Reflection
B)Projection
C)Communication
D)Illumination

Question 69

In order to increase the chances of successful message delivery,communicators should consider audience expectations.

Question 70

If a message is fact-based,it will not be interpreted based on culture or personal beliefs.

Question 71

Which of these is a good tactic for a minimizing the influence of cultural and personal beliefs when crafting a message?

A)By clarifying expectations
B)By incorporating vague concepts
C)By using selective perceptions
D)By incorporating cultural elements
E)By practicing empathy

Question 72

How can a writer increase the chance that a message will be remembered and retrieved by the receiver?

A)Incorporate the Internet of Things whenever possible
B)Be sensitive to the audience's wants and needs
C)Tell the audience how the message fits their perception of reality
D)Develop the message based on cultural beliefs
E)Instruct the audience in proper decoding techniques

Question 73

Human or technological interventions between the sender and the receiver can block or distort messages.

Question 74

In order for a message to be sent successfully,which of the following must happen?

A)There must be empathy for the audience
B)You must tell the audience what technology platform was used
C)Cultural beliefs have to match between the sender and the receiver
D)It must be decoded and meaning must be assigned
E)The audience must be moved to respond

Question 75

As a contemporary approach to business communication,the ________ is interactive,conversational,and usually open to all who wish to participate.

A)reflexive communication model
B)computer-assisted communication model
C)social communication model
D)give-and-take communication model

Question 76

The only thing a person needs to receive a message is technical compatibility with the person who's sending the message.

Question 77

Companies can use ________ to identify and capitalize on market opportunities that are contained in large,complex,or dynamic sets of data.

A)telepresence
B)enterprise IM systems
C)data visualization
D)crowdsourcing

Question 78

Which of the following is a disadvantage of the social communication model?

A)Information flows in one direction
B)User needs cannot be addressed quickly
C)Excessive costs
D)The incorporation of hybrid approaches
E)Less distinction between professional and personal lives

Question 79

Which of the following is one of the ways businesses utilize the social communication model?

A)By transmitting fixed messages about a brand
B)By limiting access to stakeholders
C)By incorporating a "we talk,you listen" model
D)By monitoring online discussions about the company
E)By allowing information to flow from the top of the organization

Question 80

What is meant by the expression "The Internet of Things (IoT)"?