Questions and Answers of Excellence In Business Communication

Which of these factors affects the amount of flexibility you have in negotiating salary?a. The number of previous positions you’ve heldb. The college or university you attendedc. The market demand
When explaining why an applicant wasn’t chosen for a position, you shoulda. Be specific without being too personal, such as explaining that the position requires specific skills that the applicant
Why do many experts recommend using the indirect approach when rejecting job applicants?a. Applicants have a deep emotional investment in the decision.b. Laws in most states require the indirect
If you need to reject a solicited proposal from an employee, which of the following approaches is best?a. Use the indirect approach, but avoid explaining exactly why the proposal does not meet your
Which of the following is a good possibility to consider for use in writing a buffer?a. Look for subtle opportunities to promote your company and its products.b. Assure the reader that your company
Why is it particularly important in long reports to clearly identify your purpose before you begin writing?a. A clear statement of purpose helps you avoid extensive revisions.b. A clear statement of
One of your employees submitted a report that compares the market opportunities for two product ideas your company might develop. The report concludes that because the first idea yielded 340,000 hits
____ reports focus on the delivery of facts, figures, and other types of information, without making recommendations or proposing new ideas or solutions.
Can you use the same approach for planning website content as you use for planning printed reports? Why or why not?
____ reports assess a situation or problem and recommend a course of action in response.
Would the one-page website design concept work well for mobile websites? Why or why not?
____ present persuasive messages that encourage readers to take a specific course of action.
Which of the following is the appropriate first step in any research project?a. Evaluate secondary research to see if you can reuse anything from earlier research projects.b. Conduct a preliminary
Consider this series of values: 14, 37, 44, 44, 44, 74, 76, 88, 93, 100, and 112.a. The mean is 66.b. The median is 74.c. The mode is 44.d. All of the above are correct.
Sales at The Style Shop, a clothing store for men, have declined for the third month in a row. Your boss is not sure if this decline is as a result of a weak economy or another unknown reason. She
Research being conducted for the first time is called ____ research.
Research that was conducted for other projects but is being considered for a new project is called ____ research.
Break into small groups and find four websites that provide business information such as company or industry news, trends, analysis, facts, or performance data. Using the criteria discussed under
What does it mean for a survey to be valid?a. It works every time.b. It returns the data and information the researchers expect it to return.c. Meets all ethical and legal criteria in a given
Which of these sentences has the most formal tone?a. We discuss herein the possibility of synergistic development strategies between our firm and U.S. Medical.b. This report explores the potential
How are audiences likely to react if they spot several errors in your reports?a. They’ll become skeptical about the quality of all your work. b. They’ll forgive you and move on without
Select one of the following topics, then research and prepare a brief presentation (5–10 minutes) to be given to your class: a. What I expect to learn in this courseb. Past public speaking
Locate the transcript of a speech, either online or through your school library. A good source Vital Speeches of the Day; ask if your library has a subscription to the database.) Many corporate
The following exercises help you improve your knowledge of and power over English grammar, mechanics, and usage. Turn to the Handbook of Grammar, Mechanics, and Usage at the end of this book and
Why is consistent use of colors, typefaces and type treatments, size, and other design elements important in presentations?a. Consistency is not important; in fact, it’s a sign of a dull
A/an_______résumé uses elements of both the chronological and functional formats.
A letter declining a job offer should followa. The direct approach.b. The AIDA model.c. A negative news approach.d. The polite plan.
Paragraphs organized by comparison and contrast point out the ____ or ____ between two or more items.
To explain the reasons something happened, which of these paragraph designs should you use?a. Cause-effectb. Opposition and argumentc. Classificationd. Prioritization
When someone with expertise or interest in a particular field collects and republishes material on a particular topic, the practice is known asa. Content curation.b. Media consolidation.c. Blog
Which of the following is one reason many companies are trying to reduce email usage?a. To reduce the number of messages that can be used as legal evidence.b. To reduce costs, because email hosting
Which of the following is a good strategy for using blogs to promote products and services?a. Write in a style that is personal and conversational; minimize direct promotion of your products and
Which of the following is not a good general purpose for a blog?a. Sharing news from the racing circuit, describing how the racers we sponsor are faring and how they use our products.b. Commenting on
Which of the following would be a good use of retweeting for an independent consulting engineer who uses Twitter to build relationships with potential clients?a. Avoiding retweeting under any
If one of the attractions of podcasting is its spontaneous, conversational feel, why should podcasters take the time to plan their recordings?a. Individual podcasts that aren’t well thought out can
A/an ____ ____ is an ongoing series of podcasts on the same general topic.
When writing a routine request, the best approach is to begina. With a personal introduction, such as “My name is Lee Marrs, and I am. . .”b. With a vague reference to what you are writing about,
The purpose of using the indirect approach is toa. Help the writer avoid the unpleasant task of delivering bad news.b. Help the reader avoid the unpleasant task of receiving bad news.c. Soften the
Devoting a lot of words to a particular idea shows your audience thata. The idea is complicatedb. The idea is the topic sentencec. The idea is importantd. The idea is new and therefore requires more
When developing a paragraph, keep in minda. That you should stick to one method of development within a single paragraphb. That once you use one method of development, you should use that same method
To develop a paragraph by illustration, give your audience enough ____ to help them grasp the main idea.
What is meant by using a linear organization to craft messages for mobile devices?a. Using only ethically proven informationb. Organizing all the information in a single topical thread from start to
The ——— ——— style recommended for mobile messages means you reveal the most important information briefly at first and then provide successive layers of detail that readers can consume
What is a good rule of thumb for the length of subject lines and headlines intended for mobile readers?a. Two words, three at a mostb. As long as the device’s screen is wide in landscape
Which of these is the most important reason you should take care to revise messages before sending them?a. Revising shows your audience how hard you work.b. Revising lowers the word count.c. Revising
How does careful revision reflect the “you” attitude?
Which of the following is not one of the main tasks involved in completing a business message?a. Drafting the messageb. Revising the messagec. Producing the messaged. Proofreading the message
Why should you limit the number of typefaces and type styles in most business documents?
Regarding sentence length, the best approach for business messages is toa. Keep all sentences as short as possible.b. Make most of your sentences long since you will usually have complex information
Why is white space particularly critical when designing documents for mobile devices?
Regarding paragraph length, the best approach for business messages is toa. Keep paragraphs short.b. Make most of your paragraphs long since that is standard practice in business writing.c. Make most
How can you demonstrate good business sense in the choices you make regarding message distribution?
Regarding the use of lists, the best approach for business messages is toa. Avoid using lists except where absolutely necessary.b. Make sure listed items are in parallel form.c. Use numbered lists
Which of the following is not an informative heading?a. Why We Need a New Distributor.b. Five Challenges Facing Today’s Distributors.c. Distributors Are a Better Choice for Us Than Wholesalers.d.
Which of the following sentences contains hedging words?a. It appears that we may have a problem completing the project by May 20.b. There is a possibility that the project might be done by May 20.c.
How has content sharing through social media changed the information gathering habits of many consumers and professionals?a. They frequently “snack” on large numbers of small pieces of
To express sympathy to the family of one of your employees who recently died in a traffic accident, which of these media would you choose and why?a. Facebook postb. Printed letterc. Email messaged.
Can your company stay in control of it messages if its stay off social media? Why or why not?
Which of the following is not listed in the chapter as one of the compositional modes for digital media?a. Conversationsb. Redactingc. Comments and critiquesd. Narratives
Which of these descriptions best captures the preferred style of writing for social media in business?a. Businesslike and message-drivenb. Unplanned, unrehearsed, and super casualc. Conversational,
A/an ____ ____ is a group of people united by their interest in and ownership or use of a particular product.
What are some ways the president of a hiking equipment company could use Twitter to engage potential customers without being overtly promotional?
Which of these best describes the role of a hub in a company’s social media strategy?a. An open-plan office in which all the company’s social media users can congregate in order to ensure a
____ ____ is a measure of how effectively a company engages with its various online stakeholders in a mutually beneficial exchange of information.
YouTube, Flickr, and Yelp are examples ofa. Consumer-only websites.b. User-generated content sitesc. Social interactivity blogs.d. Content exchanges.
Which of the following is true of email subject lines?a. Only “newbies” bother to use them anymore.b. Subject lines should never give away the content of the message because no one will bother to
Which of the following is the most effective email subject line?a. Production line: wiring issues.b. Wiring errors in production: let’s analyze the problem and explore solutions.c. Wiring errors on
You work in a customer service department, answering emails from customers. This morning you received an angry message from a customer who has a legitimate complaint about your company’s warranty
Which of the following reasons helps explain why IM usage is overtaking email in some companies? a. People don’t have to be so formal when they use IM; it saves time to use acronyms and
Which of the following types of messages are most appropriate for IM?a. Long, complex messages.b. Brief conversational messages.c. Confidential or highly personal messages.d. All of the above.
Which of the following best describes the idea of an “authentic voice” in blogging?a. A writing style that is scrupulously precise and free from technical and grammatical errors.b. The voice of a
Which of the following best describes the optimum audience of a blog?a. Always the largest audience possible.b. Only people who are experts in the subject matter so that comments and discussions
When it comes to routine messages, you cana. Skip the planning stage.b. Keep the planning stage brief.c. Begin by gathering all the information you’ll need.d. Begin by choosing the channel and
When writing routine messages, youa. Can assume that your readers will be interested or neutral.b. Should open with an “attention getter”c. Should use the indirect approach with most audiences.d.
What should you do when asking questions in a routine SFRVFTU.a. Begin with the least important question and work your way up to the most important question.b. Include all possible questions about
Requests for recommendations and references are routine messages, so you can organize your inquiry using the ____ approach.
If you are making a routine reply to a customer, it’s a good idea toa. Leave out any negative informationb. Include resale information to assure the customer of the wisdom of his or her purchasec.
The purpose of goodwill messages is toa. Generate salesb. Impress othersc. Make yourself feel betterd. Enhance relationships with customers, colleagues, and other businesspeople
Which of the following should be a goal of every negative message?a. To convey the bad news clearly.b. To gain audience acceptance for the news.c. To maintain as much goodwill as possible with the
Would you choose the direct or indirect approach to announce that a popular employee benefit is being eliminated for cost reasons? Why?
When using the direct approach with negative messages, you begin with.a. A buffer.b. An attention-getter.c. The bad news.d. Any of the above.
When using the indirect approach with negative messages, you begin with.a. A buffer.b. An attention-getter.c. The bad news.d. Any of the above.
How would you respond to a LinkedIn network connection who asks for a recommendation when you barely remember working with this person and don’t remember whether she was good at her job?
A/an ____ is a neutral, noncontroversial opening statement that establishes common ground with your reader.
Which of the following is an accurate general statement about good ideas in the business world?a. Newer employees are not expected to contribute fresh ideas.b. Many good ideas pass unnoticed or are
Why is the indirect approach often used in persuasive messages?a. It is more courteous and therefore gives the writer the opportunity to build up goodwill before slipping in the sales pitch.b. It
Which of the following is not a good way to establish credibility with your audience?a. Support your argument with clear reasoning and objective evidence.b. Identify your sources.c. Establish common
The first phase in the AIDA model is toa. Do your research.b. Gain the audience’s attention.c. Analyze the audience.d. Call for action.
The body of a message that follows the AIDA modela. Captures the audience’s attentionb. Contains the bufferc. Generates interest and heightens desired. Calls for action
Which of the following is a good way to build desire using the AIDA approach?a. Explain how the proposed change will help your audience. b. Reduce resistance by addressing objections the
The final phase of the AIDA methoda. Provides in-depth information to help generate interest.b. Reduces resistance by increasing the audience’s desire.c. Calls for action.d. Captures the
An argument that is based on human feelings is known as a/ an ____ appeal.
An argument that is based on facts and reason is known as a/an ____ appeal.
The best approach to using emotional appeals is usually to a. Use them by themselves.b. Use them in conjunction with logical appeals.c. Use them only when the audience is particularly hostile.d.
Why is it important to anticipate objections when planning and writing persuasive messages?a. You are legally required to anticipate audience objections in all marketing messages.b. By anticipating
Prioritizing which features and benefits to write about isa. A waste of time because people don’t read in sequential order.b. Important because doing so lets you start with low-priority issues and
How do marketing messages and sales messages differ?a. Sales messages use oral media exclusively.b. Sales messages are “hard sell,” whereas marketing messages are “soft sell.”c. Marketing
What is the relationship between features and benefits?a. They are different words for the same idea.b. Features are aspects of an idea or product; benefits are the advantages that readers will
Which of the following is the best definition of social commerce?a. It encompasses any aspect of buying and selling products and services or supporting customers through the use of social media.b. It
Which of the following is not a good guideline for using social media in sales and marketing?a. Rely on the conventional news media to distribute your messages; frequent outages and too much

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