Q&A Hero

Q: How can your audience's level of understanding help you determine the appropriate amount of information to include in a business message?

Q: List at least three helpful questions to ask in evaluating the purpose of a message.

Q: Explain each phase of the three-step writing process.

Q: What are the four tasks involved in planning business messages?

Q: In preparing a letter to a vendor regarding a missing part of your order, would the direct or indirect approach be preferable? Briefly explain your choice.

Q: Briefly explain the difference between the topic of a message and the main idea.

Q: Briefly define media richness, and provide at least one example of a rich medium and a lean medium.

Q: Describe three ways in which businesses are using electronic versions of visual media.

Q: Electronic written media have largely replaced traditional written media in many companies. Explain.

Q: Briefly describe how to meet an unfamiliar audience's informational needs.

Q: How can the journalistic approach help you include all required information in your business messages?

Q: List at least four methods of gathering information to include in your message.

Q: Describe at least three of the tasks involved in developing an audience profile.

Q: A good way to visualize how all the points will fit together is to construct a(n) __________.

Q: In the __________ approach to organizing a message, the main idea comes first, followed by the evidence.

Q: In the __________ approach to organizing a message, the evidence comes first, and the main idea comes later.

Q: __________ is when you generate as many ideas and questions as you can, without stopping to criticize or organize.

Q: Good organization saves your audience __________.

Q: Most __________ communication suffers from problems with clarity, relevance, grouping, and completeness.

Q: The availability of __________ increases your communications options in both oral and written channels.

Q: Telephone calls, meetings, videoconferences, and speeches are all types of __________ communication.

Q: Media__________ is a medium's ability to 1) convey a message through more than one informational cue, 2) facilitate feedback, and 3) establish personal focus.

Q: Factors you should consider in choosing a communication channel and __________ include formality, confidentiality, feedback, time, and cost.

Q: Messages can be unethical if important information is __________.

Q: You can minimize __________ by double-checking every piece of information you collect.

Q: During the planning phase you also need to analyze your __________, including its size and composition, existing knowledge about the subject, and probable reaction to your message.

Q: The three general purposes of business messages are to inform, to persuade, or to __________ with the audience.

Q: The first step in the planning phase is to define your __________.

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

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: 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."

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: Voice mail is a poor choice for ___________ A) short messages. B) lengthy messages. C) direct messages. D) indirect messages.

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: The richest communication medium is ___________ A) a phone call. B) a memo. C) an email. D) a face-to-face.

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: 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

Q: The three-step writing process consists of planning, writing and ___________ A) feeling. B) delivering. C) completing. D) feedback.

Q: 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.

Q: Routine messages call for the direct approach. A) True B) False

Q: 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. A) True B) False

Q: In the direct approach, the evidence comes first, and the main idea comes later. A) True B) False

Q: 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. A) True B) False

Q: 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. A) True B) False

Q: The only way to plan a business message is to use a formal alphanumeric outline. A) True B) False

Q: Without an outline you may be inclined to ramble. A) True B) False

Q: A persuasive message asks your audience to give up something such as time, money, power, and so on. A) True B) False

Q: When you are preparing a long and complex message, an outline is indispensable. A) True B) False

Q: When you have bad news, try to put it somewhere in the middle, cushioned by other more positive ideas. A) True B) False

Q: When choosing between the direct and indirect approaches, analyze your audience's likely reaction to your purpose and message. A) True B) False

Q: The most straightforward business messages are routine and positive ones. A) True B) False

Q: The direct approach suggests that you start with the evidence first and build your case before presenting the main idea. A) True B) False

Q: When you know your audience will be receptive to your message, use a direct approach. A) True B) False

Q: The scope of your message is the range of information you present. A) True B) False

Q: A message's topic, purpose, and main idea are virtually identical. A) True B) False

Q: Organizing ideas using a graphic method is called a "storyteller's tour." A) True B) False

Q: Brainstorming is when someone has an emotional outburst. A) True B) False

Q: It doesn't matter how well your message is organized as long as you feel you"re getting your point across. A) True B) False

Q: The biggest disadvantage to email is that it reduces the communicator's control over the message. A) True B) False

Q: The main advantage of written communication is that the writer has an opportunity to plan and control the message. A) True B) False

Q: A disadvantage of electronic media is that it is not conducive to speedy feedback. A) True B) False

Q: Time is not a significant consideration when you are selecting a medium for your message. A) True B) False