Practice Questions: Unit 2

Speaking Ethically

Imagine that you're in the audience when the main speaker proposes an action that is so offensive to you that you earnestly want to stand up and walk right out of the room. You are sitting near the end of a row, so it would be possible to do so. You notice that other people are

listening intently. You hope others will not assume that by your presence, you show that you agree. What is the most ethical choice?

1. Continue listening to be sure your understanding is accurate and to see whether the speaker explains the point of view in a way that makes it more acceptable.
2. Interrupt the speaker so other listeners won't be "taken in" by the message.
3. Walk out as a symbolic gesture of disagreement.

End-of-Chapter Assessment

1. The difference between hearing and listening is
   1. very small; the two processes amount to about the same thing
   2. hearing is mindful and intentional, but listening is effortless
   3. hearing is effortless, but listening is mindful and intentional
   4. hearing requires strong motivation and attention, but listening is an automatic human response to speech
   5. hearing depends on listening, but listening does not depend on hearing
2. Although you are a strong advocate of First Amendment rights, especially the protection of religious freedom, you find an exception to your beliefs when a speaker defends the rights of separatist religious sects to practice polygamy. Which of these responses is most ethical?
   1. Wait until the end of the presentation, then stand up and insist that the speaker listen to your rebuttal, just as you have listened to him or her.
   2. Seek a way to infiltrate the sect in order to investigate the truth of what's really going on.
   3. Go home to look up passages in the Bible that either support or refute the speakers claims, then write an anonymous letter to a newspaper opinion page.
   4. Sit quietly and listen to the speech to decide whether the message contains elements of value or whether to leave your original opinion unmodified.
   5. Have a sense of humor; lighten the mood with a little laughter.
3. Which of the following statements is best?
   1. A fact is carefully reasoned.
   2. A fact is verifiable by authoritative evidence.
   3. A carefully considered opinion is as good as factual evidence.
   4. Assumptions are always wrong.
   5. Opinions, even expert opinions, never belong in human discourse.
4. What is critical listening ?
   1. negative judgments listeners develop during a speech
   2. the practice of detecting flaws in a speech
   3. a listener's use of his or her opinions in order to mentally refute factual details in the speech
   4. the rejection of a message
   5. careful scrutiny of the ideas and logical elements of a speech
5. Listening to a speech with an open mind means
   1. accepting the claims and conclusions of the speech
   2. listening in order to learn
   3. listening in order to quote the speaker later
   4. replacing your outdated knowledge with the newer information in the speech
   5. you must allow the speaker his or her First Amendment rights

Answer Key

1. c
2. d
3. b
4. e
5. b

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Speaking Ethically

You've got to be kidding me, Fatima thought to herself as she received the e-mail from her boss. She reread the e-mail hoping that something would change on the screen: "Fatima, I need you to prepare a presentation on what our company has done in the past year for Mrs. Jorgensen. She's old, keep it simple. Leave out any of the complex material because it will probably just bore her anyways.—John".

Fatima joined R & R Consulting right after Anthony Jorgensen, the founder and CEO, had passed away. While Penelope Jorgensen inherited the major stake in the firm and was still listed as the firm's CEO, the day-to-day running of operations was given to John Preston, the chief operating officer.

Fatima stared at her screen and wondered to what extent she should follow John's advice and "keep it simple". She'd only met Mrs. Jorgensen twice, but she'd always seemed to be pretty knowledgeable about the inner workings of the firm. Sure Mrs. Jorgensen wasn't an expert in the field, but should she be treated like a helpless little old lady? Not only is that sexist, it's completely ageist! On the other hand, John's words may have been chosen poorly, but maybe all Mrs. Jorgensen really wanted was a quick snapshot of what's going on here?

Fatima sat in silence for a few minutes, opened up PowerPoint, and just stared at her monitor trying to figure out the best way to proceed.

1. Do you think John's e-mail to Fatima expressed unethical audience analysis ? Why or why not?
2. How do you think Fatima should proceed?

End-of-Chapter Assessment

1. George wants to persuade his audience to purchase more locally produced foods. He decides he needs to know how his audience members already feel about this topic and whether they know about locally produced options. George's audience analysis focuses on gathering
   1. demographic information
   2. psychographic information
   3. situational information
   4. statistical information
   5. religious information
2. Freya wants to give her classroom an informative speech on the dangers of drunk driving. You suggest that this might not be a good topic because the audience of college students probably
   1. will not understand the topic
   2. will not be interested in drinking
   3. are not culturally diverse
   4. do not believe in drinking because of their religious background
   5. already know a lot about the topic
3. Yukhi will be giving a speech at the local Elks Lodge in a few weeks and wants to know more about her audience. She decides to attend one of the group's meetings so she gets a sense of what the group does and who its members are. Yukhi is engaging in which method of audience analysis ?
   1. interviews
   2. focus group
   3. survey
   4. experiment
   5. direct observation

Answer Key

1. b
2. e
3. e

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Source: University of Minnesota
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