Communication Skills for Business (practice questions)

You've prepared a high-energy presentation with an emotional message. Your presentation is scheduled to occur in a large meeting room that seats 300 people. The audio/visual support person has set up a projector with a large screen at the front of the room and a microphone attached to a podium. You anticipate many questions and lots of audience interaction. When the time arrives for your presentation to begin, only one person attends, and he sits in the back of the room.

Select the elements that affects your message

• Number of handouts you prepared

• The availability of auto and visual equipment

• Size of the room

• Audience size

Answer explanation

You anticipated a larger audience with lots of interaction to give your presentation high-energy. You did not plan on having only one person sitting alone the back of the room. In this scenario, the size of the room and audience size will affect your message.

You've been asked to be a speaker for a 1-hour presentation at a large conference. The conference committee scheduled your presentation in a ballroom with the capacity of 500 people. You've been told that approximately 465 people have enrolled in your session.

What environmental factor must you consider that could impact your message?

• The traffic getting to the conference center

• Audio equipment

• How many people attend your presentation

• Bad weather

Answer explanation

In this scenario, the size of the room will make it very difficult to deliver an effective message without a microphone and speaker system or if something goes wrong with either. The environmental factor you must consider is audio equipment.

You've been invited by a company to present information to their employees about a new product your business sells. You were told to prepare hand-outs for approximately 15 attendees and the company scheduled you to present in their conference room. You arrive 30 minutes before your presentation so you have time to setup. You connect your computer to their projector and you place a handout on the conference table in front of each chair. Moments before the start time, your audience begins to arrive. By the start time, every seat is filled and more people keep coming into the room. Ten minutes into your presentation your audience has grown to more than 40 people and most are standing against the walls or sitting on the floor. One of the company employees runs out and makes more copies of your handout so everyone receives one.

Which environmental factor will have the greatest effect on your message?

• Remote Participants

• Audience size

• Available equipment

• Room Size

Answer explanation

You anticipated only 15 attendees and prepared materials for that number. However, your audience size grew to almost three times that amount. Both audience size and room size were an issues; however, you were able to accommodate the unexpected audience size by having additional handouts created. You could not provide seating for them. In this scenario, the limited room size had the greatest effect on your message.

You've downloaded two hit songs from the Internet and incorporated them into a presentation you've created for a large regional conference. You will be representing your company at this conference.

Your supervisor questions if you can legally use the songs in your presentation. You tell her you believe you can use the songs because they are for educational purposes.

Which four are the factors a court judge would evaluate to resolve copyright Fair Use disputes? (Choose four)

• The date the copy was obtained from the website

• Amount of the work copied

• Effect of the copy's use on the potential market

• Nature of the work that was copied

• Purpose of the copy

Answer explanation

Judges use four factors to resolve copyright Fair Use disputes. The four factors judges consider are the following:

-Purpose and character of use of the copy (e.r., was it for commercial or non-commercial use).

- Nature of the work that was copied (e.g., was it govenment-published facts, information released to the public such as a phone book, or copyrighted material)

-Amount and substantiality of the portion taken

-Effect of the copy's use on the potential market (e.g., did it cause monetary loss or loss of fame).

A company has announced a new industry certification for one of its software products. They have hired you to promote their new certification at several upcoming conferences. You are creating your presentation and have included a video of three different hiring directors testifying about the credibility this certification will add to job applicants.

You want to ensure that there are no legal or ethical issues with your presentation.

Which two actions should you perform to avoid legal or ethical issues? (Choose two)

• Obtain a location release for the site where you will present

• Remove all personal information from your presentation.

• Ensure that you're presentation meets accessibility standards.

• Obtain model releases for any recognizable people in your presentation.

• Display the name and company of each hiring director during the video segment of their testimony.

Answer explanation

Credits (attribution) must be given yo any people featured in a video, so you should display the name and company of each hiring dirctor during the video segment of their testimony.

Also, when creating original videos and photographs, you are required to obtain written permission from any persons recognizable in the photograph or video. This is called model release.

Which four types of work are protected by copyright and might require permission to use in a presentation? (choose four)

• A hit song downloaded from a subscription music source.

• Video you recorded of a popular band performing at a concert.

• Complete lyrics of a popular song written in 1905

• Screenshots of a poorly designed website you found on the Internet

• A political cartoon published in a digital newspaper.

Answer explanation

In the United States, copyright is a form of protection provided by law (title 17, U. S. Code) to the authors of "original works of authorship". The date of copyright begins when a work is fixed in a tangible form (I.r, media, recording). Copyright protects "published" and "unpublished" works. Works protected by copyright require written permission to use for any purpose not permitted by the fair use doctrine. Simply recognizing the source of the copyright information is not a substitute.

The following REQUIRE permission to use:

-Literary works

-Musical works, Performances, and Sound recordings

-Dramatic, Pantomimes and Choreographic works

-Images, Art works, Graphics, Logos, and Architectural works.

-Motion picturesnd other Audiovisual works

-Software

The following DO NOT require permission to use:

-Any Work published before 1923.

-Non-original works (I.e., phone books, info)

-Facts

-Government works

-Works in the public domain

-Ideas, processes, methods, systems

-Public owned property

Anything defendable by Fair Use

To emphasize the ups and downs of financial markets, you photograph a roller coaster at a well-known amusement park. You also cite market predictions published by several analyst on the Internet.

Your presentation will be given at several investment conferences, so you want to ensure there are no legal or ethical issues.

Which two actions should you perform to avoid legal or ethical issues? (choose two)

• Obtain model releases for the charts and graphs you display

• Use only original research in your presentation.

• Removing personal information from your presentation.

• Obtain a location release from the amusement park

• Attribute your sources for the information you obtained from analysts.

Answer explanation

You are not required to use only original work in a presentation: however, you must cite your source when you summarize someone else's work. In this scenario, you will want to attribute the information you obtained from the analysts.

Written permission is required for any private property recognizable in a photo. This written permissions is called a location release. In this scenario, a location release is required from an authorized representative of the amusement part.

It is your goal to always deliver effective messaging and to adapt your messages to the audience whenever appropriate.

During the presentation, which is the best way to collect indirect feedback from your audience to help you adapt your message?

• Contact your audience the day before to ask what they hope to learn.

• Schedule breaks to talk to the person who engaged you to speak.

• Serve refreshments.

• Watch you audience for body language.

Answer explanation

During the presentation, the best way to collect indirect feedback to help you adapt your message is to watch your audience for body language.

During a presentation, a listener raises his hand. He asks the speaker for clarification on an apology he used to support an idea that was just presented. A few other listeners also acknowledge they didn't understand the supporting analogy and how it relates to the idea.

What should the speaker do next?

• Explain the analogy and how it relates to the idea that was presented.

• Provide the listeners with citations for the idea

• Tell the listeners they are stupid for not understanding and move on.

• Ask other listeners in the audience to explain the analogy to the person sitting next to them.

Answer explanation

The speaker should adapt his message based on the feedback received from his audience. He had assumed the audience would understand the analogy, but they did not. Based on the feedback he received, he should explain the analogy and how it relates to the idea that was presented.

You are preparing an end-of-year report on the sales performance of key products manufactured by your company.

Which visual presentation option is best for showing trends in data?

• Pie Chart

• Line Chart

• Table

• Bar Chart

Answer explanation

A Line Chart is best to show trends over time (years, months, and days.)

A Table is best to organize (sort, filter, frame) and analyze data.

A Bar Chart is best to compare values across categories.

A Pie Chart is best to show proportions of a whole. Use it when the total of your numbers is 100%