Chapter 02 Adapting Your Message To Your Audience Answer Key

Chapter 02 - Adapting Your Message to Your Audience
Chapter 02 Adapting Your Message to Your Audience Answer Key
2-1
True / False Questions
1. (p. 30) Knowing your audience is critical to the success of any message.
TRUE
AACSB: Communication
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 02-1
2. (p. 30) The first step in analyzing your audience is to determine ways to reach them.
FALSE
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
3. (p. 30-31) You must reach the auxiliary audience to fulfill the purpose of your message since
they decide whether to accept your recommendations or act on your ideas.
FALSE
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
4. (p. 31) Watchdog audiences must be handled very carefully because they can stop a message.
FALSE
Bloom's: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
2-2
5. (p. 30) A gatekeeper has the power to stop a message and may prevent the primary audience
from ever seeing it.
TRUE
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
6. (p. 31) An auxiliary audience includes "read-only" people who will not actually have to act on
a message.
TRUE
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
7. (p. 31) Audiences are well defined, so it is not possible for a single person to be part of two
audiences.
FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
8. (p. 31) The founders of the successful Internet business RealClearPolitics.com advise other
entrepreneurs to focus on the broadest base of customers possible in order to reach large
numbers of people.
FALSE
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
2-3
9. (p. 31) The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator categorizes people on four dimensions: introvert-
extravert, sensing-intuitive, thinking-feeling, and perceiving-judging.
TRUE
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
10. (p. 31-32) The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator identifies ways that people differ.
TRUE
Difficulty: Medium
11. (p. 31) According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, extraverted people get their energy
from within.
FALSE
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
12. (p. 31) Introverts would be more likely to become focused and energized during quiet
moments of meditation than during large group interactions.
TRUE
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
2-4
13. (p. 32) The Thinking-Feeling dichotomy on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator measures the
way an individual makes decisions.
TRUE
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
14. (p. 31-32) The Judging-Perceiving dichotomy on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator measures
the way an individual prefers to take in information.
FALSE
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
15. (p. 32) You will be most persuasive if you play to your audience's weaknesses and
vulnerabilities.
FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
16. (p. 32) Generalization is appropriate when you must appeal to a large group of people with
one message.
TRUE
Difficulty: Medium
2-5
17. (p. 32) In organizational situations in which the audience includes members of a group
instead of just one individual, the best approach is to focus on the differences among the
group members.
FALSE
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
18. (p. 32) Business writers do not have to be concerned with literacy levels because people who
read business messages have above-average reading and comprehension skills.
FALSE
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
19. (p. 32) A research study mentioned in the chapter found that many U.S. adults have below-
average reading skills. Fortunately, this finding does not pose much of a challenge for
business writers since these are not the types of people who read business documents.
FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
20. (p. 33) Demographic characteristics are too general and subjective to be relevant in audience
analysis.
FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
2-6
21. (p. 33) Demographic characteristics are measurements of the different attitudes that people
in an audience have.
FALSE
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
22. (p. 33) Religion, education level, and income are examples of demographic characteristics of
a population.
TRUE
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
23. (p. 33) All the demographic information that can possibly be obtained should be carefully
considered when analyzing a group of individuals.
FALSE
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
24. (p. 34) Psychographic characteristics are quantitative aspects of an individual that involve
objective measurement.
FALSE
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
2-7
25. (p. 35) Even if you know very little about your audience, you will find it easy to select and
organize information that they think is important and that appeals to them.
FALSE
Difficulty: Easy
26. (p. 35) Knowing what your audience finds important allows you to choose information and
approaches that the audience will find persuasive.
TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
27. (p. 35-36) Messages that are consistent with an organization's culture have very little chance
of succeeding.
FALSE
Difficulty: Easy
28. (p. 35-36) Company A has several levels of management, and it is important that employees
communicate only with their immediate supervisors if they have a problem. Company B's
president has an open-door policy and encourages employees at all levels to drop in any time
they have something on their minds. It is apparent that these two companies have different
organizational cultures.
TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
2-8
29. (p. 36) A discourse community is a group of people who share assumptions about what
topics to discuss and how to discuss them.
TRUE
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
30. (p. 35-36) The values statement on a company's Web site reveals much more about a
company's culture than how employees actually behave.
FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
31. (p. 35-36) A company's Web site and policy manuals are valuable sources of information
about a company's corporate culture.
TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
32. (p. 36-37) To get an immediate response, it is more effective to use a written channel than an
oral one.
FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
2-9
33. (p. 36-37) An oral channel is more appropriate than a written one for delivering messages that
contain many specific details important to the audience.
FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
34. (p. 36-37) A written message is more effective than an oral one when one of the goals is to
minimize undesirable emotions.
TRUE
Difficulty: Medium
35. (p. 38) Video conferencing that connects people around the world has eliminated the need
for face-to-face meetings.
FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
36. (p. 39) The political environment of an organization can impact an audience's reaction to
your message.
TRUE
Difficulty: Medium
2-10
37. (p. 40-41) As long as a message is clearly stated, audiences will respond to it the same way
regardless of who is delivering the message.
FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
38. (p. 39-44) The process of audience analysis involves relying on a list of standard questions
that is asked about all audiences, in all situations, for all purposes.
FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
39. (p. 41) Using acronyms when communicating with those outside your unit is appropriate
because it keeps messages short and to the point.
FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
40. (p. 42) Put good news first when describing the benefits of what you have to say to an
audience.
TRUE
Difficulty: Medium
2-11
41. (p. 43) Good writers maintain one consistent style and approach for all audiences.
FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
42. (p. 43) A message that would typically be written indirectly should be organized using a
direct structure if this is what the reader prefers.
TRUE
Difficulty: Medium
43. (p. 44) Documents that will be used outside of an office environment should be prepared on
large sheets of paper on which there should be very little white space.
FALSE
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
44. (p. 45) Negative messages should include audience benefits.

FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
2-12
45. (p. 45-46) Research shows that the most highly satisfied employees are the ones who have
many extrinsic motivators available to them on the job.
FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
46. (p. 45-46) "If your suggestion for improving company procedures is implemented, you will
receive a $1,000 bonus!" This sentence is an example of an extrinsic motivator.
TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
47. (p. 45-46) Polly wrote a report that solved a problem in her department. She felt good about
having used her writing and technical skills successfully and therefore decided to volunteer
for a committee working on a different problem. In this case, Polly's motivation was intrinsic.
TRUE
Difficulty: Medium
48. (p. 45-46) Pride in a job well done, satisfaction with assuming additional responsibility on the
job, and an annual bonus for high-level performance are all examples of intrinsic motivators.
FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
2-13
49. (p. 45-46) "You can use your creativity to design a system that works well for your own
departments' needs." This sentence is an example of an intrinsic motivator.
TRUE
Difficulty: Medium
50. (p. 46) Explaining a benefit to an audience is particularly easy if the audience has never
thought of the benefit before.
FALSE
Difficulty: Easy
51. (p. 47) To develop the best possible reader benefits for a message, you should brainstorm as
many benefits as you can and then pick those that you can develop most effectively.
TRUE
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
52. (p. 49) Thorough explanations of every feature of a product or policy are primarily what
motivate an audience to purchase it.
FALSE
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
2-14
53. (p. 51) When it is not possible to meet all of your audiences' needs, meet the needs of the
gatekeepers and primary audience first.
TRUE
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
54. (p. 51) When multiple audiences of your document have different and competing needs, it is
advisable to provide an overview or executive summary for readers who just want the main
points.
TRUE
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
55. (p. 51) When you write to multiple audiences, you should address those with the least
amount of understanding and involvement to determine level of detail, organization, level of
formality, and use of technical terms and theory.
FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
Multiple Choice Questions
2-15
56. (p. 30) The primary audience for your message is made up of
A. decision makers or opinion molders in an organization.
B. everyone who receives it.
C. individuals with the highest status in an organization.
D. people who represent the opinions or attitudes of the majority.
Difficulty: Hard
57. (p. 30) Who is the primary audience for a company that cans and markets pet food?
A. Suppliers of the food products
B. Veterinarians and animal hospitals
C. Pet owners
D. Dogs and cats
Difficulty: Medium
58. (p. 30) You are a technical writer in a large company who is working on a training manual to
help new users learn the company's computer system. Employees will use your manual in
training seminars taught by your company's trainers. The manual will also serve as an on-the-
job reference later. Both of the system analysts who designed the computer system and the
trainers will comment on your draft. The trainers would be classified as what kind of audience
for your manual?
A. Watchdog
B. Gatekeeper
C. Primary
D. Secondary
Difficulty: Hard
2-16
59. (p. 30) Which of the following is not a gatekeeper?

A. A receptionist for a small business who opens the mail and then date-time stamps each
piece before passing it on to its owner
B. An account executive who approves a marketing plan before it is submitted to the client
C. A program director at the National Science Foundation who screens all grant applications
to ensure conformity to the application criteria before forwarding them to the review board
D. The HR director of a large university who screens all internal applicants for eligibility
before sending applications to the interviewers for a specific position
Difficulty: Hard
60. (p. 31) Which audience has political, social, or economic power, pays close attention to the
transaction between you and the primary audience, and may base future actions on its
evaluation of your message?
A. Auxillary audience
B. Watchdog audience
C. Gatekeeper
D. Secondary audience
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
61. (p. 30) Carlos Diaz works in the collections department, and he is very successful at writing
professional, effective letters to customers whose accounts are overdue. The human resources
department asks to use copies of some of his letters in a training course for new employees to
show good practices for written documents. These trainees are
A. the primary audience
B. gatekeepers
C. a watchdog audience
D. a secondary audience
Difficulty: Medium
2-17
62. (p. 31) Which of the following people would be an example of an auxiliary audience?
A. A company vice president who routinely reads minutes of departmental meetings just to
stay informed, even though he has no direct role in these meetings
B. A customer group who will decide whether or not to purchase your product based upon
your sales presentation
C. An attorney who uses company documents as evidence of the organization's culture and
practices
D. A supervisor who reviews requests for employee transfers to other departments and who
sends only those requests she approves on to the president's office
Difficulty: Medium
63. (p. 30) Carol Edwards is applying for a position in the marketing department of a local
corporation. Although Shawn McMann is the director of this department, she has been
instructed to send her resume and other documents to Jeff Cohen, manager of the human
resources department. Jeff screens all applications before sending those of qualified
candidates on to appropriate department heads. Jeff is
A. the primary audience
B. a gatekeeper
C. a watchdog
D. an auxiliary audience
Difficulty: Medium
64. (p. 31) The ability to put yourself in someone else's shoes and to feel with that other person
is
A. common sense
B. professionalism
C. audience analysis
D. empathy
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
2-18
65. (p. 31) Which of the following methods is not a useful way of analyzing an individual who
is your audience?
A. Rely on what you already know about this individual through your previous experiences
with him/her.
B. Assume this individual thinks the same way as someone else you know who is in a similar
position.
C. Talk to other people who know this individual.
D. Observe this individual firsthand.
Difficulty: Hard
66. (p. 32) Audience analysis is relatively easy when you are communicating with
A. large groups of people.
B. strangers.
C. mailing list customers.
D. an immediate supervisor.
Difficulty: Medium
67. (p. 31) Which one of the following is not a dimension of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator?
A. Introvert-extrovert
B. Sensing-intuitive
C. Perceiving-judging
D. Channeling-formatting
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
2-19
68. (p. 33) According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, people who are the judging type
A. like solving problems and being creative and are often impatient with details.
B. are comfortable making quick decisions and like to come to closure so they can move on to
something else.
C. are very aware of other people and their feelings, are sympathetic, and like harmony.
D. like to think on their feet, are energized by people, and would rather talk than write.
Difficulty: Hard
69. (p. 33) Suzanne Anthony tends to act on the spur of the moment and is comfortable adapting
to changing situations. She also likes to consider all of her options and not rush in making a
decision. According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, she qualifies as which type?
A. perceiving
B. judging
C. thinking
D. intuitive
Difficulty: Hard
70. (p. 31-33) According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, a person would not be both a
A. a feeling and a judging type
B. a thinking and an introverted type
C. a sensing and an intuition type
D. an extroverted and a perceiving type
Difficulty: Medium
2-20
71. (p. 31-33) Decisions can be made based on the logical consequences of a choice or action OR
on the impact on people. According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, which dichotomy
measures the way an individual makes decisions in this context?
A. thinking-feeling
B. judging-perceiving
C. extravert-introvert
D. sensing-intuition
Difficulty: Medium
72. (p. 31-33) Which of the following is not measured by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator?
A. personality types
B. stylistic preferences that people tend to have
C. demographic facts about people
D. the ways people differ
Difficulty: Medium
73. (p. 32-33) Many organizational situations involve an audience that consists of a group of
people. Which is an appropriate approach to analyzing this type of audience?
A. Rely on the fact that generalizations are true for all members of a group.
B. Disregard demographic information to avoid stereotyping people.
C. Avoid making any generalizations at all since group members are individuals.
D. Identify things that the members of the group have in common.
Bloom's: Application
Difficulty: Medium
2-21
74. (p. 32) When preparing a message for a large, diverse audience, you must
A. request audience participation.
B. include multiple visual aids.
C. look for common denominators that tie members of the group together.
D. compose an e-mail informing the audience of your timeline.
Difficulty: Hard
75. (p. 33) Which of the following is an example of demographic data?

A. Moral values
B. Age
C. Social security number
D. Interests
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
76. (p. 33) Demographic characteristics are measurable features that can be counted objectively
and include all of the following except
A. education level.
B. gender.
C. religion.
D. personality.
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
2-22
77. (p. 33) Which of the following does not involve a demographic characteristic of an audience
that is being addressed at a conference presentation?
A. Approximately 40% of the attendees are opposed to the economic stimulus package.
B. Over 70% the group members are scientists with Ph.D. degrees.
C. At least 20% of the audience members are nearing retirement age.
D. Nearly 35% of the participants are from Asian backgrounds.
Difficulty: Hard
78. (p. 34) Psychographic characteristics include all of the following except
A. goals.
B. beliefs.
C. values.
D. income level.
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
79. (p. 34-35) Which of the following demonstrates a psychographic characteristic of an

individual?
A. An employee is highly motivated to perform because he has the freedom to do things his
own way.
B. A 64-year-old woman is now interested in learning about Medicare benefits.
C. A woman who was just promoted to president of a major corporation is contacted by a
professional financial advisor.
D. An African American male auditions for the lead role in a documentary about Martin
Luther King.
Difficulty: Hard
2-23
80. (p. 34-35) Which of the following is not an advantage of using psychographic information?
A. It shows what the audience finds important.
B. It offers objective, measurable data about the audience.
C. It helps a communicator choose the best appeal for the audience.
D. It is less expensive than interviews.
Difficulty: Hard
81. (p. 35-36) Which of the following facts would NOT reveal information about an
organization's culture?
A. The employee manual is detailed, continuously updated, and relied upon extensively to run
the company.
B. The company gives 10% of its after-tax income to a community beautification program.
C. The company philosophy is grounded in Biblical principles.
D. The company president will be retiring in four years.
Difficulty: Hard
82. (p. 35-36) In an organization that values equality and individualism, you might find all of the
following except
A. a strict chain of command that must be followed.
B. an environment that allows you to write contact the CEO directly.
C. that the Vice President of Sales & Marketing treats you as a colleague.
D. that your own ideas can be voiced and are acknowledged by senior management.
Difficulty: Medium
2-24
83. (p. 36) If you wanted to analyze an organization's culture, you would do so by asking all of
the following questions except:
A. Is the organization tall or flat?
B. What does the work space look like?
C. What activities do employees engage in after work?
D. Is diversity or homogeneity preferred?
Difficulty: Medium
84. (p. 36) Which of the following is the typical relationship between discourse communities
and organizations?
A. There are several organizations in a single discourse community.
B. There are several discourse communities in a single organization.
C. Each organization has a single discourse community.
D. Each discourse community has a single organization.
Difficulty: Medium
85. (p. 36) Which of the following would not be related to a discourse community in a factory?
A. Extensive evidence and documentation is required to convince a manager to deviate from a
company routine.
B. Certain topics should not be brought up in the presence upper management.
C. Supervisors have an open-door policy that encourages workers to stop in and chat.
D. Additional funding has been allocated for the research and development of more energy-
efficient manufacturing.
Difficulty: Hard
2-25
86. (p. 36) Which of the following is an example that would relate to a discourse community?
A. There are many levels of management between the company president and the production
employees in a manufacturing business.
B. Since there are numerous geographical locations, it is common for committee business to
be discussed via e-mail or by using company discussion boards.
C. The higher-level managers have the largest offices on the top floor of the building.
D. Production workers receive monetary rewards for new ideas that save money or time.
Difficulty: Hard
87. (p. 36) Which of the following is not an example of how an organization reveals its culture
nonverbally?
A. Since there are numerous geographical locations, it is common for committee business to
be discussed via e-mail or by using company discussion boards.
B. There are many levels of management between the company president and the production
employees in a manufacturing business.
C. The higher-level managers have the largest offices on the top floor of the building.
D. Production workers receive monetary rewards for new ideas that save money or time.
Difficulty: Hard
88. (p. 36-37) An oral message is preferable to a written one when you want to
A. present many specific details.
B. minimize undesirable emotions.
C. resolve conflicts and build consensus.
D. present extensive and complex data.
Difficulty: Medium
2-26
89. (p. 36-37) A written message is preferable to an oral one for all of the following except
A. presenting extensive or complex financial data.
B. discussing many specific details of a law, policy, or procedure.
C. minimizing undesirable emotions.
D. getting an immediate response.
Difficulty: Medium
90. (p. 37) Which medium for delivering news to the public is currently on the decline in terms
of popularity?
A. Blogs
B. Printed newspapers
C. Chatrooms
D. Podcasts
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
91. (p. 38) Video conferencing

A. has eliminated the need for face-to-face meetings among people in different geographic
locations.
B. is still too expensive to be feasible for most businesses.
C. is inconvenient because of extensive hardware requirements.
D. simultaneously connects workers and clients around the world.
Difficulty: Medium
2-27
92. (p. 40) When an audience feels your message is unimportant to them, you should
A. use threatening language to show the seriousness of the matter.
B. make any action requested as easy as possible to accomplish.
C. avoid imposing deadlines for action.
D. make the message long and detailed so perhaps something will catch their attention.
Difficulty: Medium
93. (p. 40-41) When you must write to someone who has negative feelings about your
organization, your position, or you personally, you should
A. use arrogant or condescending language to gain control of the audience.
B. offer your opinion as to how you and the reader can create goodwill from this point
forward.
C. avoid mentioning any reader benefits.
D. use a positive emphasis to counteract the natural tendency to sound defensive.
Difficulty: Medium
94. (p. 41) Providing an audience with some background information on a topic before
delivering the main message is an example of responding to which audience analysis
question?
A. What positive aspects can you emphasize?
B. How will the audience use the document?
C. How will the audience initially react to the message?
D. How much information does the audience need?
Difficulty: Medium
2-28
95. (p. 40-41) Developing logic and suggesting reader benefits is least essential when you are
writing to someone who
A. has had a negative experience with you in the past.
B. disagrees with your position.
C. is neutral about the message you are delivering.
D. does not think very highly of the organization that you represent.
Difficulty: Easy
96. (p. 41) Which is an appropriate sentence when the audience must think of background or old
information to appreciate your points?
A. As you know, the company had a 25% increase in utilities costs last year.
B. Let's see who remembers what we talked about at the last meeting regarding the company's
utilities costs.
C. You may not recall that utilities costs for this company rose 25% last year.
D. The company's utilities costs were up 25% last year.
Difficulty: Hard
97. (p. 42) If an audience is opposed to what you have to say or resistant to a change you are
suggesting, a good approach is to
A. be as ambiguous as possible to avoid offending the members of the audience.
B. begin the message with something both you and the audience can agree upon.
C. try to convince the audience that your solution is perfect and that there are no other
alternatives.
D. deliver all aspects and details about the message at once to get it all out in the open.
Difficulty: Hard
2-29
98. (p. 42) You are asking a reader to do something physically difficult. Which of the following
is least likely to achieve your goals?
A. Break actions into a list, so that the reader can check off each step as it is completed.
B. Show how the reader will benefit when the action is completed.
C. Ask for the smallest action that will satisfy your purposes.
D. Call the reader frequently to ensure that he or she has understood your request.
Difficulty: Medium
99. (p. 45) Tara Houser e-mails a colleague, Dan Brothers, to suggest that he be the lead writer
in preparing a comprehensive business plan for the company. The task will be rather time-
consuming. Tara tells Dan that "the President will certainly be impressed with whoever heads
up this project", which is persuasive because
A. the company will be able to secure additional financing once it has a business plan.
B. the President will be able to use the document to communicate expansion plans to
stockholders.
C. Dan will gain key leadership experience that will work in his favor when he applies for his
promotion.
D. Dan can help out his colleague so she does not have to take on this additional
responsibility herself.
Difficulty: Hard
2-30
100. (p. 42) Harry Elliott, Marketing Manager for Mountaineer Lodge, is sending out a written
survey to former guests in order to gather information about customer satisfaction levels with
the property's various services. He realizes that his audience is busy and that they may not see
his survey as a priority. Which of the following would most likely discourage people from
completing and returning the survey?
A. Asking respondents to reply within one to two weeks
B. Listing a limited number of statements that respondents rank on a scale of one to five
C. Including a self-addressed, postage-paid envelope that respondents can use to return the
surveys
D. Asking numerous open-ended essay-type questions and give respondents several blank
pages to use to write their feedback
Difficulty: Hard
101. (p. 43) Although it is important to consider an audience's expectations, it is not appropriate
to
A. refer to a reader by her first name even if it is her preference.
B. use a direct style of organization for a persuasive message for a reader who prefers this
structure.
C. omit critical information for a reader who wants only short documents.
D. write in a friendly, informal style tone in a business document.
Difficulty: Hard
2-31
102. (p. 43) Samantha conducts a three-day training session for new employees. One participant
writes on the evaluation form at the end of the session, "You told us you were a feminist, but I
thought you were very professional." This comment shows that the participant
A. does not yet understand the organization's corporate culture.
B. sees the term "feminist" as something undesirable.
C. thinks that the session would have been better if a man had conducted it.
D. has never heard the term "feminist" before.
Difficulty: Hard
103. (p. 43) You're writing a memo recommending that Maria Rodriquez be promoted. Maria
has been passed over for several promotions although her qualifications were stronger than
those of the men (in each case) who received the promotion. You believe the failure to
promote Maria is unfair and perhaps even evidence of discrimination. Should you use the
word "discrimination" in your memo?
A. Yes, because only "telling like it is" can be persuasive in business.
B. Yes, because your superiors must face the truth before they can change their behavior.
C. No, because "discrimination" is likely to alienate your readers and make them less likely to
accept your recommendation.
D. No, because business memos should not jump to conclusions.
Difficulty: Hard
2-32
104. (p. 43) If a document will be a detailed guide or if it contains instructions, you must do all
of the following except
A. check to be sure that all steps are in chronological order.
B. number steps or provide check-off boxes so that readers can easily see what steps they've
completed.
C. group steps into five to seven sub-processes if there are many individual steps.
D. present all the details in lengthy paragraphs so that the readers get all the information they
need.
Difficulty: Medium
105. (p. 45) The question "What's in it for me?" when writing a business message relates to
A. audience benefits.
B. the level of formality.
C. the hierarchy of needs.
D. a description of the features of a product or policy.
Difficulty: Hard
106. (p. 45) An example of an intrinsic motivator would be

A. earning a sales commission.
B. being rewarded with a trip to the Bahamas.
C. feeling a sense of pride for completing a job ahead of schedule.
D. receiving high scores on a performance evaluation.
Difficulty: Medium
2-33
107. (p. 45) Which audience benefit does not use the you-attitude?
A. We are offering discounts of up to 40% this week!
B. You will receive 25% off just for using your store credit card.
C. Your application will be complete as soon as you send your references.
D. Your premier status enables you to purchase the sale items before the general public.
Difficulty: Medium
108. (p. 51) Which is appropriate for a message that addresses multiple audiences with different
needs?
A. Use personal pronouns to ensure that all members of the audience have the same
interpretation.
B. If the document will go to both internal and external audiences, use a slightly less formal
style.
C. Put background and explanatory information under separate headings.
D. In the body of the document, provide enough detail and explanation for those in the
audience who are least knowledgeable.
Difficulty: Hard
Fill in the Blank Questions
109. (p. 30) You must reach the _____ audience to fulfill your purposes in any message.
primary
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
2-34
110. (p. 30) An individual in an audience who has the power to stop your message rather than
sending it on to other audiences is called a _____.
gatekeeper
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
111. (p. 31) An individual or group in an audience who has political, social, or economic power
but does not have the power to stop the message and will not act directly on it is called a
_____.
watchdog
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
112. (p. 30) Those asked to implement your ideas after they've been approved are classified as a
_____ audience.
secondary
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
113. (p. 31) The ability to put yourself in someone else's shoes and to feel with that person is
called _____.
empathy
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
2-35
114. (p. 32) According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, the _____ dichotomy measures the
way an individual makes decisions.
thinking-feeling
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
115. (p. 31) According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, the _____ dichotomy measures the
way an individual prefers to take in information.
sensing-intuition
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
116. (p. 32) According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, _____ types like to live in a
planned, orderly way, seeking closure.
judging
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
117. (p. 31) According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, _____ types are energized by
interacting with other people.
extraverted
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
2-36
118. (p. 33) _____ characteristics are measurable features that can be counted objectively, such
as age, sex, race, education level, and income.
Demographic
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
119. (p. 32) _____ is necessary when you must appeal to a large group of people with one
message.
Generalization
Difficulty: Medium
120. (p. 34) _____ characteristics are qualitative rather than quantitative, such as values, beliefs,
goals, and lifestyles.
Psychographic
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
121. (p. 35-36) The _____ of an organization is its values, attitudes, and philosophies.
culture
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
2-37
122. (p. 36) A _____ is a group of people who share assumptions about what channels, formats,
and styles to use for communication, what topics to discuss and how to discuss them, and
what constitutes evidence.
discourse community
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
123. (p. 36) A communication _____ is the means by which you convey or message.
channel
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
124. (p. 45) The gains or advantages that the audience gets by using your services, buying your
products, following your policies, or adopting your ideas are called audience ____.
benefits
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
125. (p. 45) ____ messages do not use audience benefits.

Negative
Difficulty: Easy
2-38
126. (p. 45) _____ motivators come automatically from using a product or doing something.
Intrinsic
Bloom's: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
127. (p. 45) The prospect of receiving a commission of $2,500 on a sale is an _____ motivator.
extrinsic
Difficulty: Easy
128. (p. 47) A style of writing that presents benefits from the audience's perspective is called the
____ attitude.
you
Difficulty: Easy
129. (p. 48) Features alone rarely motivate readers. Instead, link the feature to the audience's
_____ and provide details to make the benefit vivid.
needs
Difficulty: Easy
Short Answer Questions
2-39
130. (p. 36) List three guidelines for analyzing an organization's discourse community.
To analyze an organization's discourse community, ask the following questions: What

channels, formats, and styles are preferred for communication? What do people talk about?
What kind of and how much evidence is needed to be convincing?
Bloom's: Analysis
Difficulty: Hard
131. (p. 35-36) Identify guidelines for analyzing an organization's culture.
You can begin to analyze an organization's culture by asking the following questions: Is the
organization flat or tall? How do people get ahead? Does the organization value diversity or
homogeneity? How important are friendship and sociability? How formal are behavior,
language, and dress? What are the organization's goals?
Bloom's: Analysis
Difficulty: Hard
132. (p. 36-37) List three things that a written message makes it easier to do than an oral
message.
Answers include presenting extensive or complex financial data; presenting many specific
details of a law, policy, or procedure; minimizing undesirable emotions.
Difficulty: Medium
2-40
133. (p. 36-37) List five things that an oral message makes it easier to do than a written message.
Answers include using emotion to help persuade the audience; focusing the audience's
attention on a specific point; answering questions, resolving conflicts, or building consensus;
modifying a proposal that may not be acceptable in its original form; and getting immediate
action or response.
Difficulty: Hard
134. (p. 40-44) Identify the six questions that provide a framework for audience analysis.
1. What will the audience's initial reaction be to the message?

2. How much information does the audience need?
3. What obstacles must you overcome?
4. What positive aspects can you emphasize?
5. What expectations does the audience have about the appropriate language or format for
messages?
6. How will the audience use the document?
Bloom's: Analysis
Difficulty: Hard
135. (p. 40) List three strategies to address a reader who sees your message as unimportant.
Answers include using a subject line or first paragraph that convinces readers that your
message is important and relevant; making the action as easy as possible; suggesting a
realistic deadline for action; keeping the message as short as possible since people are more
likely to delay reading long documents.
Difficulty: Hard
2-41
136. (p. 41) When some of your information is new to an audience, what techniques can be
effective?
Answers include making a special effort to be clear, by defining terms, explaining concepts,
and using examples; linking new information to old information that the reader already
knows; using paragraphs and headings to break up new information into related chunks, so
that the information is easier to digest; testing a draft of your document with your audience to
see if they can understand and use what you've written.
Difficulty: Hard
137. (p. 41) Identify three tactics to try if your audience will oppose what you have to say.
Answers include starting your message with any areas of agreement or common ground that
you share with your reader; making a special effort to be clear and unambiguous: making a
special effort to avoid inflammatory statements; limiting your statement or request,
postponing parts of your message to later if possible; showing that your solution is the best
one currently available even if it isn't perfect.
Difficulty: Hard
2-42
138. (p. 43) It is considered best to avoid hot buttons or "red flag" words that may create an
immediate negative response. List four words that carry emotional charges for many readers:
Any four of the following would be acceptable:

criminal
un-American
feminist
fundamentalist
liberal
Difficulty: Hard
2-43
139. (p. 44) List four techniques that you should use when your document is a detailed guide or
contains instructions.
Answers include checking to be sure that all steps are in chronological order; numbering steps
or providing check-off boxes so that readers can easily see which steps they've completed;
grouping steps into five to seven sub-processes if there are many individual steps; and putting
any warning at the beginning of the document and then repeating them before the specific step
to which they apply.
Difficulty: Hard
140. (p. 44) List three techniques that you can use to increase the feeling of solidarity in a reader
with whom you have common experiences, interests, goals, and values.
Answers include using a vivid anecdote to remind the reader of what you share; making a
special effort to make your writing style friendly and informal; using a salutation and close
that remind readers of their membership in this formal or informal group.
Difficulty: Hard
141. (p. 44) List three strategies to employ when writing a document that will serve as a general
reference.
Answers include using a subject line to aid in filing and retrieval; using headings within the
document so readers can skim it; giving the office as well as the person to contact so that the
reader can get in touch with the appropriate person some time from now; spell out details that
may be obvious now but might be forgotten in the near future.
Difficulty: Hard
2-44
142. (p. 45-47) Identify four characteristics of good audience benefits.
Good audience benefits meet the following criteria: (1) They are adapted to the audience; (2)
they are based on intrinsic as well as extrinsic motivators; (3) they are supported by clear
logic and are explained in adequate detail; and (4) they are phrased in you-attitude.
Difficulty: Hard
143. (p. 45) Why are intrinsic motivators more effective than extrinsic motivators if you want to
effect long-term change?
Intrinsic motivators or benefits are better than extrinsic motivators for two reasons: (1) There
just aren't enough extrinsic benefits for everything you want people to do. (2) Research shows
that extrinsic benefits may actually make people less satisfied with the products they buy or
the procedures they follow.
Difficulty: Hard
144. (p. 46) List three situations in which you need to provide more detail and evidence that
there will be a reader benefit, even though the logic of your document is sound.
Answers include that the reader may not have thought of the benefit before; the benefit
depends on the difference between the long run and the short run; and the reader will be hard
to persuade, and you need detail to make the benefit vivid and emotionally convincing.
Difficulty: Hard
2-45
145. (p. 47) Why is it important for reader benefits to be phrased in you-attitude?
If reader benefits aren't in you-attitude, they'll sound selfish and won't be as effective as they
could be. It doesn't matter how you phrase reader benefits while you're brainstorming and
developing them, but in your final draft, check to be sure that you've used you-attitude.
Difficulty: Hard
146. (p. 48-49) List three steps to take when audience benefits are hard to identify or develop.
Identify the feelings, fears, and needs that may motivate your audience. 2. Identify the
objective features of your product or policy that could meet the needs you've identified. 3.
Show how the audience can meet their needs with the features of the policy or product.
Difficulty: Hard
2-46
Essay Questions
147. (p. 50-51) Many business and administrative messages go not to a single person but to a
larger audience. Often different members of the audience have different needs, and when it's
not possible to effectively meet everyone's needs, the best advice is to meet the needs of
gatekeepers and decision makers first. The text details four issues to attend to when faced
with this challenge, they are: content and choice of details, organization of the document,
level of formality, and the use of technical terms and theory. Provide advice for a writer
working within these parameters. What should the writer be incorporating into his or her
document as guided by the four stated issues?
Answers will vary, but each should include an element of the following:
Content and choice of details:
1. Provide an overview or an executive summary for readers who want just the main points.
2. In the body of the document, provide enough detail for decision makers and for anyone else
who would veto your proposal.
3. If the decision makers don't need details that other audiences will want, provide those
details in appendixes - statistical tabulations, earlier reports, and so forth.
Organizing the document:
1. Use headings and a table of contents so readers can turn to the portions that interest them.
2. Organize your message based on the decision maker's attitudes toward it.
Level of formality:
1. Avoid personal pronouns. You ceases to have a specific meaning when several different
audiences use a document.
2. If both internal and external audiences will use a document, use a slightly more formal style
than you would in an internal document.
3. Use a more formal style when you write to an international audience.
Use of technical terms and theory:
1. In the body of the document, assume the degree of knowledge that decision makers will
have.
2. Put background information and theory under separate headings. Then readers can use the
headings and the table of contents to read or skip these sections, as their knowledge dictates.
3. If decision makers will have more knowledge than other audiences, provide a glossary of
terms. Early in the document, let readers know that the glossary exists.
Difficulty: Hard
2-47
148. (p. 40-44) Jeff decided to attend a professional writing seminar held at his local community
college. As a new manager, he found himself having to write more and more on the job, and
he felt the need to polish his skills. It was taking him way too long to complete even the most
routine correspondence. Everything was going along fine until the instructor began discussing
audience analysis. Jeff became confused. "I understand that you should have a firm grasp of
your purposes before writing," he said, "but I don't quite follow you on the benefits of doing
the same thing with audience. Sure, if you re writing to a person that you actually KNOW, I
can see the value; but in my work I usually write to people I've never met and probably never
will. I'm not sure all this would be worth my time--I spend too much time on writing as it is.
Anyway, wouldn't I just be guessing?" Jeff brings up an important point. Can you effectively
analyze your audience if you're writing to someone you've never met? Drawing on the
principles outlined in your text and perhaps your own experience, discuss ways that audience
analysis techniques might be applied to Jeff's situation and what the results of not analyzing
his audience might be. Use specific examples that illustrate the general points you make.
2-48
Answers will vary considerably, particularly if students do draw on their own experiences in
writing. But even so, good answers should refer specifically to several of the six questions for
audience analysis outlined in the text. Any discussion that does so and shows an
understanding of how to apply the principles should be basically acceptable. There are two
angles in particular that students may want to address. The problem contains one important
hint: twice it refers to Jeff's feeling that he's spending too much time on his writing. Someone
in that position would naturally be reluctant to do something that looks like it will take him
even more time. Students could point out that though formal audience analysis may slow him
down at first, eventually it will become almost second nature to him. Audience analysis can
have the additional advantage of making his messages more effective, thereby saving time in
the long run: he'll be able to spend less time clearing up misunderstandings or writing
additional letters. Second, students could emphasize that when Jeff is writing to someone he's
never met he should focus on those things he DOES know about the situation or can easily
figure out. For example, if he's turning down a client's request, common sense will tell him
the answer to the first question, how will the audience react: Obviously the client would rather
have his or her request fulfilled. Just knowing whether a reader's reaction will be generally
positive or negative could help him decide what details to stress and what pattern of
organization to use. Or, if he wants to convince a client to spend a lot of money, he can
probably figure out the obstacles he'll have to overcome. In most cases, at least, Jeff will also
be able to determine how a document is likely to be used, which will give him insight into
how the document should be designed and whether or not he's likely to be writing to multiple
audiences. In summary, one of the unexpected benefits of formally analyzing your audience is
that you find out you know much more than you thought you did. That alone can give people
much more confidence about their writing.
Difficulty: Hard
2-49

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Chapter 02 - Adapting Your Message to Your Audience

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True / False Questions

44. (p. 45) Negative messages should include audience benefits.

Multiple Choice Questions

59. (p. 30) Which of the following is not a gatekeeper?

75. (p. 33) Which of the following is an example of demographic data?

79. (p. 34-35) Which of the following demonstrates a psychographic characteristic of an

91. (p. 38) Video conferencing

106. (p. 45) An example of an intrinsic motivator would be

Fill in the Blank Questions

125. (p. 45) ____ messages do not use audience benefits.

Short Answer Questions

To analyze an organization's discourse community, ask the following questions: What

131. (p. 35-36) Identify guidelines for analyzing an organization's culture.

1. What will the audience's initial reaction be to the message?

Any four of the following would be acceptable:

142. (p. 45-47) Identify four characteristics of good audience benefits.

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