16
Speaking to Persuade
T
he questions for each chapter are organized according to type: true-false, multiple-
choice, short-answer, and essay. Within each of these categories, questions are
clustered by topic, roughly following the order of topics in the textbook.
To provide as much flexibility as possible in constructing examinations, there is
deliberate overlap among the questions, both within and across question types. This
enables you to choose the wording and question type that best fits your testing
objectives. In deciding which questions to use, take care to avoid items such as a
multiple-choice question that gives away the answer to a true-false or short-answer
question, or an essay question that covers essentially the same ground as a true-false,
short-answer, or multiple-choice question.
Each type of question—true-false, multiple-choice, short-answer, and essay—has an
automatic numbering system, which means you can copy and paste items from within a
question type, and they will automatically number themselves consecutively, beginning
with “1.” The five answer choices for each multiple-choice question are also ordered
automatically, and so you can add, change, or reorder answer choices without
rearranging the lettering.
If you would like to preserve the fonts, indents, and tabs of the original questions, you
can substitute questions for those in the sample final exams or copy and paste questions
into the Exam Master provided in the final Word file of the Test Bank. In the Exam Master,
spaces for your course name, exam type, and the student’s name and section are
followed by headings and instructions for true-false, multiple-choice, short-answer, and
essay questions. You can add elements unique to your exams and delete elements you
don’t want to use. After you customize the Exam Master, you can save it with your
changes. Then, each time you open it, click “Save As” to give it the name of the exam
you are currently constructing.
,310 TEST BANK FOR THE ART OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
True-False Questions
1. T F Persuasion is the process of creating, reinforcing, or changing
people’s beliefs or actions.
2. T F Because everyone knows that a persuasive speaker’s goal is
to influence the audience’s beliefs or actions, questions of ethics are
less important in persuasive speaking than in other kinds of
speaking.
3. T F Persuasive speakers should aim to construct speeches that
are both convincing and ethically sound.
4. T F Even though a persuasive speaker’s goal is to influence the
audience’s beliefs or actions, she or he still has an ethical obligation
to present evidence fairly and accurately.
5. T F One way for a persuasive speaker to uphold the ethical
obligations of speechmaking is to learn about all sides of an issue.
6. T F Of all the kinds of public speaking, persuasion is the most
complex and the most challenging.
7. T F Moving listeners from being strongly opposed to a speaker’s
position to being only moderately opposed would be a sign of a
successful persuasive speech.
8. T F As your textbook explains, persuasion takes place only if the
audience is strongly in favor of the speaker’s position by the end of
the speech.
9. T F As your textbook explains, when faced with an audience that
strongly opposes your point of view, you can consider your
persuasive speech a success if it leads even a few listeners to
reexamine their views.
10. T F Your success in a persuasive speech will usually depend on
how well you adapt to the attitudes, beliefs, and values of your
audience.
11. T F Persuasion is a psychological process in which listeners
engage in a mental dialogue with the speaker.
,CHAPTER 16—SPEAKING TO PERSUADE 311
12. T F Research indicates that audiences often engage in a mental
give-and-take with the speaker as they listen to a persuasive
speech.
13. T F When speaking to persuade, you need to think of your speech
as a kind of mental dialogue with your audience.
14. T F Audience analysis and adaptation are usually more
demanding in persuasive speaking than in speaking to inform.
15. T F Audience analysis and adaptation are usually less challenging
in persuasive speaking than in speaking to inform.
16. T F When speaking to persuade, you should try to anticipate
places where the audience might object and then answer the
objections in your speech.
17. T F When trying to persuade listeners that are skeptical about
your position, you need to deal directly with the reasons for their
skepticism.
18. T F When trying to persuade a hostile audience, you should
usually be wary of even mentioning the audience’s objections to
your point of view.
19. T F The target audience is that portion of the whole audience that
the speaker most wants to persuade.
20. T F Concentrating on a target audience means that a persuasive
speaker can ignore the rest of her or his listeners.
21. T F A persuasive speech on a question of fact is essentially the
same as an informative speech.
22. T F Questions of fact are easy subjects for persuasive speeches
because they almost always have clear-cut answers.
23. T F Questions of fact deal only with events that have already
happened.
24. T F Questions of fact usually include the word “should.”
25. T F Persuasive speeches on questions of fact are usually
organized in topical order.
26. T F Persuasive speeches on questions of fact are usually
organized in problem-solution order.
, 312 TEST BANK FOR THE ART OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
27. T F “To persuade my audience that genetically altered crops pose
hazards to human health” is a specific purpose statement for a
persuasive speech on a question of fact.
28. T F “To persuade my audience to support the construction of a
new convention center” is a specific purpose statement for a
question of fact.
29. T F “To persuade my audience that Lee Harvey Oswald was the
sole assassin of President John F. Kennedy” is a specific purpose
statement for a persuasive speech on a question of fact.
30. T F “To persuade my audience that electronic voting is more
accurate than punch card voting” is a specific purpose statement for
a persuasive speech on a question of fact.
31. T F “To persuade my audience that capital punishment is unjust”
is a specific purpose statement for a persuasive speech on a
question of fact.
32. T F When dealing with a question of value, a public speaker needs
to justify his or her value judgment on the basis of some set of
standards or criteria.
33. T F Persuasive speeches on questions of value focus on the
worth, rightness, or morality of an idea or action.
34. T F The first main point in a persuasive speech on a question of
value should usually be devoted to establishing the standards on
which you base your judgment.
35. T F Once you go beyond arguing right or wrong to arguing that
something should or should not be done, you are moving from a
question of opinion to a question of value.
36. T F Persuasive speeches on questions of value are almost always
arranged in topical order.
37. T F Persuasive speeches on questions of value usually argue
directly for or against particular courses of action.
38. T F “To persuade my audience that Citizen Kane is the greatest
movie of all time” is a specific purpose statement for a persuasive
speech on a question of value.
Speaking to Persuade
T
he questions for each chapter are organized according to type: true-false, multiple-
choice, short-answer, and essay. Within each of these categories, questions are
clustered by topic, roughly following the order of topics in the textbook.
To provide as much flexibility as possible in constructing examinations, there is
deliberate overlap among the questions, both within and across question types. This
enables you to choose the wording and question type that best fits your testing
objectives. In deciding which questions to use, take care to avoid items such as a
multiple-choice question that gives away the answer to a true-false or short-answer
question, or an essay question that covers essentially the same ground as a true-false,
short-answer, or multiple-choice question.
Each type of question—true-false, multiple-choice, short-answer, and essay—has an
automatic numbering system, which means you can copy and paste items from within a
question type, and they will automatically number themselves consecutively, beginning
with “1.” The five answer choices for each multiple-choice question are also ordered
automatically, and so you can add, change, or reorder answer choices without
rearranging the lettering.
If you would like to preserve the fonts, indents, and tabs of the original questions, you
can substitute questions for those in the sample final exams or copy and paste questions
into the Exam Master provided in the final Word file of the Test Bank. In the Exam Master,
spaces for your course name, exam type, and the student’s name and section are
followed by headings and instructions for true-false, multiple-choice, short-answer, and
essay questions. You can add elements unique to your exams and delete elements you
don’t want to use. After you customize the Exam Master, you can save it with your
changes. Then, each time you open it, click “Save As” to give it the name of the exam
you are currently constructing.
,310 TEST BANK FOR THE ART OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
True-False Questions
1. T F Persuasion is the process of creating, reinforcing, or changing
people’s beliefs or actions.
2. T F Because everyone knows that a persuasive speaker’s goal is
to influence the audience’s beliefs or actions, questions of ethics are
less important in persuasive speaking than in other kinds of
speaking.
3. T F Persuasive speakers should aim to construct speeches that
are both convincing and ethically sound.
4. T F Even though a persuasive speaker’s goal is to influence the
audience’s beliefs or actions, she or he still has an ethical obligation
to present evidence fairly and accurately.
5. T F One way for a persuasive speaker to uphold the ethical
obligations of speechmaking is to learn about all sides of an issue.
6. T F Of all the kinds of public speaking, persuasion is the most
complex and the most challenging.
7. T F Moving listeners from being strongly opposed to a speaker’s
position to being only moderately opposed would be a sign of a
successful persuasive speech.
8. T F As your textbook explains, persuasion takes place only if the
audience is strongly in favor of the speaker’s position by the end of
the speech.
9. T F As your textbook explains, when faced with an audience that
strongly opposes your point of view, you can consider your
persuasive speech a success if it leads even a few listeners to
reexamine their views.
10. T F Your success in a persuasive speech will usually depend on
how well you adapt to the attitudes, beliefs, and values of your
audience.
11. T F Persuasion is a psychological process in which listeners
engage in a mental dialogue with the speaker.
,CHAPTER 16—SPEAKING TO PERSUADE 311
12. T F Research indicates that audiences often engage in a mental
give-and-take with the speaker as they listen to a persuasive
speech.
13. T F When speaking to persuade, you need to think of your speech
as a kind of mental dialogue with your audience.
14. T F Audience analysis and adaptation are usually more
demanding in persuasive speaking than in speaking to inform.
15. T F Audience analysis and adaptation are usually less challenging
in persuasive speaking than in speaking to inform.
16. T F When speaking to persuade, you should try to anticipate
places where the audience might object and then answer the
objections in your speech.
17. T F When trying to persuade listeners that are skeptical about
your position, you need to deal directly with the reasons for their
skepticism.
18. T F When trying to persuade a hostile audience, you should
usually be wary of even mentioning the audience’s objections to
your point of view.
19. T F The target audience is that portion of the whole audience that
the speaker most wants to persuade.
20. T F Concentrating on a target audience means that a persuasive
speaker can ignore the rest of her or his listeners.
21. T F A persuasive speech on a question of fact is essentially the
same as an informative speech.
22. T F Questions of fact are easy subjects for persuasive speeches
because they almost always have clear-cut answers.
23. T F Questions of fact deal only with events that have already
happened.
24. T F Questions of fact usually include the word “should.”
25. T F Persuasive speeches on questions of fact are usually
organized in topical order.
26. T F Persuasive speeches on questions of fact are usually
organized in problem-solution order.
, 312 TEST BANK FOR THE ART OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
27. T F “To persuade my audience that genetically altered crops pose
hazards to human health” is a specific purpose statement for a
persuasive speech on a question of fact.
28. T F “To persuade my audience to support the construction of a
new convention center” is a specific purpose statement for a
question of fact.
29. T F “To persuade my audience that Lee Harvey Oswald was the
sole assassin of President John F. Kennedy” is a specific purpose
statement for a persuasive speech on a question of fact.
30. T F “To persuade my audience that electronic voting is more
accurate than punch card voting” is a specific purpose statement for
a persuasive speech on a question of fact.
31. T F “To persuade my audience that capital punishment is unjust”
is a specific purpose statement for a persuasive speech on a
question of fact.
32. T F When dealing with a question of value, a public speaker needs
to justify his or her value judgment on the basis of some set of
standards or criteria.
33. T F Persuasive speeches on questions of value focus on the
worth, rightness, or morality of an idea or action.
34. T F The first main point in a persuasive speech on a question of
value should usually be devoted to establishing the standards on
which you base your judgment.
35. T F Once you go beyond arguing right or wrong to arguing that
something should or should not be done, you are moving from a
question of opinion to a question of value.
36. T F Persuasive speeches on questions of value are almost always
arranged in topical order.
37. T F Persuasive speeches on questions of value usually argue
directly for or against particular courses of action.
38. T F “To persuade my audience that Citizen Kane is the greatest
movie of all time” is a specific purpose statement for a persuasive
speech on a question of value.
