Communications Flashcards
Which of the following is a database that contains current and past news stories?
Lexis-Nexis is a vast database used for locating numerous types of information including news stories.
Effective downward communications within an organization or company can include all of the following except:
A. delivering copies of job descriptions to all employees
B. provide regular opportunities for employees to provide supervisors with status updates
C. regularly scheduled staff meetings where management shares goals and achievements
D. employee performance reviews conducted annually or more frequently
B This is an example of upward communication from subordinate to supervisor.
If an organization’s communications department creates a press release, the inverted pyramid style of writing may be preferred since:
it provides readers with understanding even if they stop reading before learning all the details
When writing an optimized press release, a communications writer must focus on which of the following to obtain maximum viewing?
A. Easy to understand terminology
B. Submission to multiple news outlets
C. Keywords to obtain high rankings on search engines
D. Release with a short period to reach readers quickly
This type of press release is intended for the online audience. Skillful writers can include keywords that produce high rankings on search engines, optimizing readers reached.
When an audience is receiving a message they go through four stages: awareness, comprehension, conviction, and commitment. Which of these stages involves the audience matching their own interests and views with the information being offered?
C. Conviction. Awareness is the realization that a message is being offered. Comprehension is understanding the message. Conviction is matching the understanding with our own ideas and views. Commitment is making decisions or forming opinions based on the message.
When communicating face-to-face, negativity is often apparent when a participant:
Arm crossing suggests a barrier while resting a chin on a hand or crossing legs is seen as contemplation and leaning forward indicates interest.
When conducting negotiations, a key component is considering each stage of the interactions. Negotiations should never begin with:
A. an unrealistic offer
B. a concession
C. a probe
D. listening
A concession sends the message that you feel you are negotiating from a weak position. Listening and probing are always important to gauge the intentions of the other party. Unrealistic offers give plenty of room for compromise.
When conducting a media interview or making a statement to a member of the media, the phrase “not for attribution” generally implies:
Not for attribution implies that the reporter not credit the source directly when using the information supplied.
If you have been asked to give a presentation to an audience of co-workers, a good strategy to keep the audience engaged is:
Handouts are a good tool to focusing an audience as are relevant visuals such as pictures, charts, and multimedia presentations. Avoiding eye contact, while comforting to a nervous speaker, can disengage the audience.
When communicating information, employers will most likely be successful in capturing employee attention by:
Presenting info at brief staff meetings. Based on surveys and research, it is difficult to substitute for face-to-face communication. Employees are more interested in the money than the paperwork attached and this form of communication is often more of a nuisance than a benefit. Unattended bulletin boards can become cluttered and out of date. Written publications are not as cost and time effective as emails and easily overlooked or ignored.
You are the public spokesperson for a large company which has recently experienced a scandal involving a key employee. When contacting radio stations to present the company’s position on this situation, keep in mind they are interested in actualities or:
A. a basic list of facts surrounding the incident
B. a 30 or 60 second story
C. exclusive rights to the story
D. recorded comments by those involved for use on air
D. recorded comments by those involved for use on air. These recorded statements would be from principals in the event. Recorded or live commentary is especially important to a news medium with no visual aspect.
which type of personality is most likely to make decisions based on logic and reason, avoiding the influence of emotions, values, and attitudes?
Thinking. Feeling, its pair, is the emotional, values driven way
An organization’s lateral communications system is most likely to involve which of the following exchanging messages?
A. supervisors and their direct employees
B. employees with similar responsibilities in different departments
C. employees with different responsibilities in the same department
D. company media representatives and the media
B. Lateral communication is usually part of an informal system, linking employees at similar levels of responsibility that do not work directly together. Management should recognize the importance of this type of communication as well as the risk it poses to bypassing the chain of command.
You are giving a news brief to the media on your organization’s response to a crisis situation that has emerged. One way to avoid miscommunication is to:
C. define relative words. Excessive wordiness, use of acronyms that might be confusing, and abstract terms all increase the likelihood of miscommunication. Defining relative terms makes your position and statement clear. For example, instead of saying, “a large group”, say, “a group of about 1000”.
When considering the exact wording of a speech that you are writing, the most important consideration given should be to:
C Effective vocabulary should always be your goal. This means it is not so simple that the meaning is ambiguous such as the word, “great” and not so advanced so as to leave most audience members confused. It is okay to use words that must be explained, including highly technical terms, if they are relevant to the presentation.
