Sophia Communication in Workplace Milestone Question
Bank 2021
, UNIT 1
1
Langston volunteered to translate his company's website into German.
A. While it was easy for him to replace the English words with German ones, Langston had not grown
up in German culture did not know the __________ of many words and phrases. As a result, the
company received feedback from German-speaking users that the website contained offensive
language. connotation
B. Angela wanted to remind her team that all sales should be physically documented, so she wrote an
email to her team that said, "On paper, we need to record every sale." Many of her colleagues
misunderstood, and believed Angela was saying that they didn't need to follow this policy in reality.
The next time Angela drafted an email, she was much more careful about __________. syntax
C. Ezekiel wrote a letter of recommendation for one of his interns that said his intern "did amazing
work at the company." Because Ezekiels' language was too __________, Ezekiel's intern had
difficulty finding a new job, since potential employers didn't know what Ezekiel meant by "amazing
work." Abstract
D. Carlan grew up in a conservative culture with strict ideas about deference and hierarchy. When he
was hired at his current company, he was uncomfortable with how casually even low-level employees
communicated with the company's executives. Carlan had to work hard to reduce the formality of
his communication style, but he did so to align with the company's values. Which principle of verbal
communication is Carlan attentive to here? Language shapes our reality
CONCEPT
Principles of Verbal Communication
2
Select a way in which oral and written communication are different.
The importance of carefully chosen words and phrases is even greater in written communication than in oral
communication. AND Oral communication often involves immediate feedback while written communication
typically does not
Written communication is often synchronous, whereas oral communication is often asynchronous.
Oral communication allows for feedback from the receiver to the source, but written communication does not.
Only oral communication involves a verbal message.
Select a way in which oral and written communication are similar. They are both subject to interference from
noise AND They both include verbal and nonverbal dimensions
CONCEPT
Oral vs. Written Communication
, 3
A. Among his family and friends, Roger will often rest his hand on people's shoulders to communicate that he
cares about them. At work, however, he never uses this nonverbal gesture. Which principle of nonverbal
communication is shown here? Nonverbal communication has different meanings in different
contexts.
B. On Monday morning, Drake's boss approached him with a set of instructions for an urgent and complicated
task. "Can you get this done by lunchtime?" his boss asked. "Absolutely, I'd be happy to," Drake responded,
while he frowned and rubbed his forehead vigorously. Which principle of nonverbal communication is
shown here? Nonverbal communication can contradict verbal communication
C. Thalia gave a motivational speech to company employees at the start of the New Year. She spoke for 30
minutes about the company's bright future and the good that each and every employee was doing for the
world. The next day, all Anna could remember about Thalia's speech was her infectious energy and wide
smile, which made her feel enthusiastic about going to work. Which principle of nonverbal
communication is shown here? People tend to pay more attention to nonverbal communication than
verbal communication
D. At his interviews for a teaching position Ignacio spoke at length of his admiration for the school, his
excitement at the prospect of working there and his passion for teaching. He was not hired, though, because
his body language throughout the interview made him seem arrogant, bored and a little disdainful. As this
example shows, it is important to be highly conscious of nonverbal communication because it is
__________. constant and irreversible
CONCEPT
Principles of Nonverbal Communication
4
A. Coraline, a computer programmer, has been asked to give a half-hour presentation to her daughter's middle
school class for "career week" at school. Coraline knows that a group of seventh graders won't know much
about what computer programmers do and she doesn't want to bore them with a lot of technical definitions.
So, she prepares a 30-minute presentation that gives a vague, abstract overview of computer programming.
Based on the context, how would you advise Coraline to improve her verbal communication? She
should choose language that is more dynamic and precise, yet still appropriate for the educational level of
her audience.
B. Piper has been invited to give a presentation at the annual conference of biomedical engineering, a large
gathering for industry professionals. She plans to talk about her research into the potential of artificial
intelligence software to advance diagnostic practices. As she revises her speech for the third time, she
makes sure she has fully defined many of the more technical terms so that no one will need to interrupt her
to ask for clarification. However, she's concerned that her speech my go over the allotted time. Based on
what you have learned about strategies for improving verbal communication, assess the strength of
Bank 2021
, UNIT 1
1
Langston volunteered to translate his company's website into German.
A. While it was easy for him to replace the English words with German ones, Langston had not grown
up in German culture did not know the __________ of many words and phrases. As a result, the
company received feedback from German-speaking users that the website contained offensive
language. connotation
B. Angela wanted to remind her team that all sales should be physically documented, so she wrote an
email to her team that said, "On paper, we need to record every sale." Many of her colleagues
misunderstood, and believed Angela was saying that they didn't need to follow this policy in reality.
The next time Angela drafted an email, she was much more careful about __________. syntax
C. Ezekiel wrote a letter of recommendation for one of his interns that said his intern "did amazing
work at the company." Because Ezekiels' language was too __________, Ezekiel's intern had
difficulty finding a new job, since potential employers didn't know what Ezekiel meant by "amazing
work." Abstract
D. Carlan grew up in a conservative culture with strict ideas about deference and hierarchy. When he
was hired at his current company, he was uncomfortable with how casually even low-level employees
communicated with the company's executives. Carlan had to work hard to reduce the formality of
his communication style, but he did so to align with the company's values. Which principle of verbal
communication is Carlan attentive to here? Language shapes our reality
CONCEPT
Principles of Verbal Communication
2
Select a way in which oral and written communication are different.
The importance of carefully chosen words and phrases is even greater in written communication than in oral
communication. AND Oral communication often involves immediate feedback while written communication
typically does not
Written communication is often synchronous, whereas oral communication is often asynchronous.
Oral communication allows for feedback from the receiver to the source, but written communication does not.
Only oral communication involves a verbal message.
Select a way in which oral and written communication are similar. They are both subject to interference from
noise AND They both include verbal and nonverbal dimensions
CONCEPT
Oral vs. Written Communication
, 3
A. Among his family and friends, Roger will often rest his hand on people's shoulders to communicate that he
cares about them. At work, however, he never uses this nonverbal gesture. Which principle of nonverbal
communication is shown here? Nonverbal communication has different meanings in different
contexts.
B. On Monday morning, Drake's boss approached him with a set of instructions for an urgent and complicated
task. "Can you get this done by lunchtime?" his boss asked. "Absolutely, I'd be happy to," Drake responded,
while he frowned and rubbed his forehead vigorously. Which principle of nonverbal communication is
shown here? Nonverbal communication can contradict verbal communication
C. Thalia gave a motivational speech to company employees at the start of the New Year. She spoke for 30
minutes about the company's bright future and the good that each and every employee was doing for the
world. The next day, all Anna could remember about Thalia's speech was her infectious energy and wide
smile, which made her feel enthusiastic about going to work. Which principle of nonverbal
communication is shown here? People tend to pay more attention to nonverbal communication than
verbal communication
D. At his interviews for a teaching position Ignacio spoke at length of his admiration for the school, his
excitement at the prospect of working there and his passion for teaching. He was not hired, though, because
his body language throughout the interview made him seem arrogant, bored and a little disdainful. As this
example shows, it is important to be highly conscious of nonverbal communication because it is
__________. constant and irreversible
CONCEPT
Principles of Nonverbal Communication
4
A. Coraline, a computer programmer, has been asked to give a half-hour presentation to her daughter's middle
school class for "career week" at school. Coraline knows that a group of seventh graders won't know much
about what computer programmers do and she doesn't want to bore them with a lot of technical definitions.
So, she prepares a 30-minute presentation that gives a vague, abstract overview of computer programming.
Based on the context, how would you advise Coraline to improve her verbal communication? She
should choose language that is more dynamic and precise, yet still appropriate for the educational level of
her audience.
B. Piper has been invited to give a presentation at the annual conference of biomedical engineering, a large
gathering for industry professionals. She plans to talk about her research into the potential of artificial
intelligence software to advance diagnostic practices. As she revises her speech for the third time, she
makes sure she has fully defined many of the more technical terms so that no one will need to interrupt her
to ask for clarification. However, she's concerned that her speech my go over the allotted time. Based on
what you have learned about strategies for improving verbal communication, assess the strength of
