Business Communication, 2e (Shwom/Gueldenzoph Snyder)
Chapter 2 Working with Others: Interpersonal, Intercultural, and Team Communication
1) Passive listening means ________.
A) focusing attentively on what a speaker says
B) hearing information without actively paying attention to ensure understanding
C) actively working to understand the information a speaker is providing
D) trying to interpret the information presented by a speaker
E) responding to a speaker to acknowledge understanding
Answer: B
Explanation: B) Passive listening means hearing information without actively paying attention
to ensure understanding. In business this kind of passive listening can lead to costly mistakes.
Classification: Conceptual
AASCB: Communication Abilities
Objective: 2.1
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices in team and interpersonal communication
2) Which of the following best exemplifies a costly mistake that can be attributed to passive
listening?
A) forgetting to reorder supplies and having work come to a standstill while you send an
employee out to restock
B) taking an order so large that your factory has to run costly overtime shifts to meet the
production deadline
C) failing to proof your report before making copies of it, and having to reprint them all after you
realize this and correct the typos
D) scheduling two appointments for the same time and having to cancel on one of your clients at
the last minute
E) mailing out a coupon giving customers 50% off on their orders because you misheard when
your boss asked you to create a coupon for 15% off
Answer: E
Explanation: E) Not listening carefully or taking the time to confirm the information with your
boss led to the costly mistake of giving customers a coupon for more than three times the
discount your boss intended.
Classification: Application
AASCB: Analytic Skills
Objective: 2.1
Difficulty: Moderate
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices in team and interpersonal communication
1
,3) Which of the following is one of the categories of active listening skills?
A) describing
B) evaluating
C) implying
D) interrupting
E) conveying
Answer: B
Explanation: B) Active listening is a process of focusing attentively on what a speaker says,
actively working to understand and interpret the information, and then responding to
acknowledge understanding.
Classification: Conceptual
AASCB: Communication Abilities
Objective: 2.1
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices in team and interpersonal communication
4) The active listening skills used when you listen to the spoken word are ________ when you
"listen" to what people say in their writing.
A) inapplicable
B) equally useful
C) much more required
D) far less effective
E) rarely used
Answer: B
Explanation: B) Understanding the meaning of an email message can be as difficult as
understanding the meaning of a conversation.
Classification: Conceptual
AASCB: Communication Abilities
Objective: 2.1
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices in team and interpersonal communication
5) Which of the following is an environmental hearing distraction?
A) a car alarm being set off
B) a ringing sound in one's ears after attending a loud concert
C) blocked ears due to a cold
D) inability to focus due to a migraine
E) tinnitus after hearing an explosion
Answer: A
Explanation: A) Physiological barriers arise from a listener's physical state. An alarm going off
is an external distraction in the environment, while all the other choices are physiological.
Classification: Application
AASCB: Analytic Skills
Objective: 2.1
Difficulty: Moderate
Learning Outcome: Discuss the challenges and importance of business communications
2
,6) Which of the following is a physiological barrier to hearing?
A) car horns and idling engines at an intersection
B) conversations in a crowded restaurant
C) loud music at an outdoor street fair
D) clogged ears after swimming
E) loud noise made during construction work
Answer: D
Explanation: D) Physiological barriers arise from a listener's physical state, so this choice is
correct. The other choices are all external distractions.
Classification: Application
AASCB: Analytic Skills
Objective: 2.1
Difficulty: Moderate
Learning Outcome: Discuss the challenges and importance of business communications
7) The key to hearing accurately is focus. Which of the following is recommended for better
focus?
A) looking at the speaker
B) multitasking while listening to what is being said
C) discussing the topic with other listeners
D) thinking about what has been previously said
E) browsing the Internet for similar topics while listening to the speaker
Answer: A
Explanation: A) Looking at the speaker allows the brain to focus on what is being said. All other
options distract you from the speech.
Classification: Application
AASCB: Analytic Skills
Objective: 2.1
Difficulty: Moderate
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices in team and interpersonal communication
3
, 8) Which of the following is an example of a difficulty in listening comprehension?
A) not hearing what the ER doctor says because an ambulance outside is blaring its siren
B) not understanding what the ER doctor means when he says you are suffering from
hypertension
C) not hearing what the ER doctor says because of the conversation and cries of pain in the
waiting area
D) not listening to what the ER doctor says because you're distracted by the new patient who's
just been wheeled into the room
E) not understanding what the ER doctor says because you have a head cold and your ears are
clogged
Answer: B
Explanation: B) One barrier to listening comprehension is not understanding vocabulary or
jargon that is unfamiliar to you.
Classification: Application
AASCB: Analytic Skills
Objective: 2.1
Difficulty: Moderate
Learning Outcome: Discuss the challenges and importance of business communications
9) Which of the following is a barrier to listening comprehension?
A) many people speaking simultaneously
B) loud volume of the speaker
C) unfamiliar vocabulary
D) ringing telephones
E) blocked ears due to a head cold
Answer: C
Explanation: C) Vocabulary is a barrier to listening comprehension, or how well you understand
what you hear. Other choices are mere environmental distractions that distract you from hearing
well.
Classification: Application
AASCB: Analytic Skills
Objective: 2.1
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Outcome: Discuss the challenges and importance of business communications
4
Chapter 2 Working with Others: Interpersonal, Intercultural, and Team Communication
1) Passive listening means ________.
A) focusing attentively on what a speaker says
B) hearing information without actively paying attention to ensure understanding
C) actively working to understand the information a speaker is providing
D) trying to interpret the information presented by a speaker
E) responding to a speaker to acknowledge understanding
Answer: B
Explanation: B) Passive listening means hearing information without actively paying attention
to ensure understanding. In business this kind of passive listening can lead to costly mistakes.
Classification: Conceptual
AASCB: Communication Abilities
Objective: 2.1
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices in team and interpersonal communication
2) Which of the following best exemplifies a costly mistake that can be attributed to passive
listening?
A) forgetting to reorder supplies and having work come to a standstill while you send an
employee out to restock
B) taking an order so large that your factory has to run costly overtime shifts to meet the
production deadline
C) failing to proof your report before making copies of it, and having to reprint them all after you
realize this and correct the typos
D) scheduling two appointments for the same time and having to cancel on one of your clients at
the last minute
E) mailing out a coupon giving customers 50% off on their orders because you misheard when
your boss asked you to create a coupon for 15% off
Answer: E
Explanation: E) Not listening carefully or taking the time to confirm the information with your
boss led to the costly mistake of giving customers a coupon for more than three times the
discount your boss intended.
Classification: Application
AASCB: Analytic Skills
Objective: 2.1
Difficulty: Moderate
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices in team and interpersonal communication
1
,3) Which of the following is one of the categories of active listening skills?
A) describing
B) evaluating
C) implying
D) interrupting
E) conveying
Answer: B
Explanation: B) Active listening is a process of focusing attentively on what a speaker says,
actively working to understand and interpret the information, and then responding to
acknowledge understanding.
Classification: Conceptual
AASCB: Communication Abilities
Objective: 2.1
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices in team and interpersonal communication
4) The active listening skills used when you listen to the spoken word are ________ when you
"listen" to what people say in their writing.
A) inapplicable
B) equally useful
C) much more required
D) far less effective
E) rarely used
Answer: B
Explanation: B) Understanding the meaning of an email message can be as difficult as
understanding the meaning of a conversation.
Classification: Conceptual
AASCB: Communication Abilities
Objective: 2.1
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices in team and interpersonal communication
5) Which of the following is an environmental hearing distraction?
A) a car alarm being set off
B) a ringing sound in one's ears after attending a loud concert
C) blocked ears due to a cold
D) inability to focus due to a migraine
E) tinnitus after hearing an explosion
Answer: A
Explanation: A) Physiological barriers arise from a listener's physical state. An alarm going off
is an external distraction in the environment, while all the other choices are physiological.
Classification: Application
AASCB: Analytic Skills
Objective: 2.1
Difficulty: Moderate
Learning Outcome: Discuss the challenges and importance of business communications
2
,6) Which of the following is a physiological barrier to hearing?
A) car horns and idling engines at an intersection
B) conversations in a crowded restaurant
C) loud music at an outdoor street fair
D) clogged ears after swimming
E) loud noise made during construction work
Answer: D
Explanation: D) Physiological barriers arise from a listener's physical state, so this choice is
correct. The other choices are all external distractions.
Classification: Application
AASCB: Analytic Skills
Objective: 2.1
Difficulty: Moderate
Learning Outcome: Discuss the challenges and importance of business communications
7) The key to hearing accurately is focus. Which of the following is recommended for better
focus?
A) looking at the speaker
B) multitasking while listening to what is being said
C) discussing the topic with other listeners
D) thinking about what has been previously said
E) browsing the Internet for similar topics while listening to the speaker
Answer: A
Explanation: A) Looking at the speaker allows the brain to focus on what is being said. All other
options distract you from the speech.
Classification: Application
AASCB: Analytic Skills
Objective: 2.1
Difficulty: Moderate
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices in team and interpersonal communication
3
, 8) Which of the following is an example of a difficulty in listening comprehension?
A) not hearing what the ER doctor says because an ambulance outside is blaring its siren
B) not understanding what the ER doctor means when he says you are suffering from
hypertension
C) not hearing what the ER doctor says because of the conversation and cries of pain in the
waiting area
D) not listening to what the ER doctor says because you're distracted by the new patient who's
just been wheeled into the room
E) not understanding what the ER doctor says because you have a head cold and your ears are
clogged
Answer: B
Explanation: B) One barrier to listening comprehension is not understanding vocabulary or
jargon that is unfamiliar to you.
Classification: Application
AASCB: Analytic Skills
Objective: 2.1
Difficulty: Moderate
Learning Outcome: Discuss the challenges and importance of business communications
9) Which of the following is a barrier to listening comprehension?
A) many people speaking simultaneously
B) loud volume of the speaker
C) unfamiliar vocabulary
D) ringing telephones
E) blocked ears due to a head cold
Answer: C
Explanation: C) Vocabulary is a barrier to listening comprehension, or how well you understand
what you hear. Other choices are mere environmental distractions that distract you from hearing
well.
Classification: Application
AASCB: Analytic Skills
Objective: 2.1
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Outcome: Discuss the challenges and importance of business communications
4
