CSJT Interpersonal & Communication Skills 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: You overhear two coworkers spreading inaccurate information about a policy change. The best response is to:
- Join the conversation and add your own speculation
- Ignore it; it is none of your business
- Politely correct the misinformation and share the accurate policy details (Correct answer)
- Report the coworkers to HR for gossip
Correct answer: Politely correct the misinformation and share the accurate policy details
Sharing accurate information prevents confusion and demonstrates responsibility without unnecessarily escalating the situation.
Question 2: A team member is consistently late submitting their portion of a shared project, affecting your deadlines. You should first:
- Complete their work yourself without telling anyone
- Speak with them directly to understand any obstacles and agree on a solution (Correct answer)
- Immediately escalate to management
- Stop your own submissions in protest
Correct answer: Speak with them directly to understand any obstacles and agree on a solution
A direct conversation first respects your colleague's autonomy and may reveal addressable obstacles.
Question 3: When writing an official memo to staff, the most effective approach is to:
- Use technical jargon to sound authoritative
- Make it as long as possible to cover all scenarios
- Use clear, plain language with a logical structure and key action items highlighted (Correct answer)
- Write informally to seem approachable
Correct answer: Use clear, plain language with a logical structure and key action items highlighted
Clear, plain language with a logical structure ensures the message is understood and acted upon by all readers.
Question 4: A new employee asks you a question outside your area of expertise. You should:
- Guess at an answer to appear helpful
- Tell them it is not your problem and walk away
- Acknowledge your limitation and direct them to the appropriate resource or person (Correct answer)
- Ignore the question
Correct answer: Acknowledge your limitation and direct them to the appropriate resource or person
Admitting limitations and redirecting builds trust and ensures the new employee gets accurate guidance.
Question 5: During a cross-departmental meeting, disagreements become personal. As a participant, you should:
- Take sides with the most senior person
- Stay silent and wait for others to resolve it
- Redirect the discussion back to the issues at hand using neutral language (Correct answer)
- Leave the meeting in protest
Correct answer: Redirect the discussion back to the issues at hand using neutral language
Steering conversation back to the issue, rather than personalities, maintains focus and professionalism.
Question 6: A supervisor praises a project outcome but attributes it entirely to someone else's work when you contributed equally. The best response is to:
- Publicly correct the supervisor in front of the team
- Say nothing and accept the situation
- Privately and respectfully clarify your contributions to the supervisor afterward (Correct answer)
- File a formal grievance immediately
Correct answer: Privately and respectfully clarify your contributions to the supervisor afterward
A private, calm conversation with the supervisor corrects the record without creating public tension.
Question 7: Which communication style is most appropriate when presenting data-driven findings to decision-makers?
- Emotional and persuasive to convey passion
- Objective, structured, and evidence-based (Correct answer)
- Casual and conversational to build rapport
- Brief to the point of omitting key context
Correct answer: Objective, structured, and evidence-based
Decision-makers rely on objective, structured, and evidence-based presentations to make informed choices.
CSJT Interpersonal & Communication Skills 3
You overhear two coworkers spreading inaccurate information about a policy change.
The best response is to: