Pre-trip

Handy reference but probably a bad idea to tell a female examiner you are checking for PMS

 

I did CDL testing in California for more than 10 years, and one of my greatest frustrations was having to fail someone for poorly communicating what they were doing. If you don't communicate what you are inspecting, and describing what criteria you use to determine whether the item is PASS or FAIL, the examiner has no choice but to assume that you don't know what you are doing.
It is always best to clarify expectations prior to beginning the exam.
My advise is for you to ask the examiner prior to the pre-trip, "Would you like for me to physically touch each component, or just point to the general area, as I describe how am inspecting each item"? This will show that you understand that he is judging your ability to communicate your knowledge and skills to him, and this gives him the opportunity to clarify exactly how he expects you to communicate.
As stated by others, always use specific terminology for items describing what you are looking for. Never use generic terms such as: "Checking to see if something is GOOD". Describe what makes each component GOOD or BAD as you go through your pretrip.