Group discussion

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GROUP DISCUSSION

GROUP DISCUSSION

Subhash chandra

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Group discussion is a new trend that has come up in order to evaluate student personality. A group of participants are made to discuss on a topic or subject for a limited time and then assessed accordingly. It is a chance for you to be more vocal. A GD is a methodology used by an organization to gauge whether the candidate has certain personality traits and/or skills that it desires in its members.

In this methodology, the group of candidates is given a topic or a situation, given a few minutes to think about the same, and then asked to discuss the topic among themselves for 15-20 minutes.

What is Group discussion

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Communication skills Interpersonal SkillsLeadership SkillsMotivational SkillsTeam Building SkillsAnalytical /Logical SkillsReasoning abilityDifferent Thinking InitiativeAssertivenessFlexibilityCreativityAbility to think on ones feet

Some of the personality traits the GD is trying to gauge may include:

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A group discussion will in addition test your following qualities:

How receptive are you?Your analytical reasoningHow articulate are you?How you validate your opinions with facts?Are you arrogant in insisting your thoughts?Personality traitsInterpersonal skills

What a GD panel look for?

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The reason why institutes put you through a Group discussion and an interview, after testing your technical and conceptual skills in an exam, is to get to know you as a person and gauge how well you will fit in their institute. GD evaluates how you can function as a part of a team. As a manager or as a member of an organization you will always be working in teams. Therefore how you interact in a team becomes an important criterion for your selection. Managers have to work in a team and get best results out of teamwork. That is the reason why management institutes include GD as a component of the selection procedure.

Why GD’s are implemented commonly?

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Interactive Skills (how good you are at communication with other people) Be confident: If you aren't confident with yourself, you'll be scared of sharing

your opinions. You need to trust yourself and others and you need to feel confident in your thoughts.

Behavior (how open-minded are you in accepting views contrary to your own) Participation (how good an active speaker you are & your attention to the

discussion) Conquer misunderstandings: Even though you are mainly talking, and

announcing whatever comes to your to debate over; it doesn't stop from heated words spilling. So take in all in stride and try to form a question about why such an argument bursts out from something misunderstood.

Contribution (how much importance do you give to the group objective as well as your own)

Decision: Ranging arithmetic, charities, healthy eating, politics, sports, and virtue or value in today's products. Mainly, you got to wonder if that topic is worth talking about, for politics, it varies; there is the government, and what they control.

Company's Perspective:

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1. Form a group of three to five students or more- in case if you can’t find a good number, discuss with one of your friends any recent topic under debate.

2. While discussing keep the following things in mind that will help you in the GD.

3. Know the world around you: It is very important that you have a sound knowledge on the happenings across the globe. If you goof up with the facts in the GD, the probability of your elimination is high.

4. Read opinion pieces: Do not just read every day news, but more opinions and columns by guest authors. This will help you understand the different dimensions wound around any issue.

Preparation strategy:

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5. Think laterally! : Do not state the obvious. Try to take the discussion further by giving it a new flip. Make sure you are not veering away from the topic.

6. Be receptive: Do not dominate the fellow participants. Pay your attention to what they say and if you support/deny what they say, politely enter into the argument but not abruptly.

7. Facts and figures: Provide facts and figures when necessary and use them to support your argument.

8. Don’t speak for the sake of speaking: This can be related with the previous point. Speak relevantly. Do not speak to show that you know the facts, figures and everything about the topic.

9. Be assertive; build consensus: Remember you are not to win over with your aggressive speech. Understand the difference between being aggressive and assertive. Conclude your speech with a harmonious note.

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10. Be crisp and confident: Do not beat around the bush. Do not worry if your subject knowledge on the given topic is very shallow. Put your thoughts across and listen to what others speak.

11. Be as natural as possible. Do not try to be someone you are not. Be yourself. In an attempt to be someone else, your opinions will not be portrayed. 

12. Sit with a straight and confident posture. 

13. Be assertive yet humble. You need to stick to your values and beliefs, but learn to respect the values and opinions of others too. 

14. Grab the opportunity to speak first: i.e. to start the group discussion with your opinion. It generally leaves a good impression on the evaluator, but take the move only if you have complete knowledge of the subject.

15. Do not repeat a point, or be lengthy or irrelevant. Also intervene, if someone else is going on an irrelevant track. 

16. Make an eye contact with all the participants. It creates more room for conversation

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17. Be an active and dynamic participant. The examiner wants to hear you speak. So do put forth your views. 

18. Be positive and prepare your thoughts well but do not be over-confident. 

19. Think well before you speak. You are being heard and judged upon. 

20. When raising an objection to a point kept by another speaker, back it up with a solid reason to get the point across. 

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Verbal CommunicationNon-verbal behaviorConfirmation to normsDecision making abilityCooperationYou should try to be as true as possible to these

aspects.

Aspects which make up a Group Discussion are:

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It helps to shed away the shyness of a candidate and brings his viewpoint amidst all. 

It stimulates to think in a different, new way.

It helps the candidate in understanding his/ her own strengths and weaknesses.

It acts as an aid in expansion of the knowledge of the participant. 

It helps to analyse the social or economic issues more logically. 

There are a lot of advantages of a group discussion:

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Don’t start with the phrase – Myself XYZ – there’s no better way to put the panel off.

Getting into details about siblings and cousins – especially the one who seem to have done well. Panelists want to know about you, not about your extended family.

Don’t cite – ‘making friends’ or ‘meeting new people’ – as a hobby. Wonder how one pursues a hobby like ‘meeting new people’!

Don’t say things like – I studied this in my first year – as an excuse for not knowing more basic stuff related to their subject of study. The panel members study this about 20 years back – they still remember about it.

Tips for Personal Interview:

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