Group

Discussion
GD – what?
 A personality test most popular with organisations
and educational institutes to screen candidates
either before or after a written test
 To exchange information & ideas & give
experience of working in a team
 Enable management to draw on the ideas and
expertise of staff, and to acknowledge the staff
as valued members of a team and help in
problem solving & decision making

Prof. Shylaja Iyengar, BCA, BIMTECH 2

Aspects that make up a GD
 Verbal communication
 Non-verbal behaviour
 Conformation to norms
 Decision-making ability and cooperation

Prof. Shylaja Iyengar, BCA, BIMTECH 3

GD – evaluate ?
 Primarily evaluates your ability to interact in a
group in a given topic
 GD evaluators - focus on groups dynamics
 KASH strategy- Knowledge
Attitude
Skills
Honesty

Prof. Shylaja Iyengar, BCA, BIMTECH 4

 EVALUATION
FOR
GROUP DISCUSSIONS.

HOW ARE YOU EVALUATED IN YOUR GROUP DISCUSSIONS?

Personality

Communication Skills

Knowledge

Leadership and teamwork.

GD – abilities?
1. Leadership qualities
2. Persuasive skills
3. Communication skills
4. Interpersonal skills
5. Problem solving
6. Conceptualising skills

Prof. Shylaja Iyengar, BCA, BIMTECH 6

1. Leader ship qualities
 evaluators would like to find out whether you are
capable of –
 Raising your performance to a higher standard
 Initiating the discussion
 Influence and motivate others to reach a consensus
 Also –
 Your willingness to accommodate others’ views

Prof. Shylaja Iyengar, BCA, BIMTECH 7

2. Persuasive skill
 Ability to analyse a point of view and make
others look at it through different perspectives
without hurting their feelings
 This requires use of certain choice expressions
and friendly and persuasive tone
 Also involving appreciating the other person’s
point of view.

Prof. Shylaja Iyengar, BCA, BIMTECH 8

3. Communication skill
 Signifies –
 Clarity of thought and expression
 Projecting your views with utmost ease
 Also resorting to nonverbal means to strengthen
your point of view

Prof. Shylaja Iyengar, BCA, BIMTECH 9

4. Interpersonal skill
 Enables you to have a meaningful interaction
 Emotional maturity –
 remain cool & collected even when you are provoked with
personal comments
 Should be a team player first
 (not self-centered - dominating the proceeding)

Prof. Shylaja Iyengar, BCA, BIMTECH 10

5. Problem solving ability
 ability to provide some solution to a problem -
 Plagued by conflicting views
 Capability to provide a break-through and bring
the drift of the discussion back to it smooth flow

Prof. Shylaja Iyengar, BCA, BIMTECH 11

6. Conceptualising skill
 Ability to grasp a situation and react to the views
of others with convincing ideas
 Ability to clinch the issue in your favour
 Possible – when your knowledge of the topic of
discussion is sound.

Prof. Shylaja Iyengar, BCA, BIMTECH 12

Technique
 Group usually consists 8 to 10 candidates
 No one is nominated leader or coordinator to
conduct the discussion
 20 – 30 minutes is given to complete the
discussion
 Each candidate is identified by his / her given
number

Prof. Shylaja Iyengar, BCA, BIMTECH 13

GD Protocol
 GD’s are formally informal
 Rules of conduct to be observed by the
participants –
1. How to address the group?
2. Strategy
3. Your objective
4. Body language

Prof. Shylaja Iyengar, BCA, BIMTECH 14

 How to address the group?
Sir / Madam too formal
Mr. / Ms colloquial
Excuse me a bit rude
Numbers funny
First name ideal

 But you may not know / remember names of all

participants in a short time
 Best is to address the whole group instead of an individual

Prof. Shylaja Iyengar, BCA, BIMTECH 15

Some patterns of starting a
discussion -
 Shall we make a start
 We have all assembled here to discuss ......
 Shall we set the ball rolling?
 Let’s make a start ....

Prof. Shylaja Iyengar, BCA, BIMTECH 16

Strategy
 To begin, speak to the person sitting diagonally opposite
you OR
 Begin speaking to the person who has just finished
talking
 Use the opportunity to take the discussion forward
 Do not let an opportunity pass over without your
participating in the discussion
 Make friends by speaking to those who have been
ignored by the rest of the group

Prof. Shylaja Iyengar, BCA, BIMTECH 17

Your objective
 Getting the groups attention
 Language – formal, simple, correct spoken
English
 Dress – formal wear–
o men in business suits,
o ladies in western suits / salwar kameez

Prof. Shylaja Iyengar, BCA, BIMTECH 18

Body language
 Posture – straight back, hands together in front,
feet together
 Must reflect enthusiasm
 Gesture & body movements-
 Must not be threatening or restricting other members
 Avoid excessive use of hands – be natural
 Eye contact – establish with as many as you can

Prof. Shylaja Iyengar, BCA, BIMTECH 19

DISCUSSION TECHNIQUES

Prof. Shylaja Iyengar, BCA, BIMTECH 20

Styles of Communication
 Aggressive
 Passive

 Assertive

Prof. Shylaja Iyengar, BCA, BIMTECH 21

Group Dynamics
Identify task and maintenance roles
Positive Task Roles such as:_
 Initiator- ‘Lets take a perspective on the advantages
of management’
 Opinion Seeker- ‘Do you think they are really
responsible for the change in the structure’
 Information Giver- ‘ He won the Best Manager
Award last year’
 Summariser- ‘O.K. We are taking this perspective
using Mukesh Ambani as our example and we will
now look at last year’s annual report to see the
progress made by his company’
Positive Maintenance Roles
 Harmoniser- ‘ Jane and Akhil have looked at the
issue from opposing points of view. Let’s see if we
can take something from both points of view’
 Tension Reliever- ‘The discussion is really dynamic.
It’s good that we have so many different valid angles
on the issue’
 Compromiser- ‘ We need to formulate a compromise
between the two views
Negative Roles to be Avoided
 Non-participant
 Attacker- who acts aggressively by expressing
disapproval
 Dominator- who takes control of the discussion
by talking too much and interrupting other
members
 Clown- who shows off, refuses to take the
discussion seriously, disrupts it with humour
Discussion Techniques
 GD is not a debate

 No clear cut positions or stands to be taken

 GD is a continuous discussion – a live interaction

in which you examine a problem / subject from
different angles and views

Prof. Shylaja Iyengar, BCA, BIMTECH 25

Discussion Techniques
 You may disagree or support other’s point of view
or bring in a new point of view

 Show respect for the other person even if you do

not agree or accept his / her point of view

 Courtesy in discussions indicates our level of

culture and sophistication

Prof. Shylaja Iyengar, BCA, BIMTECH 26

How does a leader emerge?
l A candidate by his/her –
o initiative/ability to join the discussion,
o maturity and clarity of ideas and
o understanding of group dynamics gradually begins to –
ü direct the course of discussion and
ü mediates between the opposing views
to evolve a comprehensive view of the whole group
 Such a candidate is recognised by all the other candidates
as the leader of the group

Prof. Shylaja Iyengar, BCA, BIMTECH 27

How to join the discussion
 I’d like to raise the subject of…..
 What I think is …….
 I think it’s important to consider the question of ……
 If I could say a word about …..
 May I make a point about ……
 I have an observation to make
 If you don’t mind, could I make a suggestion?
 Sorry to interrupt you ....
 Could I speak for a moment?

Prof. Shylaja Iyengar, BCA, BIMTECH 28

To support what some other participant
have said
 Remember – you support the other person’s
views, not the person
 I’d like to support Ms. Renuka’s point of view
about …
 That is just what I also think
 I agree fully with what Mr. Rahul has just said. I
am in complete agreement with fee slashing

Prof. Shylaja Iyengar, BCA, BIMTECH 29

To support disagreement
 Remember – you are opposed to the idea, and not
the person who holds it
 you can disagree by using polite expressions,
instead of curt expressions such as “you are
wrong”, you can say …..
 Please allow me to differ
 I think differently on this issue
 I do not agree; in my opinion

Prof. Shylaja Iyengar, BCA, BIMTECH 30

To make a point very strongly
 I am convinced that….
 You can’t deny that….
 Anybody can see that …..
 It is quite clear to me that ….

Prof. Shylaja Iyengar, BCA, BIMTECH 31

To bring a discussion back to the
point
 Use cues phrases and expressions to exhibit your
group culture
 Your analytical ability and your critical assessment
and your verbal and non-verbal skills of
communication give an edge over others
 that’s very interesting, but I don’t think it is indeed to the
point
 Perhaps, we could go back to the point..
 Could we stick to the subject, please?
 I am afraid we are drifting from the point...
Prof. Shylaja Iyengar, BCA, BIMTECH 32
Listening skills
 In GD, listening too is a participative act
 Listen to what others have to say
 Do not listen with the desire to contradict or refute
 Listen to assimilate and analyse.
 Then speak to express your thoughts in the light of what
others think
 Do not interrupt.
 But try to join in the discussion tactfully
 Finally, if you really want to stand out,
 do not try to dominate by demolishing other participants
Prof. Shylaja Iyengar, BCA, BIMTECH 33
Some patterns of concluding a
GD
 It’s time for us to wind up
 I think that covers everything
 All good things must come to an end
 Shall we close the discussion now?

 Finally thank all the participants for their

contribution to the Group Discussion

Prof. Shylaja Iyengar, BCA, BIMTECH 34

Some suggestions for the success
of a GD
 Be a good listener.
 This will help you react to the views of others positively
 Don’t be emotional and angry.
 This will cloud your line of thinking and you are likely
to go off the track
 Appreciate the views of others even if they
demolish your point of view
 Don’t intervene unnecessarily when others speak
 Don’t hesitate to own your mistakes
Prof. Shylaja Iyengar, BCA, BIMTECH 35
Some suggestions for the success
of a GD
 Accept your defeat sportingly.
 Be graceful and actually thank them for helping you
clarify your view
 Make your comments short and crisp.
 A prolonged talk and repetition of ideas always go
against you
 Always be courteous
 When someone appreciates your point of view,
respond positively and say “Thank you”
Prof. Shylaja Iyengar, BCA, BIMTECH 36