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Group Discussion
Group Discussion
The concept of Group Discussion has not been a part of the regular academic curriculum in
Colleges and Universities. So, students usually face a lot of problem in this area of the Selection
Process. Let us first understand why Group Discussion is conducted.
Most institutes today are very clear about the skills and knowledge that they look for in a student
while screening. This was not the case a couple of years ago. Group Discussion has been a part
of the Selection process for admission into most of the top Business Schools.
The skills that are usually assessed in a Group Discussion are:
Communication Skills
Interpersonal Skills
Leadership Skills
Motivational Skills
Tolerance
Divergent Thinking
Listening skills
Presentation Skills
So, it's important to assess your current strengths in all these areas and accordingly put efforts to
strengthen your weaknesses.
GDs are used to assess certain group skills that cannot be evaluated in an interview. These
include reasoning ability, leadership ability, Inspiring ability, flexibility, creativity/out-of-the-box
thinking, social skills, listening and articulation skills, situational handling ability, interpersonal
ability to function as a team player, body language and attitude. These are the skills which are
very much required to become a successful professional which in turn works as an asset for the
institutes at time of campus placements.
Another important reason for institutes to keep GD as an elimination round is because of the
crowd factor. At the peak time of admissions, an institute has to deal with 1000s of aspiring
students. In a GD, they can analyze upto 15 aspirants in 10 minutes.
Most of the institutes use Group Discussions as the next step in the selection process after written
examination. That is the reason why Group Discussion has become so very important criteria for
Assert- Be assertive.
Articulate- Work continuously towards articulating your ideas into meaningful sentences
to make the best impact. Be clear in your speech.
Quality, not quantity matters- it's not how much' you say, but what' you say that's
important.
To prepare for a group discussion, keep track of happenings around the world. Being aware of
current affairs and issues and happenings, which affect our lives, however remotely, shows a
well-rounded personality. Make a habit of reading newspapers and magazines, watch interesting
documentaries and profiles on television to get a wider perspective on issues. As an individual,
your intelligence, general knowledge and core competencies are measured through the aptitude
test. As a team player, your ability to lead and play in team is measured in the GD.
You will have to pursue the following points if you want to be successful in a group discussion.
The points are as follows:
Make sure that you read as much news as possible. Generally the topic is chosen from
some of the current happenings. Hence you should make sure that you have a look at all
of them.
Make sure that you speak loudly and clearly. This is one of the most important things and
you could find yourself in difficulty if you do not speak loudly and clearly in a GD.
You should know that you are not really bounded to think in one way. You are free to
think on your own and put forward some new ideas. It is good for your chances and also
for the GD since new ideas will definitely make it interesting.
You should know what the topic is really about. If you have some confusion then you
should wait for some time and let the other speak at first. When the matter is quiet clear
and the GD is in midst then you should start speaking with new ideas in mind.
Correctly saying what you want to say- speaking effectively and efficiently is very
important.
General Principles
Be a good listener
Things to avoid
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Note:
Argument is - exchange of ignorance
Discussion is - exchange of knowledge.