Group Discussion

FAQs of
Group Discussion innovation

eBook 02
 Table of Contents

Chapter Topic Page

No. No.
1 Guidelines for key stages of GD 1-19
1. If I don’t know much about the GD
topic
2. Should I be the first speaker or
should I speak late in the GD?
3. What should I do if nobody speaks
up when the topic is given?
4. What role should I play in the GD?
5. Is it correct to change your stand
during the course of a GD?
6. Should I have strong views for or
against a notion or should I be more
conciliatory?
7. If the GD is becoming noisy and
degenerating into a "fish market"
8. If somebody becomes openly
antagonistic to me in the GD
9. If there is a lot of cross-talk, and
 groups of people talking with each
other
10. If I am unable to enter or speak in
the GD
11. Speaking but unable to put the
point across coherently
2 Group Discussion Etiquettes 19
3 Essential Tips for GD 20
4 Things to Do 22
5 Things not to Do 23
 Guidelines for key stages of GD

Candidates often have queries regarding different kinds

of situations faced in an MBA Group Discussion. You are
required to speak in various scenarios so as to make a
mark in GD. Here we have discussed all the essential tips
and strategies to handle common GD situations. Go
through the suggested means to address each specific
situation.

1. If I don’t know much about the GD topic

It may seem a really bad beginning if you don’t have a

clue to the topic handed out for discussion. This may
happen in case of specific news item, historical events or
most likely with abstract topics. However, you would be
happy to know that the way GDs are structured, it gives
you plenty of time to get acquainted with the subject and
form your views in the process.

Here is what you need to do in such situations:

Do not panic: It is the key to survival. Do not let panic
show on your face and affect your intelligence. If you
maintain your composure you can turn things around.

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Do not care to start: It is a misconception that the person
who initiates stands better chance of selection. It is a
double edged sword and under these circumstances a
definite “No”, because the initiator has to briefly explain
the topic and chart out a path for discussion.

Listen carefully: The best thing to do in this situation is

to let other members begin the discussion. Focus all
your energy on understanding of the topic in the initial
stages and form your views. Once you feel you have got
a good grip on the subject or can follow-up an existing
chain of thought, you may attempt to enter the
discussion.

2. Should I be the first speaker or should I speak late in

the GD?

Speaking first may have some advantages if you can

manage to produce some original content. However, if
you have nothing substantial and sensible to say, it may
be (and often is) counterproductive. Speaking sense is
more important than when to speak or how much to
speak. Similarly, speaking late does not necessarily bring
disadvantage. In fact, you might be able to watch how
the discussion is progressing and pick up ideas on which

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you can elaborate and substantiate. It is commonly
observed that the group tends to settle down after the
initial period and at this point, if you have something to
say, it would get better noticed than saying it earlier.

However, some points that you should consider are:

The kind of GD topic: If the GD topic is easy, then
speaking earlier is preferable as points may get
exhausted early. However, if you carefully listen, you may
still be able to add points to whatever has been said.
Generally, in case studies and difficult/abstract topics, it
may be better to speak up later.

Group Behaviour: If there is hesitation on the part of the

group to begin discussion or really focus on the topic, it
would help if you take the initiative and provide direction,
even if your own thoughts are not very clear yet. This
would demonstrate your leadership skills.

Following are some of the opening strategies:

1. Introduce the topic with a good quote or an
example if you can manage one.
2. Identify the key words in the topic, try to define
them and subsequently correlate them to frame a
flowchart for the discussion.

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 3. Start with a short incident relevant to the topic.
However, be aware that most of the participants would
be prepared for a somewhat similar role.

3. What should I do if nobody speaks up when the topic

is given?

Sometimes it happens that the group does not have any

clear points on which it can begin discussion. To take
advantage of such situations, you can prepare by
thinking about how to provide direction.

Keep the following points in mind:

Identify what the topic is really about: Understand the
basic issue. If the issue is "Should there be reservation
for women in Parliament?", is it really about women or is
it about reservation? Why is the issue important? Who is
it likely to affect more - male MPs? General public?
Women in the society at large?

Define criteria to evaluate: Based on your understanding

of the above, you may define the criteria that should be
applied. For instance, if you believe that the issue is
about "women in society at large", relevant criteria would
be

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(a) Percentage of women overall that are likely to benefit
from increased women representation,
(b) Who would benefit more - rural women vs. urban
women?
(c) How effective and efficient this route is in achieving
this goal. These are only some dimensions along which it
could be evaluated and it is not necessary for you to
come up with a comprehensive list. Your ability to
identify dimensions is more important than the number
of dimensions.

Define how the discussion should proceed: If you have

any firm thoughts at this stage, you can outline them. If
not, you could explain how the group might want to
continue discussion. For example, the group can decide
on whether your interpretation of the issue is right, then
move to deciding on the appropriateness of the criteria
and then to evaluating the move to increase
representation along the criteria. There is no such thing
as a topic on which you cannot develop an opinion - even
if it is totally new subject, you can still identify doubts /
queries which could be used to start the discussion.
Remember that to participate in a discussion, you don't

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have to have an opinion - even a doubt or clarification
will do.
4. What role should I play in the GD?

Should I be aggressive, one who speaks less, a mediator

or idea generator? And what does playing each role
mean?
An aggressive person generally jumps to start the
discussion, talks a lot, dominates the proceedings and
tends to impose his views on the group. It is commonly
believed that being aggressive is beneficial - it is not.
Such a behavior is not accepted yet you find it commonly
in almost every GD. Even if you have a brilliant point to
say, it is more important to time it well and say it
appropriately than saying it at any cost. Team skills are
generally considered far more important.

What is the correct role to play then?

Be natural. If you normally don't talk much but can listen
very well, be a listener - take down notes, participate by
actively listening through the discussion. If, however, you
can play the role of the mediator more effectively -
intervene if there are conflicting ideas, the group is going
nowhere or if there is a lull. If the group has run out of
ideas and if you believe you are the idea generator think

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about how the same issue can be approached from
another angle. The bottom line is that the role should
come naturally to you. Often, you may need to play more
than one role and be prepared for this.

5. Is it correct to change your stand during the course of

a GD?
Yes, if it is genuine and you can rationally explain why
you have changed (you may not be asked this during GD
but you could be asked during the interview). Changing
your stance due to genuine reasons conveys flexibility
and openness/ objectivity on your part. However, it
should not arise out of confusion. If you do change, it is
recommended that you do not change again.

A good way of changing your stance would be to say

"When we began the discussion, I believed ….. to be so;
however, considering ….. stated in the discussion, I think
….. to be more appropriate". An improvement over this
would be an ending question such "do you agree?" or "am
I right in my conclusion?" This leaves the conclusion
open for discussion and allows a more gradual transition
of your stance. This is better than announcing a changed
stance abruptly.

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For example, if at the beginning of the discussion you
believed that women ought to be given reservation in
elections and subsequently changed your opinion to
against reservation; you can say "Initially, I believed that
we should have reservation for women. However, I am
now persuaded by the argument that there can be no
basis for differential treatment, which is what the
reservation is all about, in a democracy. On this basis, I
think I would prefer a different means to uplifting
women. May be we could look at subsidizing the
education of women up to graduation or make it
mandatory for girls to study up to 12th. There may be
other such measures which may be more effective. Can
we identify such means?" Note that the statement
ending in a question, throws the issue open for
discussion. Also, note that the opinion has been changed
without being too open about it.

If, instead of changing the stance and arriving at a new,

firm stance, you have just become unsure about your
original stance, you can say this (if at all necessary) with
something like "I did believe that reservation was
necessary but some of the issues raised here seem to
contradict the need and are compelling." There can be no

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one-size-fits-all solution and it depends on the situation
at hand.
6. Should I have strong views for or against a notion or
should I be more conciliatory?

It is not at all necessary to have strong views on an

issue. Even if you do have strong views, it is important to
be objective and state your views unemotionally with
fact and reason. The objective is to conduct a
meaningful discussion and not enter into an emotional
debate.

Remember the following four points for a meaningful

discussion:
State your views objectively: Put across your views with
both positives and negatives together. Don't over
emphasize either. Be ready to substantiate your points
with facts and reason with statements like "The reason
why I say this is because …… and ….."

Understand the opposing viewpoints: Try to perceive

what others have to say, including both positives and
negatives. Validate these specifically with statements
like "I think the positives with your view are …. and the

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negatives are …., do you agree?" (Positives should always
be stated first).
Concede, if your view point is proven to be wrong or
accept the fact that some view points are not
immediately reconcilable. Accept gracefully with
statements like "I think you have a point there which I
may have overlooked. Thanks". Apart from displaying
flexibility, it will also earn you a few friends which will be
handy. Be willing to explore grey areas which might arise
in the course of the discussion with statements like “I
think we need to understand the issue more clearly".

Beyond a point, being conciliatory is not very helpful. It is

important to be objective, which means that if you are
wrong, you accept gracefully; if you are convinced of
your view point, put it across gently without being
offensive or else defer the issue saying that it could be
taken up a little later. A compromise may also be
possible, in case both the viewpoints have some merits -
be ready for this with a statement like "I think both the
views have some merits and some demerits. May be we
could discuss this further". Also you can involve the
other group members by asking open ended questions
like "does anyone have a different perspective on this?"

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7. If the GD is becoming noisy and degenerating into a
"fish market"

There are two scenarios:

(a) If you have started speaking but subsequently, due to
noisy interjections, the discussion has become a "fish
market", then you can:-
Try to play the role of a mediator: Try to bring down the
tension through statements like "excuse me, can we step
back for a moment and revisit the topic?" or “…can you
please just hold for a moment? "or “…sir/ma’am, we are
coming to your point in a sequence”.

Let the aggressive go through with their thoughts and

then suggest some form of equal participation - such as
rotation among the remaining speakers or providing a
chance to those who have not spoken by prompting
them to speak.

Use gestures like hand movements to attract attention

from where you could provide some discipline.
The above steps may normally not succeed - however, it
conveys to the invigilator that you can play the role of a

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leader when the situation demands. This is all that the
invigilators are looking for.
(b) In other situations, you may not have uttered a word
and yet the discussion turns chaotic. In such situations:
Be patient: The aggressive ones generally run out of
ideas soon and there will be sufficient time for everyone
to speak. For example, the typical noise levels during the
course of the discussion is higher in the beginning and at
the end of the GD, but there are also periods in each GD
where there is a very brief lull which you could capitalize
on.

Whatever be the case, the following are some don'ts:

Don't jump into the fray yourself: It is natural to want to
get started, particularly if your past mild attempts at
establishing order had failed.
Don't make long points: When you get an opportunity,
don't be greedy, say what you want to say briefly and
hand it over to the next person - this will be appreciated.
Don't be rude or offensive or carry grudges against those
who created the commotion.
Don’t stand up or use rude gestures like finger pointing
and foot thumping.

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8. If somebody becomes openly antagonistic to me in the
GD
If someone says things directly contradicting my points
of view or makes personal attack, what should my
reaction be?
It is quite possible that people are opposed to your view
point rather than to you, as a person. Also, it may be a
genuine opposition rather than an emotional reaction. It
is important to keep this in mind. Actually, a situation like
this is a good opportunity for you to demonstrate you
conflict handling skills and maturity, factors considered
important by the evaluators. Be calm and relaxed, and
don't let this get to you. If you get aggravated, you will be
seen as incapable of handling stress and this might go
against you.

Consider the following points carefully:

Is the counter-argument valid? Would you have accepted
it if it had come from your best friend? If yes, then
concede the point gracefully through statements like "I
think you have an important point there that I did not
think of".
If the counter-argument is not valid but the discussion
has been going on for some time, then defer the issue in

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the interests of the group, with statements like "we have
discussed this issue and it appears to me that we seem
to have some differences…can we defer it for the time
being so that we may move forward?" or you can seek
others' opinion by turning to others and seeking their
opinion with statements like "we seem to have different
views here…what do you feel?"

In some cases, more than one person may be having an

opinion different to yours. In such cases, you may want
to really rethink your stand with statements like "I see
that some of you have an opinion different than mine.
While I am not able to reconcile the two immediately, can
we defer it for the time being and return to it later?" There
is really no point in taking on a group, no matter how
strong your point is.

If the attack is directed against you as a person, then the

best strategy is to just ignore it and get on with the
discussion, without any animosity towards the attacker.
This is hard to do but if you manage, it will be the best
advertisement for your maturity.

Be assured that "losing" an argument is not bad: Even if

you are convinced about the correctness of your stand,

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don't stand on it - let the other person "win" it (just say "I
know that you may disagree, but my point is….., however,
we need not keep debating this, maybe we need to
proceed"). Losing an argument does not lead to loss of
points. Sometimes, it even helps demonstrate your
flexibility and maturity.

9. If there is a lot of cross-talk, and groups of people

talking with each other

This could happen quite often, especially in large groups

(8+) and could happen due to two reasons:
(a) The group has finished discussion and is not able to
come up with any more new ideas.

You need to play the role of an idea generator. Try the

structured thinking process and in most cases, you can
come up with new angles to the issue. You can also ask
each member of the group if he/she has any more ideas -
this would help those who are very shy. If this also fails
and you cannot get any more ideas generated, then close
the discussion with a summary. It is not important to
keep the discussion going for the whole duration of the
GD. You could also not summarize the discussion
yourself - by this time, you would have hogged enough air

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time and hogging more would go against you. Ask one of
the silent members or throw it open to someone to do
this.
(b) No effective leadership and hence the group is
directionless.

In this case, you can play the role of a mediator. You can
command attention by addressing the "leaders" of each
of the subgroups and asking for their cooperation in
getting the larger group moving. Sometimes, it would be
difficult to get the attention of the groups - in such cases,
it is important to first establish eye contact with the
leader and engaging him/her. You could ask these
leaders to summarize the discussions that their sub-
groups had and ask other groups to comment on the
same. You can also add your views to ensure that your
credibility as a leader is maintained.

You may do well to familiarize yourself with possible

situations in a discussion and have a ready response for
the same. While this may not assure you of a favorable
outcome, it will benefit you by getting rid of surprise and
maintenance of composure during such situations.

10. If I am unable to enter or speak in the GD

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This is the most common problem for candidates in a
group discussion. This is the stage when a candidate is
not even able to enter a discussion or when asked to
speak, she/he is unable to say a single word. Let’s try to
understand the reasons for this:

Lack of confidence: This is more of a behavioral issue

and needs to be addressed beforehand through mock
practice sessions. You may do well to understand that
lack of participation is a clear rejection. Hence it is better
to overcome fear and make an effort to participate. Your
creative thinking and knowledge can help you increase
your confidence to add value to the ongoing discussion
through introduction of new ideas or examples to
existing points.

Fear of rejection of your views: This may be mitigated by

ensuring the thoughts put across by you are in
continuation to the ongoing discussion, relevant and
coherent with examples and facts to support them. This
will increase acceptability of your views within the group.
No knowledge of the topic/ Lack of content: Lack of
content may be handled as advised in “point 6.1” by
being attentive to the discussion amongst other
members.

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11. Speaking but unable to put the point across
coherently

This is the stage where most students find themselves in

a Group Discussion. While most students speak up; only
a few are able to elucidate their points across in a
coherent and eloquent manner. This inability to be
coherent creates opportunities for others to break in and
leave your thoughts stranded. Since any candidate gets
at most 1-2 minutes to speak in GD, it is important
he/she makes the utmost use of that time. There may be
a few reasons as suggested below which may prevent
candidates from putting across their points assertively.

Reasons:
Incoherent thought process while speaking: Gather your
thoughts and make small notes in the beginning to help
structure your sentences.
Lack of assertive gesticulations and body language: This
may be a reason why others may see you as lacking
confidence and hence target you to enter.
Unnecessary elongation of a point: Points have to be
kept short and precise. If there is too much of a build-up,

18
you risk being interjected and losing the purpose of the
point. Further, be aware of avoiding unnecessary
explanations for self-explanatory points.
Unable to handle interruptions: Voice modulation can
help you address this situation. If somebody tries to
break in while you are putting across your points, you
may raise your voice by a little to ensure the other person
understands you are not through. You may also suggest
“if you may please let me finish”

You may use the PREC technique to better structure your

contributions to a discussion. PREC stands for Point,
Rationale, Example and Conclusion. The PREC approach
may be used for any topic. This method helps construct
a point in a logical fashion thereby reflecting well on
clarity of thought.

Group Discussion Etiquettes

While your content and communication skills are critical

in a discussion, you are also judged on the basis of your
mannerisms and etiquettes. A successful group
presentation demands a certain degree of decorum.

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 Essential Tips for GD

Here are certain things to keep in mind to enhance your

score in a group discussion:

 The manner in which you walk to your seat speaks

volumes about your personality. It is advisable to
be confident, but remember there is a thin line
between confidence and arrogance.
 Organize your thoughts before you speak. This will
help you express with confidence and clarity.
 Do not to deviate yourself from the topic. Talking
about unrelated things gives a bad impression.
 Listen to others carefully and jot down the relevant
points.
 Do not interrupt the speech of other participants
and wait till they complete.
 Do not raise your voice unnecessarily even if you
wish to object to the points made by others. You
may also avoid aggressive tone and shouting.
 Respect the opinion of others. Agree and
acknowledge good points expressed by others.
Use phrases like “What you have said here, sheds
light on another aspect...”. The positive affirmation

20
 continuation of a point may allow you to enter a
discussion as well.
 Express your disagreement in a polite, dignified
and convincing manner. Do not use negative
comments like ‘‘this point is wrong" or "your
argument doesn't make any sense." Instead use
phrases like “You have a good point but there’s
another aspect to it… ”.
 Do not try to dominate other participants. Please
remember it is a serious discussion and not an
argument or debate on a news channel for or
against any political party.
 Keep your body language positive and avoid table
pounding, finger pointing or any other off-putting
gestures.
 If someone is being openly aggressive by saying
things which may be contradicting your point of
view or even attacking you personally, stay calm
and relaxed. A situation like this may actually be to
your favor if you can use it to demonstrate your
conflict handling skills and maturity.
Finally, you are evaluated on the basis of the way you
contribute and carry on with the other participants. It
doesn’t matter how long you speak but what you spoke
and how you put your opinion into words.
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 Things to Do

 Take a pen and a notepad. It makes you look

organized.
 Plan your first entry to ensure a good first
impression
 Establish eye contact with all group members
 Strong voice, clear diction and grammar
 Show energy and enthusiasm
 Exhibit good listening skills
 Use examples and facts to emphasis on your
points
 Demonstrate an ability to look at a topic from
multiple dimensions
 Be precise and persuasive
 Address group members with respect
 Maintain a calm and balanced disposition through-
out discussion
 Receptive to opinions and feedback

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 Things not to Do

 Understand the difference between staring a

discussion and initiating it. Initiating a discussion
requires giving it an overall direction by laying out
an agenda for the group. Do not start a discussion
just for the sake of it. It is a double edged sword.
 Don’t speak randomly
 Don’t be aggressive or arrogant
 Don’t get into a one on one argument
 Don’t indulge in cross discussions
 Don’t look at the panel. The discussion is between
candidates.
 Don’t state wrong facts or exaggerate them to get
attention
 Use of casual filler words like “sort of”, “you know”
etc.
 Don’t force a conclusion if the group didn’t get to
one.

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