GROUP DISCUSSION

Why do we have group discussion?
Group discussion allows you to exchange information and ideas and gives you the experience of working in a team.
In the work place, discussions enable management to draw on the ideas and expertise of staff, and to acknowledge the staff as valued members of a team.
PURPOSE OF G.D. IN RECRUITMENT
G.D. is to check
How you behave, participate and contribute in a group.
How much importance do you give to the group objective as well as your own.
How well do you listen to viewpoints of others.
How open minded are you in accepting views contrary to your own.
What is group discussion?
A topic is given and 8 to 10 of you are allowed to speak on the subject for around 10 minutes.
How they evaluate?
Personality
Knowledge
Communication skills
Leadership traits
Personality
DRESS
The clothes need not be costly, dazzling or of latest fashion; they should be clean, neat and well stitched.
It improves confidence
Don’t try new
Polished footwear
Body language
Your movements and posture must be active, positive, alive and responsive enough to make the group and the examiner take to you immediately.
It gives signal to a person’s frame of mind.
Postures are said to divulge what is on one’s mind
Tone and voice
More than words, it is the tone that conveys the message
News reading
A tone that orders or commands, hurts the listener’s ego and self esteem.
Cultivate a voice that is lively and cheerful and conveys a request.
Countenance
A cheerful countenance is most important for a good appearance.
A ready, pleasant and spontaneous smile invariably conveys friendliness and creates a favourable impression.
Self confidence, optimism and amicability automatically create cheerfulness and bring happy smile to the face.
Manners
It is one’s manners that leave a lasting impression on others.
There are people who stand out not for their intellectual abilities but for their good manners.
A courteous, helpful, polite and interested person automatically draws people to himself.
KNOWLEDGE
In a GD knowledge of the subject concerned, backed by common sense will help you deal with any situation and win laurels.
The greater your knowledge of subjects, the more interested, enthusiastic and confident will you be and the more fluent and forceful would be your speech and contribution.
Books, perodicals, daily newspaper
Besides reading, a great deal can be learnt from the talks by and speeches of experts.
COMMUNICATION SKILL
An idea can be appreciated only when it is expressed powerfully and effectively.
Shakespeare’s Mark Antony could transform a hostile mob into a quiescent crowd with his words
British PM Winston Churchill inspired his country with his oratorical skills to continue their fight during the darkest hours of the II world war.
Gandhi, Nehru,…….
Effective communication is not an inborn triat; it can be learnt and mastered.
ROLE PLAYERS
INITIATOR
INFORMER
ILLUSTRATOR
COORDINATOR
ORIENTER
Negative Roles to be Avoided
DISGRUNTLED NON-PARTICIPANT:
ATTACKER
DOMINATOR
CLOWN
How do you face it?
Usually the topic is debatable, so one needs to quickly decide whether you are far or against the given topic.
I suggest, try to be different in your choice among the group.
You are given some 2 minutes time to make points about the subject.
If you initiate, you will get the advantage, but don’t initiate without ideas. It’s better to speak after two to three have spoken.
Be cool and look fresh.

How do you face it?
Don’t look at the judges
Speak clearly and loudly facing all. Try to anchor the group, not dominate it
Clearly explain your ideas with few weighted words. Don’t speak too much of nonsense.
Don’t murmur or stammer.
Don’t criticize others.
Always look at the person who is speaking and nod your head so that judges will see that you are listening.


How do you face it?

If somebody is speaking more, you can say ‘you have spoken enough, let’s give chance to this person’ or ‘I agree with him’ or ‘you are going out of topic, let’s stick to the topic’
Speak around 2-3 times. I mean don’t speak just once for 2 long minutes and keep quite for rest of the time, so try to speak in bursts. If somebody is listening to the discussion from outside, he should see that you are alive inside.
Try to conclude yourself (if they ask to)
One can practice mock GD with their friends to become familiarize with it. “We the people” and “The Big Fight” in NDTV had inspired me.
What is Brainstorming?
Brainstorming is an excellent way of developing many creative solutions to a problem.
It works by focusing on a problem, and then coming up with very many radical solutions to it.
Ideas should deliberately be as broad and odd as possible, and should be developed as fast as possible.
Brainstorming is a lateral thinking process
It is designed to help you break out of your thinking patterns into new ways of looking at things.
During brainstorming sessions there should be no criticism of ideas.
Group Brainstorming
Group brainstorming can be very effective as it uses the experience and creativity of all members of the group.
When individual members reach their limit on an idea, another member's creativity and experience can take the idea to the next stage.
Therefore, group brainstorming tends to develop ideas in more depth than individual brainstorming.
POSITIVE TRAITS
NEGATIVE TRAITS
Summary
Be assertive
A patient listener
Right language
Be analytical and fact-oriented
Maximize participation
Respect other speakers
Show leadership abilities
Be precise
Accept criticism ( thank if criticized on right thing)