Group discussion tips

Group Discussions Preparation for College Admission

1. What is Group discussion?
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.
Personality Traits the GD is trying to gauge may include :-
–  Ability to work in a team   
–  Communication skills
–  Reasoning ability
– Leadership skills
–  Initiative
–  Assertiveness
–  Flexibility
–  Creativity
– Listening
– Awareness

2. Institutes Perspective -
The reason why institutes put you through a Group
discussion and an interview, after testing your technical
and conceptual skills in an exam.
Now to know you as a person and gauge
how well you will fit in their institute.

3. Company’s Perspective –
Companies conduct group discussion after the written test so as to
check on your –
Interactive skills
How good you are at communicating with other people.
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.
The aspects which make up a GD are verbal communication, non-
verbal behavior, conformation to norms, decision-making ability and
cooperation.

4. GD reflects the inherent qualities of an individual .
Reading: This is the first and the most crucial step in preparation.
Mocks: Create an informal GD group and meet regularly to discuss
and exchange feedback.

5. Panelists assess on:

Leadership Skills - Ability to take leadership roles and be able to lead,
inspire and carry the team along to help them achieve the group's
objectives.

Communication Skills -Candidates will be assessed in terms of clarity
of thought, expression and aptness of language.

Interpersonal Skills - People skills are an important aspect of any job.

Persuasive Skills - The ability to analyze and persuade
GD is a test of your ability to think, your analytical
capabilities and your ability to make your point in
a team-based environment.

6. Clarity of thought
Group working skills (especially during a group
task of case study discussion)
Conflict handling
Listening and probing skills
Knowledge about the subject and individual point
of view
Ability to create a consensus
Openess and flexibility towards new ideas
Data based approach to decision making

7. How do I take my chance to speak:
◦Trying to interrupt others while speaking would only harm
your chances.
◦Maintain an eye-contact with the speaker. This would
show your listening skills
◦Would help you gauge from his eye-movement and pitch
of voice that he is about to close his inputs.
◦You can quickly take it from there.
◦Try and link your inputs with what he has spoken
whether you are adding to or opposing his arguments.

8. Initiator
Information seeker
Information giver
Procedure facilitator
Opinion seeker
Opinion giver
Clarifier
Social Supporter
Harmonizer
Tension Reliever
Energizer
Compromiser
Gatekeeper
Summarizer

9. Disgruntled non-participant
Attacker
Dominator
Patronizer
Clown

10. Initiation Techniques
Body of the group discussion
Summarization/ Conclusion

11. When you initiate a GD, you not only grab the opportunity to
speak, you also grab the attention of the examiner and your
fellow candidates.
If you can make a favorable first impression with your content
and communication skills after you initiate a GD, it will help you
sail through the discussion.
But if you initiate a GD and stammer/ stutter/ quote wrong facts
and figures, the damage might be irreparable.

12. Techniques to initiate a GD
i. Quotes
ii. Definition
iii. Question
iv. Shock statement
v. Facts, figures and statistics
vi. Short story
vii. General statement

13. Most GD doesn’t really have conclusions. A conclusion
is where the whole group decides in favor or against
the topic.
But every GD is summarized. You can summaries
what the group has discussed in the GD in a nutshell.

14. Avoid raising new points.
Avoid stating only your viewpoint.
Avoid dwelling only on one aspect of the GD.
Keep it brief and concise.
It must incorporate all the important points that
came out during the GD.
If the examiner asks you to summaries a GD, it
means the GD has come to an end.
Do not add anything once the GD has been
summarized.

15. GD’s can be topic-based or case-based.
1. Factual Topics
E.g. The education policy of any country, Tourism, State of the aged in the nation.
2. Controversial Topics
E.g. 33% Women Reservations should be removed, Women make better managers  
3. Abstract Topics
Abstract topics are about intangible things.
Case-based GD
The case study tries to simulate a real-life situation.

16. It helps you to understand a subject more deeply.
It improves your ability to think critically.
It helps in solving a particular problem.
It helps the group to make a particular decision.
It gives you the chance to hear other’s ideas.
It improves your listening skills.
It increases your confidence in speaking.
It can change your attitudes. 

17. Observe
◦How do other students make critical comments?
◦How do they ask questions?
◦How do they disagree with or support arguments?
◦What special phrases do they use to show politeness even when they are
voicing disagreement?
◦How do they signal to interrupt, ask a question or make a point?
Practice
◦Start practicing your discussion skills in an informal setting or with a small
group.
Participate
◦Take every opportunity to take part in social/informal discussions

18. Do
Speak pleasantly and politely to the group.
Respect the contribution of every speaker.
Remember that a discussion is not an argument. Learn to
disagree politely.
Think about your contribution before you speak. How best
can you answer the question/ contribute to the topic?
Try to stick to the discussion topic. Don't introduce irrelevant
information.
Be aware of your body language when you are speaking.
Agree with and acknowledge what you find interesting.

19. Don't
Lose your temper. A discussion is not an argument.
Shout. Use a moderate tone and medium pitch.
Use too many gestures when you speak. Gestures like
finger pointing and table thumping can appear aggressive.
Dominate the discussion. Confident speakers should allow
quieter a chance to contribute.
Draw too much on personal experience or anecdote.
Interrupt. Wait for a speaker to finish what they are saying
before you speak. 

20. You may be in a seminar group that requires you to
lead a group discussion, or lead a discussion after an
oral presentation. You can demonstrate leadership
by:
◦introducing yourself and the members of the group
◦stating the purpose of the discussion
◦inviting quiet group members to speak
◦being objective
◦summarizing the discussion

21. When chairing a discussion group you must
communicate in a positive way to assist the
speakers in accomplishing their objective.
The following four leadership skills you can use to
influence other people positively and help your
group achieve its purpose. These skills include:
◦introducing the topic and purpose of the discussion,
◦making sure all members have approximately the same
time
◦thanking group members for their contribution
◦being objective in summarizing the group's discussion and
achievements

22. A group discussion consists of:
◦Communication Skills
◦Knowledge and ideas regarding a given subject
◦Capability to co-ordinate and lead
◦Exchange of thoughts
◦Addressing the group as a whole
◦Thorough preparations

23. The first aspect is one's power of expression.
You should be precise and clear
Listen is also what evaluators judge
You should be able to convey your thoughts
satisfactorily and convincingly before a group
of people.

24. Knowledge of the subject under discussion and
clarity of ideas are important
◦Comes from consistent reading 
◦Knowledge makes one confident and enthusiastic
◦That makes one sound convincing and confident.
◦That’s the key to crack GD

25. The basic aim of a group discussion is to:
Judge a candidate's leadership qualities.
 The examiner becomes a silent spectator
 A candidate should display tactfulness, skill,
understanding and knowledge on varied topics,
enterprise, forcefulness and other leadership
qualities
Motivate and influence other candidates who may
be almost equally competent

26. GD is an exchange of thoughts and ideas
among members
GD is held for selecting personnel in
organizations where there is a high level of
competition
GD purpose is to get an idea about candidate in
a short time & make assessment about
◦The candidates skills on
Team membership
Leadership skills
Listening and
Articulation skills

27. Address the person farthest from you. If he can
hear you everyone else too can.
Attend the group discussion in formal dress.
The language used should also be formal, not the
language used in normal conversations.
◦For instance, words and phrases like "yar", “hya", “dude",
“man”, "I dunno", etc. are out.
◦This is not to say you should use a high sounding,
pedantic language.
just use formal, plain and simple language.

28. READING VARIOUS TOPICS & KNOWLEDGE ON
THEM IS THE
KEY TO SUCCESS

29. Emotional outburst
◦ANGER
Quality Vs Quantity
◦MAXIMUM TALK
Egotism Showing off (SELFISHNESS)
◦FAKE FIGURES / INFORMATION
Get noticed - But for the right reasons
◦WANT TO BE THE FIRST
Managing one's insecurities
◦NERVOUSNESS