How to Crack a GROUP DISCUSSION: DOs and DONTs of GD

How to Crack A GD

1. How To Crack A GD Group Discussion Tips, Do’s & Don’ts, Rules and Types By Prof. (Dr.) Aashish Mehra

2. What is GD? A technique used by corporate companies, educational institutes, and other organizations to judge the communication skills of the participant. NOT your Communication Skills BUT the Effectiveness of your communication .

3. Importance of GD Many companies are now making Group Discussion as to their first criteria for screening the candidates before the face-to-face interviews.  There indeed is a reason for giving importance to GD. As it is said that, the first impression is the best/last impression . The way you communicate professionally with your peers, heads and most importantly the customers is directly or indirectly an add-on to the quality of services that your company offers to the masses.

4. Features of Group Discussion 1.   G roup D iscussion , as the name itself indicates, is a group activity carried out by participating individuals. It is an exchange of ideas among the individuals of a group on a specific topic. 2.  It is used as a reliable, testing device mainly as a tool to assess all the candidates in a group at one go -in order to select the best from a comparative perspective. 3.  Group Discussion is an informal discussion in which participants of the same educational standard discuss a topic of current interest. 4 . It is also known as leaderless discussion . It means its aim is to find out the natural leadership level of the candidates.  No one will participate or intervene in the deliberations of the group.

5. What Skills Are Judged In GD? How good you are while communicating with others? i.e., the EFFECTIVENESS of your Communication . How you behave and interact with a group? How open-minded are you? Your listening skill . How you put forward your views? Your leadership and decision-making skills . Your analysis skill and subject knowledge . Your problem solving and critical thinking skil l . Your attitude and confidence .

6. Group Discussion Skills #1) Interpersonal Skills #2) Leadership Quality #3) Listening Quality #4) Convincing Power #5) Knowledgeable

7. Strategies / Techniques for individual Contribution

8. Strategies / Techniques for individual Contribution 1.Leadership skills Leadership is one of the key skill based on which the candidates are assessed during a Group Discussion. 2.Communication skills The participating candidates are also assessed in terms of clarity of thought, expression through the words. One should be able to speak without any hesitation and in a soft tone. 3. Interpersonal skills Candidates are also evaluated on their Interpersonal skill such as adaptability, maturity, coordination, interaction with peers. 4. Persuasive skills This is a very important attribute expected in a Manager. Persuasive skill is art to make the listener understand what the speaker is trying to tell. 5. Problem-solving skills One important aspect of Group Discussion is that it is very spontaneous and dynamic in nature. You need to recollect all your thoughts and present them to the group. You need to be really involved in the discussion to handle the counter-arguments and answer them well while speaking.

9. Strategies / Techniques for individual Contribution ( Contd …) 6. Listening & Conceptualizing Ability After one speaks in G.D. you should be attentive and listen carefully. One Should try to gather as many ideas and facts being put forward. Assimilate the points raised by others and try to add something new to the discussion. 7. Reasoning Ability Candidates are expected to explain the points raised by them through proper reasoning. Just raising a point without able to justify the same during a GD would not help and may result in negative marks as well. 8. Team Player The corporate world is all about working as a team if the team succeeds everyone succeeds similarly, a failure of a team is a failure of each member of the team. Candidates participating in GD are also evaluated for their ability to work in a team. 9. General Awareness The topics given in Group Discussion are mostly of current affairs topic is given. If the topic is from current affairs it is expected of the candidate to be aware of the happenings around the world.

10. How To Start A Group Discussion? Initiate:  The first and foremost step to come in light among the group is to be knowledgeable enough to  initiate  the discussion. It is not necessary to have a thorough knowledge of the topic with actual facts and figures but at least the basic information on the topic will be good enough to speak on it. Lead:  There could be a situation where you do not have enough information on the given topic. It’s wise to Wait, Watch and Listen to what the other candidates speak until you get a chance to glide into the discussion. Take charge and start your conversation forward.

11. How To Start A Group Discussion? ( Contd …) To Summarize: Just as initiating a Group Discussion helps to grab the attention of the GD evaluators. Similarly, summarization is an opportunity to turn heads of the evaluators. Putting together the whole discussion by highlighting the star points and concluding the results of the discussion is summarizing the discussion. The summary should be short and to the point and no new points should be added for further discussion. Make sure that the summary is not single-sided but an amalgamation of both sides of the discussion.  

12. Dos and Don’ts of participating in Group Discussion As we all know group discussion and personal interview are the ultimate rounds for the final selection of the students for a job in a company thus Group discussion is the stepping stone to get closer to your DREAM JOB. We all know that group discussion plays an important role to get placement in a good company as GD evaluates a candidate on certain personality traits and skills that are required for a manager . The companies use this exercise basically as a ‘ weapon of elimination’ and evaluate candidate’s skills based on their performance during GD prima facie (those who get selected to the next round/s).

13. Dos and Don’ts of participating in Group Discussion ( Contd …) Much emphasis should be given by MBA students on the do’s & don’ts of GD, how to prepare for GD and the correct etiquette's one should adopt while participating in a group discussion. In spite of knowing these certain things students still commit some fatal mistakes . These mistakes may seem insignificant and invalid sometimes but they play a very important role in the corporate life. How we speak and treat others may seem natural to us but can be misinterpreted as arrogance by the panelists. This is something in our character and nothing can fix it except our own efforts. So let us start by identifying some of the common mistakes that we make in a group discussion.

14. Some common mistakes in a group discussion(GD): Talking too much Showing off with relevance to fake figures and information. Grabbing Attention, it arises with the desire of being first and hence act in a wrong way. Nervousness Outburst of emotions 

15. Things TO DO during Group Discussion: Speak politely and in a pleasant way with the group members. Respect the contribution of every member and recognize it and show it with a nod and smile. Agree and acknowledge whatever you find is of your interest. Disagree politely as it is a discussion not an argument . Be firm while talking. Do a mental revision of what you are going to say next and think about how you can answer the same in a best way. Stick to the theme of discussion and don’t run after irrelevant information. Follow proper etiquette's when speaking in a group.

16. Things NOT TO DO during group discussion: Don’t loose temper as it is a group discussion we are here to discuss not to argument about something. No one is deaf there so use a moderate tone and medium pitch. Do not interrupt in between when someone is speaking. Wait for the speaker to finish first. Do not draw too much on personal experience. Do not dominate the discussion let others also to speak and contribute in discussion. Do not use loud gestures such as pointing fingers and table thumping as it can appear aggressive. Remember the panel members are watching you and observing you all through the discussion. So listed above the things one should remember during group discussion.

17. Important Points to be remembered during a GD: Communication Skills: The most important thing about someone is how they can communicate their thoughts to others. Be precise and clear. Listen and then talk let others also speak. Knowledge: Read consistently as it will make you more confident and convincing on the points you will be saying. Capability to Co-ordinate and Lead: Display the skills and tactics you have, knowledge and understanding of different topics also motivate others.

18. Important Points to be remembered during a GD: ( Contd …) Exchange of Thoughts: Firstly, listen and articulate the message properly and then lead the discussion in the best way, treat each and every group member with respect. Addressing the group as a Whole: Dress formally and use simple language to address the group members and also maintain the proper group discussion etiquette's. Thorough Preparations (MOST IMPORTANT): Read properly so that the thoughts come naturally .

19. Group Discussion Rules There are certain essential pointers that are very important to get noticed and selected in a GD. They include: #1)Appearance #2) Eye Contact #3) Avoid Dominance #4) Avoid Interrupting #5) Clarity of Speech and Thoughts #6) Avoid Irrelevant Talk

20. Types of GDs Based on the content of the discussion there are three types of GD. #1) Topic-Based GD:   This types of GD is based on certain topics which are practical and real. For Example,  Socioeconomic topics, Education related like,  “How Plastic is affecting our Earth?” “Is a college degree necessary to become an Entrepreneur?” These are further categorized based on their outlook: Factual GD:  These type of GDs are very informative and require a thorough knowledge of the subject. One should have actual facts and figures known before taking part in the discussion.  For Example,   ‘Indian Economic growth since 1947’. Controversial GD:  There are certain topics which lead to an argument and such topics are introduced in GDs to test the candidate’s way of handling the situation. This topic is a kind of mock session representing a fierce situation in a company. Here the candidate is tested on parameters like patience, situation handling, anger control, critical thinking ability, etc.  For Example,   ‘Arranged Marriage Vs Love Marriage’, ‘National Anthem before the start of a Movie in Cineplexes: Should it be compulsory?’, ‘Ladies first, always’, ‘Boss is always not right’, etc.

21. Types of GDs ( Contd …) Abstract GD:  There are some topics which are not based on physical presence but are conceptual topics or intellectual topics. Such topics test the thinking capability and the analytical thinking of the candidate.  For Example,   ‘Humanity’, ‘Art of Living’, ‘Customer Satisfaction’, etc. #2) Case-Based GD:   This type of GD is based on case studies which portray a real-life situation. The group is provided with a case study beforehand and is given a few minutes of time to prepare for it. In this type of GD, the group has to solve the case study to give a solution and/or make a presentation. In the process of solving the case study the qualities such as problem-solving, analysis, thinking out of the box is getting tested. #3) Article-Based GD:   Similar to case-based GDS, in an article based GD, the candidates are provided with an article which could be based on any field like politics, sports, technology or any topic for that matter. The candidates are given time to prepare for the discussion. This GD helps to analyze how the candidate responds to the unknown field/ fact and how confident he/she is in presenting his/her point of view.

22.     Topic of GD: S.No Name of Participant Class & Section (1) INITIATIVE & CONFIDENCE (5+5) (10 Marks) (2) COMMUNICATION SKILLS (Fluency 3, Language 2, Grammar 3, Tone 2) (10 Marks) (3) KNOWLEDGE (Facts & Figures presented + New Pts. Added) (5+5) (10 Marks) (4) CAPABILITY TO CO-ORDINATE AND LEAD (5+5) (10 Marks) (5) JUSTIFICATION OF IDEAS (Logic & Critical Thinking Ability) (5+5) (10 Marks) (6) ATTIRE (3), BODY LANGUAGE (3) & GENERAL ETTIQUETTES (4) (10 Marks)   Total (60 Marks) Remarks 1.                       2.                       3.                       4.                       5.                       6.                       7.                       8.                       9.                       10                       GROUP DISCUSSION Sample Evaluation Sheet PROGRAM: YEAR: Max. Allotted time: ……….. Group no.: __________ Date:____________ Marks:…………/60 (Total) Faculty’s Signature: Faculty’s Name: