Prepare yourself for a Group Discussion

Group Discussion
Commonly known as G.D. As the name
suggests, it is a group activity. People
are bunched for a common purpose.
They are made to sit together and given
a topic of interest and asked to discuss
about it.

Now-a-days most employers dont just
believe in G.Ds. But most of the on-
campus interviews held in college levels
have G.D to the most extent. Group
discussions check out your
interpersonal, communicational and
leadership qualities to the extreme end.
And also to test how you behave as a
member in a team.

G.Ds are very much easy to crack,
with a very few vital steps being
followed at that moment in a careful
sense. To make this out, you will need
positive attitude, effective
communication skills and a fairly good
amount of knowledge (both general &
technical

SKILLS - ATTITUDES
Listening - dont dominate
Speech - Dont suppress
Timing - Dont be condescending
Logical - Be tolerant
Persuasive - Be a team player

In a G.D you cant keep listening all
time. Because youll be one of the five or
six to show out your skills in 10 to 15
minutes and win the race for your job.
You cant complain that you weren't
given a chance, no one will..!!!. Its
up to you to look for pauses between
sentences of your team mates and enter
the discussion smoothly.

Most of the employers dont give
technical topics, they only rely upon
current or some burning issues( river
water sharing, India in IT industry,
Americas stand on the third world
countries & similar such topics) to get
how much you are up-to-date.

Sometimes you can also get social like
women smoking, child marriage brain
drain.. And sometimes some imaginary
topics like Whom would you save from
a sinking ship a young a gal or a old
man?? Whatever the topic may be, you
will be given score based on the way
you,

Lead the discussion.
Direct the discussion in a different
angle.
Summarize in the middle.
Close the discussion appropriately.
Initiate passive team mates.
Applaud and appreciate others
views.

Leading the discussion and initiating
team mates will be a clear exhibit of
your leadership qualities to your
employer.

When I say Lead, it does not mean that
you should be the one to START the
discussion. Most of the time the
participants mistake that by just starting
the conversation, they can impress the
jury. Not so. A SECRET: Mind you,
most of the companies are not
looking around for leaders. They do
not want any leaders. I have always
observed that with an assumption of
leading the team, many only show their
dominating nature.

Some DOs and DONTs
Initiate the discussion, if you can.
Use appropriate gestures.
Be polite.
Be firm to your point but dont become
dogmatic.
Allow others to talk.
Keep eye contact.
Dont cut into others speech.
Dont become emotional.
Dont be silent for too long.
Dont silence others.
Dont look only at one person.
Dont repeat whats already said.

Some useful expressions in G.D
Drawing someone into discussion. Say
What do u think..?
Whats your opinion?
Do/Dont you u agree???

Refocusing the discussion
Shall we look on the topic from another
angle?
I think we are off the track.

Help someone to participate
Yes, you are right.
Plz, go on.
Yes, you were saying
Can U elaborate?
I think U mean.. Dont U..?

Another important point while
participating in a GD. Many feel that
they should keep on talking while
participating in a GD. Never. You could
be liked most, when you invite another
participant who remains speechless.

Intervening in the discussion
Let me add a point there
Excuse me, aren't we overlooking a
point
Before we go further, let me say
something
But there is a problem here

Express opinions
I doubt it because...
I agree with you there...
Im afraid Ill have to disagree with you
there
I dont think so. The reason is
What you say sounds appealing but
NOD or SHAKE UR HEAD, RAISE UR
EYEBROWS.

This is the only thing I have noted often
any GD. Please do not always keep
expressing your opinions. Have a limit.

Seeking clarification
Can you say something more.?
Just a moment, I dont understand.
If you dont mind, do you mean.?
If I understand you correctly, you are
saying that..

You can also conclude the discussion at
an appropriate time, when you feel that
all the points were discussed. But keep
continuing until you are told to.

Also some employers tend to give some
topics not even a single member in the
team is aware what to talk about. Such
topics like discuss about industries in
Nigeria, economy of Canada and topics
of things like that. In this case, to be
on the safer side dont try to initiate
the discussion.

ALL THE BEST FOR YOUR NEXT
DISCUSSION