Mrudula Nutakki A30601910031

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. In this methodology, the group of candidates is given a topic or a situation, given a few minutes to think about the same, and then asked to discuss the same among themselves for 15-20 minutes.

Ability to work in a team Communication skills Reasoning ability Leadership skill Initiative Assertiveness Flexibility Creativity Ability to think on ones feet

Companys 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.

 GDs

can be topic-based or case-based.

Topic based Gds can be classified into three types :1. Factual Topics 2. Controversial Topics 3. Abstract Topics

Factual topics are about practical things, which an ordinary person is aware of in his day-to-day life. Typically these are about socio-economic topics. These can be current, i.e. they may have been in the news lately, or could be unbound by time. A factual topic for discussion gives a candidate a chance to prove that he is aware of and sensitive to his environment. E.g. The education policy of India, Tourism in India, State of the aged in the nation.

Controversial topics are the ones that are argumentative in nature. They are meant to generate controversy.
In GDs where these topics are given for discussion, the noise level is usually high, there may be tempers flying. The idea behind giving a topic like this is to see how much maturity the candidate is displaying by keeping his temper in check, by rationally and logically arguing his point of view without getting personal and emotional. E.g. Reservations should be removed, Women make better managers

 Abstract

topics are about intangible things. These topics are not given often for discussion, but their possibility cannot be ruled out. These topics test your lateral thinking and creativity. E.g. A is an alphabet, Twinkle twinkle little star, The number 10

 Another

variation is the use of a case instead of a topic. The case study tries to simulate a real-life situation. Information about the situation will be given to you and you would be asked as a group to resolve the situation. In the case study there are no incorrect answers or perfect solutions. The objective in the case study is to get you to think about the situation from various angles.

Dos

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.

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 students a chance to contribute. Draw too much on personal experience. Although some tutors encourage students to reflect on their own experience, remember not to generalize too much. Interrupt. Wait for a speaker to finish what they are saying before you speak.

 Initiation

Techniques Body of the group discussion Summarization/ Conclusion

Initiating a GD is a high profit-high loss strategy. 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.
If you initiate a GD impeccably but don't speak much after that, it gives the impression that you started the GD for the sake of starting it or getting those initial kitty of points earmarked for an initiator! When you start a GD, you are responsible for putting it into the right perspective or framework. So initiate one only if you have in-depth knowledge about the topic at hand.

 Different

techniques to initiate a GD and make a good first impression:

i. Quotes ii. Definition iii. Question iv. General statement v. Facts, figures and statistics vi. Short story

Most GD do not 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. Keep the following points in mind while summarizing a discussion:

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

 Emotional

outburst No eye contact Quality vs. Quantity Bad communication skills Addressing 1 or 2 persons Interrupting when session is on Bad initiation