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MyITER.co.in | Groups | Pre Placement

Group Discussion Group Discussion is a process of selection in many recruitment situations. The number of participants in a group can vary but the group will seldom be smaller than 8 people or exceed 15 people. In most cases a topic or a situation will be given and the group members will have to discuss it for a short period of time, usually between 10 and 20 minutes. Depending upon the infrastructure at the venue, the group is asked to sit in different arrangements circular, block or U shaped arrangement. Sometimes you may be given a choice to choose your seat and at some other times the panel allots you the seat. A GD is usually not a patent elimination round. Most of the institutes/companies follow up a GD with a personal interview. The rules for GD are explained after the initial introduction by the panel. These include the time limit, the panels expectations etc. While the panel specifies an approximate time for the GD, it may cut-short or extend the time. Thereafter, a topic or case is given for discussion. The panel at its discretion may provide some time for thinking on the topic or case. While the discussion is on the panel observes each and every candidate and makes notes. Generally the group discussion is unstructured, which means any one can participate at any time and not in any particular sequence. It is totally up to the group and the panel does not interfere. But on occasions the panel initiates a structured GD, wherein each participant is given a chance to speak as decided by the panel. In the case of some institutes both structured and unstructured GDs were adopted. Desirable traits as expected in an individual and as related to group behavior are discussed below, A group discussion is used for two major reasons. First, it allows the selector to observe and form an opinion about a large number of candidates in a relatively short period of time. This is very useful when there are many candidates applying for a position in a company or for admission into an institute. The second reason why a Group Discussion is used is because it gives the selection panel an opportunity to assess certain traits and skills of the candidates that are not possible to observe in the application form, curriculum vitae, written exam and interview. Some of these traits are leadership, analytical or problem solving skills and oral communication skills. Also on display is the candidates ability to handle people and the extent to which he is a team player. The Group Discussion performance provides valuable information to the selectors about a candidate. A Group Discussion can be used as a tool for elimination or selection. In the first type some candidates are rejected after the Group Discussion itself. In a selection type Group Discussion no candidate is eliminated. Candidates go forward to another stage in the selection processmyiter.co.in/blog//group-discussion 2/12

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MyITER.co.in | Groups | Pre Placement

usually a personal interview, after which they are either accepted or rejected.

A Selector looks for various things in a Group Discussion performance. Some of the questions an evaluator asks himself about the candidate at the end of a Group Discussion are: Did the candidate speak at all? What are the knowledge levels of the candidate? Do people listen when he speaks, What are his analytical skills like? Was he able to provide leadership to the group? Did he carry people with him or did he antagonize them? Is he a team player? Is he a good communicator? Is he a good listener? Does he understand, appreciate and respect others point of view? Did he speak win-win? Did he speak sense? Is he able to sift through a mass of information and quickly focus on the crucial issue? Does he have win-win attitudes?

Common perception that one needs to be very aggressive to succeed in a group discussion is misplaced. Group Discussion is team work. One needs to be quite polite as well as assertive to succeed. Group Discussions are not mad houses where everybody shouts at the top of his or her voice without listening to each other. In fact effective leadership in a group discussion requires a lot of patience and positive attitude towards others. Empathy is the key to success in a group discussion. Empathy does not mean agreeing to another persons view point. It rather means putting yourself in the other persons shoes without yielding your own view point. The free for all fight in a group discussion should be totally avoided.

Todays Group discussions are usually leaderless forums. A persons attitude in a group or his/her confrontation level while expressing his view points is observed. Aggression or submission is a sign of discomfort in a group. An assertive person doesnt try to impress rather he expresses his view points by being totally at home in a group. The following points need to
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MyITER.co.in | Groups | Pre Placement

be noted while participating in a group discussion:

Speak up:- the first principle of participating in a Group Discussion is that you must speak. If you are an introvert and reserved person, you may not feel confident to speak at the beginning of the discussion. Fair enough, wait and watch with your mind ticking away, listening and analyzing. Then make your contribution. Do not wait forever; otherwise it will be too late to make any positive impact. The bottom line is you must speak.

Open the discussion or not:- In most Group Discussions the opening speaker is the person who is likely to get the maximum uninterrupted air time. The reason is simple at the start most of the participants in the Group discussion are still trying to understand the basic issues in the topic, or are too nervous to speak and are waiting for someone else to start. Therefore the evaluators get the best chance to observe the opening speaker. If he talks sense naturally he will get credit because he opened the discussion and took the group in the right direction. If on the other hand, the first speaker does not have much to say, he will attract the undivided attention of the evaluators to his short comings. He will be marked as a person who speaks without thinking and merely for the sake of speaking. Also he may be marked as someone who leads the group in the wrong direction and does not make a positive contribution to the group.

So remember, speaking first is a high risk- high return strategy. It can make or mar your Group Discussion performance depending on how you handle it. Speak first only if you have enough sensible things to say. Otherwise keep silent and let someone else start.

Speak win-win :- Win-win speaking means dont downgrade another person (i.e. speaking win-lose). When two people speak win-lose to each other a quarrel starts. Even dont allow another person to undermine you.

Speak within first three minutes:- If you dont open your mouth in the first three minutes somebody else may snatch your point. Your initial impact may lose its significance even after some time.

Remember it is an open discussion and not a public speaking :- A Group discussion involves a free flowing exchange of ideas among participants. Even though there will definitely be chaos
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in most competitive Group discussion as all participants will be keen to be heard any suggestion of order such as speaking in turn is not acceptable.

Speaking in turn is never a good idea:- A discussion has to flow naturally. Group members, most likely, will ignore your suggestion and try to speak when they have something to say. We have never seen a strategy of speaking turn by turn succeed in the Group Discussions we have evaluated so far. Also, there have been no instances of anyone being selected after suggestion that participants speak turn by turn. The result of speaking in turn is that not only is the discussion unnatural and disjointed, but it also loses its punch and variably has a lot of lapses of silence, since participants have nothing to say when their turn comes.

Adopt Kiss :- Keep it short and simple never speak more than forty seconds at a time. Speak to the point but using simple words.

Adopt PREP:-

Position

Reason

Example

Position

PREP sequence is the best mode of speaking. Firstly state your position on the topic i.e. your stance on the topic.
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MyITER.co.in | Groups | Pre Placement

GD is goal keeping or gate keeping:- People go to a Group Discussion with the idea of hitting others idea s for a sixer. This strategy has every chance of being boomeranged. The other members will take it as an offence as a result they may hinder you from speaking. Accept others idea however contradictory it may be to your idea then try to convince the person. Goal keeping does mean doing selective listening to good ideas. Even if you try it will be pretty difficult to listen to all the speakers. Find out few participants who are speaking qualitatively and react to them. Never ever use the goal keeping method of not listening at all. Secondly give maximum three reasons corroborating stance. If you have more than three points find the best three. If you go for more number of points you will not get time to explain. A cohesive argument requires fewer points to be explained. Thirdly give an example on the points. Examples will determine your level of understanding on the topic: Find out examples from the contemporary topics: At the end give a conclusion which will again state your position clearly. Dont waste time: - Remember Group Discussion is not a 5 days match. It is a one dayer, you have to hit the nail on the head from the word go. If you have a tendency to build a preamble, desist from it. Dont act like a leader or a coordinator:- Leadership is assumed. It is not forced upon. If you act like a co-coordinator, it will be taken negatively inviting unnecessary hostility. As such your group effectiveness will be hampered. Dont adapt any role, let yourself go. When you want to speak try to make an entry and speak out your view point assertively. Dont be personal in a group: - Best way is to treat everybody as discussion members only. Dont accuse a lady by using words like you women are such.. it will put you in a negative light. Avoid Extremes: It is better not to be emotional in a group discussion, control your words while providing your points. Express your opinion, you need not get into a verbal duel with another member. Maintain uniformity of eye contact: Look at every one uniformly while speaking. Dont only speak to the person with whom you are familiar. Dont act like a scribe: - Express your opinion and dont pick up the role of a journalist who asks questions only. Intervene minimum five times and dont interrupt: - Intervening means coming out with your view point. While, interrupt means stopping a person from making himself clear. Desist from stopping a person who is speaking before he completes his speaking. If you allow other people to speak then only others will allow you to speak. Moreover, if the other person does not stop
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and carries on speaking even after your interruption it will end up being a fish market. And you will be made responsible for the starting the hull bulla resulting in negative marks for you.

Enunciate Clearly:- Speak clearly, avoid using artificiality in your articulation. Handle the aggressor tactfully:- An aggressor is a know all kind of a boy who tries to control the proceedings of a group discussion his way. He can be found out from the beginning itself. He sits on the brink of a chair stooping and having his left leg forward. Yes.but is part of his vocabulary; usually this person speaks with a louder voice and does not allow the other person to speak. He may be quite an intelligent fellow but the ultimate analysis is in his impatience he is going to be killed. The best way to handle him is speak firmly and dont get swayed by his questions. Ask him not to interrupt till you finish your idea. Mental notes are better than written notes:- If you write down notes before speaking it is good but many times you may fall into the mode of writing down notes while the Group Discussion is on. This impedes you from having active involvement in group processes. Have an entry strategy: - However boisterous the group may be there will always be a lull after an uproar. Use the lull to make an entry inside the discussion. Once you have entered speak clearly and loudly without stopping. Your hesitation can be taken advantage of by more aggressive members to snatch a point from you and speak on it. Use your listening to establish rapport: Rapport building requires conscious practice by keeping yourself in the other persons shoes. It is immaterial whether the person agrees to you or not. A person has a tendency to agree with the person who is like himself and again a person who tries to listen to him. You must agree to disagree with other persons view point. Shed the attitude of thinking that a person who is not agreeing to your point is against you. View with respect other persons thought and contradict his points and not the person. You can manipulate your body language by mirroring the tone of your voice. Dont speak in a uniform voice; vary your voice on the basis of the person you are talking to. This is the best procedure of establishing a rapport with others. Flexibility in approach is the key success to in any communication. Passing value judgment is like inviting the bull to your china shop:- Desist at any cost from branding anybody or anything. Speak clearly about your view points without getting emotional. The moment you pass a value judgment like women are meant to be subservient you will find everyone charging on you as if you are a culprit. This will bring in unnecessary and uncalled for hostility.
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Paraphrase a lot while others are speaking: Saying yes or I agree or someone liner is the best way of active listening. If you have listened to others they will make it a point to listen to you. As such your view point will be heard without much interruption. You may observe some of them may stop another person from interrupting you. Agree to disagree to the points of another person and not the person:- When you contradict another person disagree with his points. Dont say you are wrong or you are mistaken my friend which will bring uncalled for hostility again Avoid arguments: If you are falling into a trap of arguing with one of the members .It will unnecessarily pry into others timing by not allowing them to speak. Speak only in English and no other language when group discussion is in English: Be active in the group throughout the discussion: Even after your turn is over resort to active listening like paraphrasing or interjecting with newer ideas. Handle disagreements serenely: Dont get flustered when you are pushed to a wall by everyone. If many of them start pouncing on your point dont get panicky or get aggressive, both the reactions will put you in a negative light. Stress management in an emotionally charged situation is the key to success. Dont detract from your view points. Assert your rights:- Being assertive in a group means holding on to your rights without offending another person. Exercise the following rights in GDs.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

You have a right to disagree. You have a right to intervene. You have a right to stop somebody if he over speaks You have a right to speak You have a right to be heard.

Dont conclude unless you are asked to conclude Dos and Dont in GD:Dos Seat yourself comfortably. Listen to the topic carefully. Organize your ideas before speaking. Speak at the earliest opportunity. Be polite.
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Identify your supporters and opponents. Allow your supporters to argue your ideas. Keep track of time. Share time fairly. Listen to others points. Maintain eye contact-while speaking, listening. Take a scratch paper. Note down the topic as soon as it is announced.

DONTS Be in a hurry to start discussing Be silent Dominate Vocally / Physically Assume the role of a chairman Introduce the topic to the group Take extreme stance Enter into an argument Pass value judgments Look at the faculty Shout down inert participants Move excessively in your chair or lean on the table Throw all your ideas in one shot Speak fast Digress from the topic Use slang Get emotional Pay attention to bull dozers Indulge in parallel conservation

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