Group Discussion Tips

 GD is conducted mainly to check –

 The ability to work in a team
 Communication skills
 Reasoning ability
 Leadership skills
 Creativity
 Listening skills
 Initiation techniques
 It’s always better to start 1st to create an impression.
 To create an impact when initiating use a quote, state a definition, ask a
question or make a shocking statement, narrate a short story or make a
general statement.
 How do I take my chance to speak?
 Do not try to interrupt others while speaking.
 Maintain eye contact with the speaker, this would show your listening skills.
 Try to link your inputs with what he/she has spoken and further add your
views.
 Concluding a GD
 Conclusion is where the whole group decides in favour or against the topic.
You can summarize what the group has discussed.
 Incorporate all the important points that came out during GD.
 Avoid raising new points.
 Avoid stating only your viewpoint.
 Keep it brief and concise.
 Do not add anything once the GD has been summarized.
 Do’s during GD
 Speak pleasantly and politely to the group.
 Respect the contribution of every speaker.
 Remember that the discussion is not an argument. Learn to disagree politely.
 Do not introduce irrelevant information.
 Don’ts during GD
 Do not lose your temper. Discussion is not an argument.
 Do not use gestures like finger pointing and table thumping.
 Never dominate the discussion.
 Never interrupt. Wait for the speaker to finish before you start speaking.

Telephone Etiquettes
 Always identify yourself at the beginning of all calls.
 When in the office always answer a telephone by saying: “Hello/Good
Morning, XYZ department, XYZ speaking.”
  From a cell phone, either simply say Hello, or state your name, Hello, XYZ
here.  Do not answer by using words such as “yeah” or “yes.”
  When placing a call, always state your name along with the name of the
person you are calling. Example: “Hello, my name is XYZ.  May I please speak
with Ms. Jane Smith?”

 Be sensitive to the tone of your voice.

 Do not sound overly anxious, aggressive or pushy. It is important your tone
conveys authority and confidence.  Do not lean back in your chair when speaking
on the telephone.
 Tip: Sit up in your chair or stand during the conversation. When at home, use a
personal tape recorder to privately record your own conversations.  You will then
hear how your sound to others.
 Think through exactly what you plan to say and discuss before you place a call.
 Tip:  Jot down the items you want to discuss and questions you want
answered.  In other words, anticipate and expect you will be placed into a
voicemail system; plan your message to be as direct and specific as possible,
asking the person to respond to specific alternatives or questions.  Do not
say, “Hello, it’s XYZ, call me back.”  At least state the subject about which you
want the person to call you back about.
 Do not allow interruptions to occur during conversations. 
 Do not carry on side conversations with other people around you.  The
person on the telephone takes precedence over someone who happens to
walk in your office or passes by while you are on the phone.
 Tip: If you must interrupt the conversation, say to the person, “Please excuse
me for a moment I’ll be right back.”  And when you return, say, “Thank you
for holding.”
 Especially when leaving messages, speak clearly and slowly. 

 Do not use broken phrases, slang or idioms. Always, always leave your return
telephone number as part of your message, including the area code . . . and
S-L-O-W-L-Y, including REPEATING your telephone number at the end of your
message.
 Tip: Practice leaving your number, by saying it aloud to yourself as slow as
you have heard an informational operator say it.
 Build the habit of always turning off your cell phone ringer when entering a meeting,
restaurant, theatre, training class, or other place where the purpose of your visit
would be interrupted or others would be disturbed by hearing your cell phone ring.
 Tip: If you are expecting an important call, inform the caller you will be in a
meeting during certain times and state you will monitor your message
indicator for when it illuminates you will excuse yourself to leave the meeting
and return the call.
 Always speak into the telephone receiver with an even and low tone of
voice.  Especially when speaking on a cell phone out in public, be sure to monitor
how loud you may be.
  Tip: Move the phone ear piece just slightly away from your ear and listen to
yourself speaking. Discover whether you are speaking too loudly or too
quietly for the other person to hear you.
 Do not allow yourself to be distracted by other activities while speaking on the
telephone, such as rustling papers, chewing and eating, working on the computer, or
speaking with someone else.  Most importantly, do not use a hand held cell phone
while driving. Get a headset or speaker phone for the car.
 Tip: Always treat every caller with the utmost courtesy and respect by giving
him/her your undivided attention.

Interview Skills
An interview is a structured meeting between you and a potential employer. It is typically
the final and sometimes toughest step in the placement process. However, interviewing is
also a skill that can be mastered through practice.

Interviewing is a two-way process. Employers are attempting to determine if you are an

appropriate fit for the job and their culture, while at the same time, you decide if the work
environment is right for you to build your career.

 Types of interviews
 Phone: used as an initial screen of candidates or to narrow the pool of
applicants.
 One-on-one: most common interview style and incorporates you with the
potential employer.
 Panel or Group: allows many individuals to interview you at once.
 On-site interview: this allows one to get a tour of the facility, meet the staff,
and additional questioning from different employees and/or administration.
 Pre-interview preparation
 Research position, company and industry.
 Know yourself and be able to articulate skills, strengths, accomplishments
and career goals.
 Prepare necessary materials (Copies of resume, certificates, documents,
references, pen, and paper).
 Ask for directions and where to park.
 Be sure to allow yourself plenty of time to arrive at your destination (you may
want to conduct a dry run prior to your interview day).
 Try to arrive 10-15 minutes early at the site to allow you to park, walk to the
interview, use the restroom, or just gather yourself.
 Greeting and introduction
A first impression is created within the first 10 seconds of a meeting. You only have
one chance to make a good first impression. Here are a few pointers to help you
create a good first impression.
 Dress appropriately
 Smile
 Maintain eye contact
 Firm handshake
  Remain poised and confident
 Types of interview questions
Standard or traditional: targeting your education, work experience and your career
goals.
 Tell me about yourself.
 What is your greatest strength? Weakness?
 Why did you choose to interview with us?
 What did you like the most about your last job? Least?
 What are your short and long term career goals?

Behavioural Questions: These focus on your actions and/or behaviours in a previous

setting.

 Describe a time you had to make a difficult decision.

 Tell me about a time you worked under a deadline.
 What do you do when a team member is not pulling his/her weight?
 Think about a time you made a mistake. What did you learn from it?

Questions you should ask:

 What type of assignments can I expect within the first year?

 What is the biggest challenge facing this company right now?
 What is the next course of action?

General interview strategies:

 Be prepared to talk about yourself and your experience.

 Master the art of storytelling.
 Provide specific and concrete examples of your results or accomplishments.
 Remain positive, enthusiastic, poised and confident throughout the interview
process.
 Remember an interview is a formal conversation; avoid filler words like
“Um”, “Ah” and “You know”.
 Avoid indecisive phrases like: “I think”, “I guess”, “Probably” or “Pretty good”.
 Think before speaking.
 Avoid long verbose answers; limit your response to 1-2 minutes.
 If you do not hear or understand a question, ask them to repeat or clarify it
for you.
 Remain calm, relaxed and be yourself.
 Try to focus on the message you are trying to convey; Not how well you are
doing!

Follow-up:

 Ask good questions.

 Thank the interviewer.
 Request a business card.
 Enquire about next steps in the process.

Tips on answering questions:

“Tell me about you.” – Don’t talk about yourself—where you were born, where you grew
up, where you went to school, etc. The interviewers don’t have any interest in those. Talk
about your ACCOMPLISHMENTS in life—your academic performance, your extra-curricular
activities, and the problems you helped solve in your college or organisations. Keep your
answer short- a minute or two. Don’t explain too much—wait for the interviewers to dig
deeper.

“Why do you want this job?” – Never ever make it appear that you are interested only in
the job or experience. “I’m interested in this job because I’d like to be able to contribute to
the growth of your business. If you can tell me the issues that you are currently having
related to this job, I’d be happy to discuss how I could help.”

“What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses?” – For strengths, employers usually
like people with a high sense of responsibility, initiative, team work, punctuality and
honesty. You may add others as you see fit. For weaknesses, there are ways of saying them
that they end up seemingly like strengths to your interviewer. You say something like, “I’m
quite open with discussing my ideas for improving things with my superiors but sometimes
my peers think I’m trying to suck up with the boss. Or, the statement “I’m too trusting of
friends that sometimes I’m taken advantage of” can be used in the context of people
borrowing money or asking for too many personal favours.

“What do you know about our business?” – Do your homework. Look online or ask around
beforehand what the company is all about. If you can prepare a suggestion on what you
think can be improved in the company—it’s image, strategy, etc. – it will surely impress the
interviewer.

“How much do you want to make?” – As a general rule, in any negotiation involving money,
the first person to say a number is the loser. “What does the job pay?” would be a good
reply. If the interviewer pushes for your answer first, you can hedge by saying, “Since I don’t
have any experience yet, I have no illusions of having an ‘asking price’; but I’m confident
that you will treat me fairly when it comes to money”. Never say, “I’m okay with minimum
wage”, even if you are; it gives the wrong perception of a low quality cheap professional.

“Do you have any questions?” – Don’t ask about benefits like days off or sick leave. Ask
instead, “Do you think I stand a good chance to be hired?” or “Is it okay to call or drop by
tomorrow to check things out?” or “When can I hear from you?” Employers like people who
think and act pro-actively, instead of waiting for good luck to fall from the heavens.

“How long would you like to work with us?” – You can say, “As long as I get job satisfaction
and as long as you are happy with the job that I’m doing, I will stay forever.”

Body Language
1. Don’t cross your arms or legs – It might make you seem defensive or guarded. Keep your
arms and legs open.

2. Have eye contact, but don’t stare – If there are several people you are talking to, give
them all some eye contact to create a better connection and see is they are listening.
Keeping too much eye contact might creep people out. Giving no eye contact might make
you seem insecure. If you are not used to keeping eye contact it might feel a little hard or
scary in the beginning but keep working on it and you’ll get used to it.

3. Don’t be afraid to take up some space – Taking up space by for example sitting or
standing with your legs apart a bit signals self confidence and that you are comfortable in
your own skin.

4. Relax your shoulders – When you feel tense it easily winds up as tension in your
shoulders. They might move up and forward a bit. Try to relax. Try to loosen up by shaking
the shoulders a bit and move them back slightly.

5. Nod when others are talking – nod once in a while to signal that you are listening. But
don’t overdo it and peck like a Woody Woodpecker.

6. Don’t slouch – sit up straight; but in a relaxed way, not in a too tense manner.

7. Lean, but not too much – If you want to show that you’re interested in what someone is
saying, lean toward the person talking. If you want to show that you’re confident in yourself
and relaxed lean back a bit. But don’t lean in too much or you might seem needy and
desperate for some approval.

8. Smile and laugh – lighten up, don’t take yourself too seriously. Relax a bit, smile and laugh
when someone says something funny. People will be a lot more inclined to listen to you if
you seem to be a positive person. But don’t be the first to laugh at your own jokes, it makes
you seem nervous and needy. Smile when you are introduced to someone but don’t keep a
smile plastered on your face, you’ll seem insecure.

9. Don’t touch your face – it might make you seem nervous and can be distracting for the
listeners or the people in the conversation.

10. Keep your head up – Don’t keep your eyes on the ground, it might make you seem
insecure and a bit lost. Keep your head up straight and your eyes towards the horizon.

11. Slow down a bit – this goes for many things. Walking slower not only makes you seem
more calm and confident, it will also make you feel less stressed. If someone addresses you,
don’t snap your neck in their direction, turn it a more slowly instead.

12. Don’t fidget – try to avoid, phase out or transform fidgety movement and nervous ticks
such as shaking your leg or tapping your fingers against the table rapidly. You’ll seem
nervous and fidgeting can be distracting when you try to get something across. Try to relax,
slow down and focus your movements.

13. Use your hands more confidently – instead of fidgeting with your hands and scratching
your face, use them to communicate what you are trying to say. Use your hands to describe
something or to add weight to a point you are trying to make. But don’t use them too much
or it might become distracting and don’t let your hands flail around, use them with some
control.

14. Lower your drink – don’t hold your drink in front of your chest. In fact, don’t hold
anything in front of your heart as it will make you seem guarded and distant. Lower it and
hold it beside your leg instead.
15. Realise where your spine ends – many people might sit or stand with a straight back in a
good posture. However, they might think that the spine ends where the neck begins. Your
spine ends in the back of your head. Keep your whole spine straight and aligned for better
posture.

16. Don’t stand too close – Let people have their personal space, don’t invade it.

17. Mirror – Often when you get along with a person, when the two of you get a good
connection, you will start to mirror each other unconsciously. That means that you mirror
the other person’s body language a bit. To make the connection better you can try a bit of
pro-active mirroring. If he leans forward, you might lean forward. If she holds her hands on
her thighs, you might do the same. But don’t react instantly and don’t mirror every change
in body language. Then weirdness will ensue.

18. Keep a good attitude – Last but not least, keep a positive, open and relaxed attitude.
How you feel will come through in your body language and make a major difference.

Usually body language occurs unconsciously. Yet the body language we use decides to a
large extent the quality of our communication. Therefore it would be good to become
conscious of our own and others’ body language.

Office Etiquettes
1. Office etiquette or manners is about conducting yourself respectfully and courteously in
the office or workplace. First impressions are important! You are the ambassador of the
business. Here are a few pointers:

2. Be helpful and co-operative with each other.

3. Do not cough or sneeze in anyone’s direction. Use a tissue, if possible, to contain the
germs and then say, “Excuse me.”

4. Always act with honesty and dignity.

5. Chewing gum and popping bubble gum in the presence of co-workers is neither cool nor
dignified.

6. Wear appropriate office attire.

7. Treat your co-workers, cleaners, maintenance people and others with respect and
courtesy.

8. Keep your interruptions of others to a minimum and always apologise if your intrusion is
an interruption of a discussion, someone’s concentration or other activity.

9. Knock before entering.

10. If your boss criticises your work, enquire about what precisely is wrong with it. Consider
the comments, discuss them if you disagree with the comments but defer to the bosses
opinion if he/she is adamant.

11. The boss always gets the benefit of the doubt. Don’t argue with the boss.
12. Make new employees feel welcomed and comfortable around you. Don’t be a busy-
body.

13. Be thoughtful when interacting with your peers.

14. Keep your work area tidy. Try not to be messy.

15. Show consideration for other people’s feelings.

16. If there is a conflict, do not get personal in your remarks.

17. It is extremely rude to arrive late for a meeting or not attend at all. Having a good excuse
does not exonerate you.

18. Do not dominate the meeting. All communication must take place through the
chairperson.

19. Pay attention to the proceedings quietly. Don’t shuffle your papers.

20. Do not leave the meeting until it is closed by the chairperson.

21. Never be petty or small minded in your behaviour.

22. Always be particularly respectful to those older than you even if they are junior to you in
position.

23. Do not interrupt when the other person is speaking.

24. Say “Please; Thank you; you’re welcome”, as part of your everyday courtesy.

25. Speak clearly without shouting.

26. Avoid comments about a co-worker’s dress or appearance.

27. Take responsibility for your mistakes, apologise and go about correcting the mistakes.

28. Don’t gossip about any co-worker’s private life.

29. Don’t hover around while waiting for a co-worker to get off the phone. Leave a note for
them to call you or return later.

30. It’s not a good idea to take your iPod to your office. It hinders communication.

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