GD skills vital to be in B-schools

GD is conducted not only by the IIMs, but also by other top B-schools like FMS, IIFT, IMT- Ghaziabad, MDI–
Gurgaon, S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research, TAPMI and K.J. Somaiya Institute of
Management

 
New trends:Group discussion has become an integral part of the selection process in
management colleges.

Group discussion (GD) has become an integral part of the selection process, post the written tests, at the
top B-schools in the country

. GD is conducted not only by the IIMs (Indian Institute of Management), but also by other top B-schools
like FMS, IIFT, IMT- Ghaziabad, MDI – Gurgaon, S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research, TAPMI and
K.J. Somaiya Institute of Management.

Now that CAT, which is the qualifying written test for all the above mentioned institutes except for FMS and
IIFT, has concluded, it's time to prepare for the GD that precedes the personal interview round.

This year three more IIM campuses such as Trichy, Raipur and Rohtak have been added to the existing list
of eight IIMs (Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Bangalore, Lucknow, Indore, Kozikode, Shillong and Ranchi), and this
enhances the possibility for the number interview calls to go up to 10,000 to 15,000.

Giving a brief sketch about GD, the Director of TIME J.V. Murthy says, “GD is a forum where people sit
together to discuss a topic with the common objective of finding a solution for a problem or an issue that is
given. GD is conducted to measure certain attributes in a candidate such as content, communication skills,
group behaviour and leadership skills.”

Elaborating on content, the director of TIME points out that one should have thorough understanding of the
issue and for which the habit of reading a good newspaper is absolutely necessary.

“During the GD process, it is imperative to develop or enhance the content by listening to other speakers. A
healthy content should comprise a few points ‘for' and a few points ‘ against'. Try to give a direction to the
session by your content,” says he.

The key is to be precise. Avoid long sentences and redundant ideas. Be innovative as far as possible and
avoid using high-sounding words and verbose sentences. Pack your part of discussion with examples and
analogies.

Different B-schools adopt formats of GDs. Broadly the approaches can be classified as: Topic based, case
based and article based. Topic based can be further broken to knowledge based and abstract based.

In the case of knowledge based- the topics could range from economics, social and political issues, sports,
films, IT and technologies. In the case of abstract based GDs- the topics could be as abstract as “elephants
could make good software engineers' or ‘good walls make good neighbours- dragon has to be tamed'.

“Whatever, be the format, the key is in the approach. Think in a systematic way- have an approach and
design a framework to tackle the GD,” says Murthy.

According to him the approach can be designed by adopting techniques like SPELT, VAP or KWA.
SPELT: Analyse and build your discussion on the issue or the topic from various perspectives such as socio-
cultural impact, political impact, economic issues, legal and technological impact.

The other approaches could be built on viewpoint of affected parties (VAP) or Keyword approach (KWA).

FAQs

Here are a few FAQs from the Director of TIME:

Does fluency of language play an important role?

Fluency does play a major role- but there is nothing to be disheartened if one is not fluent enough. He or
she can compensate with the content. A person with strong content is easily spotted by the moderators.

Is aggression accepted?

A clear line should be drawn between aggression and intimidation.

Does speaking first have an impact?

It does, probably if one talks sense. The idea is to speak sense and give direction to the group.

How many times can one speak in a GD session?

Any number of times is okay- as long as one is not redundant. But it is advisable to let others also speak.

Can one interrupt others?

Yes, but only if he or she is diverting from the topic or if they are being redundant or if they are taking too
long. Normally, GD sessions are conducted for about 15 to 20 minutes for a group varying from 8 to 15.

What if I am interrupted?

“Excuse me- please let me complete my point” should be the punch line.

Do we miss points if we interrupt often?

Yes you do.

SUMIT BHATTACHARJEE