LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF SOFT - SKILLS

COURSE FILE
PES- 317

PES -
UNIT - 1 UNIT
318 - 2 UNIT - 3

CORPORATE GROUP INTERVIEW

READINESS DISCUSSION SKILLS

UNIT - 4 UNIT - 5 UNIT - 6

ADVANCED POWERFUL LIFE

INTERVIEW
PRESENTATION SKILLS
DYNAMICS
Group Discussion
 Unit-2

Overview of Group Discussion

Understanding the various types

Tricks of Group Discussion

Group Discussion Etiquette

Idea Generation Techniques:-

 KWA

 SPELT
What is Group Discussion?
A Group Discussion (GD) is a technique used by corporate
companies, educational institutes, and other organizations
to judge the communication skills of the participant and
other personality traits as required by the organization.
Communication skill is a crucial factor than technical
knowledge in any corporate environment.
Hence, many companies are now making Group
Discussion as to their first criteria for screening the
candidates before the face-to-face interviews. There indeed
is a reason for giving importance to GD.
This discussion in the interview process is used for mass
screening. The GD selection criteria are based on the
actual company requirements.
Communication and GD are two relevant soft skills that
are a must for anyone looking for a job in the IT or other
fields.
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 topic among
themselves for 15-20 minutes.

Importance of Group Discussions

As it is said that, the first impression is the best
impression. The way you communicate professionally with
your peers, heads and most importantly the customers is
directly or indirectly an add-on to the quality of services
that your company offers to the masses.
Hence, GD is a means of the strainer to strain the right
candidate from a pool of applicants.

What Skills Are Judged In GD?

• How good you are while communicating with others?

• How you behave and interact with a group?
• How open-minded are you?
• Your listening skill.
• How you put forward your views?
• Your leadership and decision-making skills.
• Your analysis skill and subject knowledge.
• Your problem solving and critical thinking skill.
• Your attitude and confidence.

Group Discussion Tips

It is necessary to get noticed by the evaluators and for that
you need to learn the ways to remain active throughout the
session.
• Analysing the discussion and coming up with ideas or
subtopics that are not mentioned by the other candidates is
one way to stay connected in the discussion.
• Even if your knowledge related to the topic is not vast
enough, you can talk on the same topic considering from a
different point of view.
• There would be a case where the discussion may go
haywire, take a lead and try to bring the discussion back to
the route.
• The last thing to add is appreciating the point of view of
the other candidates in an appealing way.
For Example, I would like to add in by appreciating so and
so’s the point of view and I agree with his view.
The above statement may not be valuable but to some
extent, it will display your quality of appreciating others
point of view. Practicing by participating in mock GDs by
involving your colleagues/college students can help you
find your weak areas and indeed enable you to rectify
before appearing for the actual GD.
Group Discussion Skills

There are certain skills that must be learned as a candidate

in order to crack a GD successfully.
They are:
1) Interpersonal Skills: It is a skill that helps to convert a
normal conversation into an impactful conversation. When
we say that ‘you should sound confident’, it not only
involves the way you speak but your overall appearance as
a whole.
The soft skills required include using voice modulation,
pronunciation and tone in an appropriate manner. One can
take proper training in soft skills or imbibe some tips of
presenting oneself in the corporate world.
2) Leadership Quality: Among the crowd of talented
candidates there’s always a chance of getting
overshadowed and compressed.
It could be the case where even if the other candidate is
less knowledgeable or mediocre in academics but his one
quality of putting forth his positives and ability to control
the situation ( here discussion) will make him/her earn a
brownie point.
3) Listening Quality: A good listener is a good Problem
Solver. A good listener helps to build the other qualities
that are required in GD such as analytical skill, critical
thinking, communication, decision making, etc.
Listening not only helps to understand the topic from
others point of view but also helps to think accordingly and
reach the solution to the problem or discussion.
It is also a good gesture and a communication building
block with the other candidates, as it gives a sense of
respect for other views. Listening also makes one
approachable and most importantly being listened to in
return. In simple terms, if you want to be listened to by
everyone then you should also listen to others.
4) Convincing Power: The ability to convince others by
means of your speech is a great skill that is useful for any
company. The candidate should be able to impact the other
candidates through his thought process and indeed one
must learn this skill.
5) Knowledgeable: In order to be active in a discussion
session, one must have an overall knowledge from all the
sectors of the world. One should be reading newspapers,
various fictions, non-fiction books, etc.
Latest updates in different fields such as current affairs,
education, sports, travel, arts & science, etc. Again it is not
necessary to have all facts and figures of the topic but it is
enough to speak with confidence on the given topic.
These are some of the skills to remember and incorporate
with in order to face the discussion with ease and
confidence.

Group Discussion Rules

There are certain essential pointers that are very important
to get noticed and selected in a GD.
They include:
1) Appearance: It is the first thing to be noticed by
anyone but still people/candidates ignore this aspect of
one’s personality. Always wear formal attire and be well-
groomed.
2) Eye Contact: Your confidence is seen in your eyes.
Hence maintain eye contact with the evaluator while
initiating the discussion. Later share eye contacts with your
peers in a consistent manner. During the session avoid
looking at the evaluator and concentrate on the peers.
Even when you are listening to the opposition candidate,
make sure you are slightly turned towards the angle where
the candidate is present and use gestures such as nodding
in appreciation in between the presentation.
3) Avoid Dominance: Always remember that it is a
discussion and not a battle. In the heat of the moment
never lose your control of speech and decency. You are
there to share your point of view and not to start an
argument. Respect others views and do not try to dominate
your views or point. Being patient and calm is the key.
4) Avoid Interrupting: It is considered manner less to
interrupt someone while talking. Everyone has a say and
one should respect and let your turn come for you to have
your say. There could be a situation where you may need
to cut short the speaker, if so then do it politely with due
respect and apologize for doing so.
For Example, ‘ I am sorry to intervene but considering the
time limit, I may miss to put forth my point so I would like
to say that…..’
5) Clarity of Speech and Thoughts: Always maintain a
medium speed and volume of your voice. Be prepared in
the mind of your thoughts that you are about to present and
be clear. Avoid fumbling and jumbling with your speech.
Be confident and pardon if you make a mistake while
speaking.
6) Irrelevant Talk: Avoid deviating from the main topic
and be on the same track. Quality is important than
Quantity. Be short and simple and refrain yourself from
involving in irrelevant talks.

These are some of the important rules to be considered in

the GD.

Types of Group Discussion

Based on the content of the discussion there are three types

of GD.
1) Topic-Based GD: This types of GD is based on certain
topics which are practical and real.
For Example, Socioeconomic topics, Education related
like, “How Plastic is affecting our Earth?” “Is a college
degree necessary to become an Entrepreneur?”
These are further categorized based on their outlook:
• Factual GD: These type of GDs are very informative
and require a thorough knowledge of the subject. One
should have actual facts and figures known before taking
part in the discussion. For Example, Indian Economical
growth since 1947.
• Controversial GD: There are certain topics which lead
to an argument and such topics are introduced in GDs to
test the candidate’s way of handling the situation. This
topic is a kind of mock session representing a fierce
situation in a company. Here the candidate is tested on
parameters like patience, situation handling, anger control,
critical thinking ability, etc. For Example, Arranged
Marriage Vs Love Marriage.
• Abstract GD: There are some topics which are not based
on physical presence but are conceptual topics or
intellectual topics. Such topics test the thinking capability
and the analytical thinking of the candidate. For Example,
Humanity.
2) Case-Based GD: This type of GD is based on case
studies which portray a real-life situation. The group is
provided with a case study beforehand and is given a few
minutes of time to prepare for it. In this type of GD, the
group has to solve the case study to give a solution. In the
process of solving the case study the qualities such as
problem-solving, analysis, thinking out of the box is
getting tested.
3) Article-Based GD: Similar to case-based GDS, in an
article based GD, the candidates are provided with an
article which could be based on any field like politics,
sports, technology or any topic for that matter.
The candidates are given time to prepare for the
discussion. This GD helps to analyse how the candidate
responds to the unknown field/ fact and how confident
he/she is in presenting his/her point of view.

Ideation Techniques:-

1. Keyword Analysis
• Use of keywords is extremely important in a GD. For
example, you might be given a topic: Should mercy killing
be legalised? Now, the first thing you need to focus is one
the keyword ‘mercy killing’. The best way get a head start
is by defining the term and laying out a framework for the
discussion.
Also, you can question yourself about the topic and
understand the major concerns.
• The term mercy killing (the act of painlessly killing
someone who is suffering from an incurable illness) should
instantly lead you to the following points:·
• Do humans have the right to take life?
• Is it fair on the person and his relatives to suffer so much
when there is an easier way out?
• Is there a chance of abuse of this act?
• These are some of the basic points about this topic that
should come to your mind. You could delve into each one
of these in the discussion and present an informed view on
the topic.

2. SPELT
Say the topic is “Retail boom spells doom for the local
grocer”. So from SPELT way the following points can be
generated:
• Social: Should we support the small kiranas just on
humanitarian grounds?
• Political: Role of Government
• Economy: Impact on Indian Economy because of Retail
& Retail sectors contribution to GDP
• Legal: FDI issues, Labor laws, Taxation
• Technology: Cold Storage & Supply Chain, Efficient
supply and availability will marginalize prices and reduce
costs and wastages.