GROUP DISCUSSION

GROUP DISCUSSSION

A formal ,structured discussion between a group of

people on a topic with a view to reaching a consensus.

This exercise is frequently employed by potential

recruiters to analyze the personality, communication
skills, attitude, ability to work in a group and leadership
traits of a candidate.
Group discussion helps to assess the following qualities:

Communication skills
Team building capabilities
Analytical ability
Reasoning skills
Assertiveness, Articulation and inter personal skills
Creativity, Initiative and thinking ability
 Difference between group discussion and debate

Debate is a formal method of argument where speakers

take a particular stand on a topic and more or less, stick to
it throughout the session.
A group discussion(GD) aims for a consensus.
The aim of debate is to win while the aim of group
discussion is exchange of ideas.
In a debate, speakers take turns to present the
arguments, while in a G.D participants express their
opinions without turns
Defending and attacking are the norm in debate.
Listening, reasoning and airing opinions are the practices in
G.D
Participants in a debate are opinionated and rigid. They have
to defend their points of view.
Participants in G.D need to have a point of view or stand on
issues ,but can be inclusive of other ideas also.
Debates can often become destructive and futile whereas
G.Ds help to ponder over ideas and come up with new
solutions.
Debates are often conducted to judge communication skills
while a G.D is done to judge the personality of the participants
 Successful group discussions

Group discussion is employed as a mechanism to screen

and select a few potential candidates from a set of
candidates.
A few tips for a success in a G.D:
Maintain a comfortable sitting posture that displays
confidence
Be respectful to other views even if you disagree
completely
Be assertive but never be aggressive.
If possible , be the one to start the discussion.
Be specific and to the point.
Speak loud and clear.
Have a win-win attitude.
Be mindful of body language and eye contact.
When you speak ,have a valid point.
Alluding to facts , figures or even the occasional proverb
will lend credibility to your views.
 BRAINSTORMING IN A GROUP
DISCUSSION

 Brainstorming is used in a GD when the topic of the

discussion is to finding a solution to the given
problem.
 Brainstorming – a method for producing alot of ideas
without judging them.
 Purpose-Brainstorming is a method used to
generate an idea list from a group in a short period
of time with the participation of all members. This
method produces creative, liberated new ideas
useful in solving the problem or issue at hand.
 Goal: Produce a quantity of ideas.
7 EFFECTIVE TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR GROUP
DISCUSSION SKILLS

 Let your appearance talk

 Know the topic
 Be the first to get off the blocks
 Be a good listener
 Be clear on your points
 Remember, it’s not an argument
 Move to a conclusion