GROUP DISCUSSION
What is Group Discussion?
Group discussion is an event, where a group of people will be gathered, to find out a solution to the given topic or problem, in a stipulated time.
What is the purpose of conducting Group Discussion?
The purpose of conducting Group Discussion is to find out the best among the best, while checking the personality traits of the whole group, as required.
Why Group Discussion is important in selecting the candidates?
All the participants who have come to the final round of selection after thorough screening on writing skill, numerical ability, reasoning and general knowledge are of the same qualification, age group, educational qualifications, academic achievements and their background experiences are generally quite similar, and all are of the same level. It becomes necessary to conduct further screening for choosing a few among many, in order to select the best among the best, and Group Discussion is being used along with personal interviews for the final selection of the candidates.
As all the participants in a Group Discussion are opponents, there should be competition and clash of interests among them. Under these circumstances, the conduct, attitude and behavior of each candidate will bring out his or her natural leadership, social, dynamic and organizing abilities in a spontaneous manner. It is one of the best tools to study the behavioral and attitudinal responses of the participants. It is also known as discussion without leader.
What are the skills tested in Group Discussion?
There are millions of graduates and post graduates coming out, from myriad institutes every year. Cer- tainly the organizations would want to recruit only the ones who are industry ready. Generally, recruiters conduct a variety of tests including group discussion. The following skills are typically tested in Group Discussion.
English language skills : Many businesses now operate on a global model. Hence, for interacting with overseas clients, these new candidates need to show their proficiency in English.
Communication skills : The candidates, especially as they are in different roles where they need to influence others, should have excellent communications skills. This soft skill is illustrated as a “must have” for all employees.
Leadership and team player skills : Organizations now typically look for teams accomplishing big projects, where working as a lonely individual would not suffice. So, these candidates need to be team players and be comfortable operating as a team. Whether he is able to lead a group, whether he tries to dominate or is just a passive spectator – all these attributes are assessed through the group discussion.
Creative and out of box thingking : Organizations are very appreciative and supportive of new recruits who try to think creatively with ‘out of the box’ method and come up with innovative and implementable solutions to everyday business problems.
Recruiters always look for all round qualities in the prospective candidates rather than just focusing on academics. The leadership quality of one can nowhere be more clearly discovered than in a group discussion. Simply graduating from an institute is not enough and the candidates need to bring a host of skill sets and competencies that add value.
The essential attitudes of the candidates in a Group Discussions :-
- All participants must accept responsibility for the smooth conduct of the group
- Each member has to take on leadership responsibilities, even though he or she is not en trusted any such a
- Instead of passively waiting for someone else to do what has to be done, everyone must actively seek and accept
- Participants should show open-mindedness.
- Should be willing to consider a broad range of ideas and suggestions from
- Must be flexible and open to change and should not be taking rigid
- Should try to balance the group with objective
Hwo to start participating and emerge as a leader of the group?
The important aspect of any Group Discussion is getting started. Group discussion involves many roles for the participats to take up. Generally discussion starts with an initiative made by someone, who proposes with his or her ideas bringing more tactfully, and takes lead role. What other participants should do?
There are several ways to make your presence felt by focusing on the following points:-
- Make your participation felt by seeking clarification and information.
- Try to win the group with gracious interference by giving strong evidence, opinions, and personal experiences relevant to the
- Express your opinion freely and get prepared to invite arguments to your side by presenting
- Take the main position by stating your own beliefs, attitudes and
- Enusre that your opinion is on the winning side and there is nothing negative in your
- Seek other’s attitudes and convictions, especially of those participants who are hesitant to speak, and encourage
- Try to win the favor of other participants by seeking their
- Elaborate the ideas and expand the opinions of others through relevant examples and
- Direct the group towards correct path assuming the leader
- Praise and agree with others providing a warm
- Pacify others and provid relief to the group when participants become emotionally involved in highly tensed
- Control the channel of communication providing proper balance in the amount of participation of each
- Try to win through the opinions of others, if you cannot make up your
- Grab other’s place by furnishing more information related to the
- Summarize the quality of the output, with the information generated out of the
Ingredients for evaluating the performance of the participants
The participant, who has sound arguments, logical, systematic approach, enthusiasm, and expresses his ideas openly, will get selected. The candidates, who have ample knowledge of the topic and convince the group by their meticulous presentation and tendency to cooperate with coordination, will be liked by all.
The selection of the candidates purely based on the impact created by them on the group.
Points to be observed to get success in a group discussion?
- Portray positive personality with all traits as the examiners generally, look on this
- Show your leadership abilities to become group leader, since the test is conducted without a
- Seize the opportunity – impress and influence the
- Create the impact to make your presence strongly felt by speaking eloquently and fluently on the
- Arous group interest with the power of expression.
- Use your sharp and analytical mind by conveying the information in substantial manner that reflects a good grasp on the
- Your delivery should be smooth and catching with audible
- Deal the interruptions with patience and winning
- Show your ability to hold the attention of group
Exploring the topic
Participating in a group discussion is getting ready to find out a proper solution to the given topic. Hence, it is necessary to explore the topic considering its prominent aspects. Your logical presentation with sound arguments should support your views by considering the pros and cons of the given topic. Always explore the topic in a broader angle and display your extensive knowledge without bragging and irrelevant. Use your intuition to grab the important information of others as necessary, without repeating ideas and arguments, in order to ofter more contribution in finding out proper solution to group discussion.
Standing out in a group with excellence
Building positive relationship with others in a group starts from the very first step. A sense of good relation- ship entails good support, which eventually bring success. Encouraging the passive particiipants and ensuring the proceedings to carry out in encouraging environment will fetch you bonus points. With a positive attitude and active participation, we can look at a problem from different angles to come up with alternatives, when conflicting opinion arise. Our body language should not be aggressive, while disagree- ing for valid reason and mutual respect will be employed. One can attract the participants with attitude of cooperation and by expressing compliments, gratitude on other’s discussion.
Some of the points which are to be avoided in Group Discussion :-
- Objecting constantly and speaking pessimistically
- Negative attitude
- Insulting and criticizing others – jealousy or animosity
- Aggressive attitude
- Telling irrelevant stories and personal experiences
- Arriving late to the venue
- High stress levels
- Extempore speech
- Fumbling introductions
- Disturbing others during
