EX. NO.

: GROUP DISCUSSION
DATE:

Group Discussion or GD is a type of discussion that involves people sharing ideas or

activities. People in the group discussion are connected with one basic idea. Based on that idea,
everyone in the group represents his/her perspective.

As the exchange of ideas in a group discussion takes place through speech, one of the
necessary conditions of success in a GD is the ability to speak confidently and convincingly.
Good communication skills include active listening, clarity of thought and expression, apt
language and proper non-verbal clues.

The purpose of a group discussion is not to win an argument or to amuse your mates. The
purpose of a discussion is to help each group member explore and discover personal meanings of
a text through interaction with other people. Group discussion is a new trend that has come up in
order to evaluate student personality. A group of participants are made to discuss on a topic or
subject for a limited time and then assessed accordingly. It is a chance for you to be more vocal.

Over the recent years, Group Discussion became a popular method of assessing a
candidate’s soft skills. The contenders who are shortlisted on basis of written exams have
qualified with their intelligence quotient, i.e., aptitude and knowledge.

A Group Discussion (GD) is a technique used by corporate companies, educational

institutes, and other organizations to judge the communication skills of the participant.
Communication skills are a crucial factor when compared to technical knowledge in any
corporate environment.

Hence, many companies are now making Group Discussion as their first criteria for screening
the candidates before the face-to-face interviews. There indeed is a reason for giving
importance to GD.

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 straining the right
candidate from a pool of applicants.

However, since the significance of emotional quotient arose, new tools such as GD were
devised to gauge candidates’ social and interpersonal skills. Organizations conduct GDs to find
out whether you possess the critical qualities/skills to contribute effectively to the goal
accomplishment process.

Group Discussion skills:

• Reasoning. Try to find the GD topic category that you are comfortable,

• Speaking. If the given topic is familiar, you must start the GD,

• Time Management,

• Presentation,

• Paraphrasing/summarizing,

• Creativity,

• Listening,

• Proactive.

Why GD is important?

• It helps evaluate whether a candidate is the right fit for the organization.

• It helps assess how a participant performs under different situations in a group.

• It helps to judge how one conceptualizes his ideas through the discussion.
 • It helps in shedding light on candidate’s leadership and managerial skills,
problem-solving aptitude, creative thinking and knowledge on diverse topics.

This discussion in the interview process is used for mass screening. The GD selection criteria
is 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 IT or other fields.

Besides having fair knowledge of the core subjects in your domain, you must also be
well-versed in some common group discussion topics that relate to today's social and economic
environment, emerging technologies, or current affairs.

Here are a few group discussion topics:

• The impact of Coronavirus on the world economy

• Do you think virtual learning can be an effective tool in the post-COVID landscape?

• Is WFH (Work from Home) the new norm?

• What are your views on cryptocurrency?

• Social Media: A curse or a blessing for society?

• Women are better managers. Do you agree or disagree?

There Is No Place for Aggression in Group Discussions, During the course of a group
discussion, be aware of what you say and how you say it. You will find many participants in a
group discussion with views that differ from your own. You must respect their opinions and
communicate your perspective assertively, not aggressively.

For example,

If you do not agree with someone, you can say - "I respect your viewpoint, but I disagree. I
hold a completely different opinion."
 When you agree with someone, you can use the phrase - "I am in agreement with you; I also
have the same point of view."

In situations where you partially disagree with someone, at such situations, you can say
something like - "I agree with you to some extent, but I do not fully support your position."

It’s important to listen Carefully, Do Not Just Hear, listening skills are vital in a group
discussion. Listening not just helps understand the topic of discussion, but it is also an indication
of how respectful you are.

All good speakers are great listeners, and to be successful in group discussions, you must
likewise develop superb listening skills.

What Skills are Judged in GD?

• How good are you while communicating with others?

• How do you behave and interact with a group?

• How open-minded are you?

• Your listening skills.

• How do you put forward your views?

• Your leadership and decision-making skills.

• Your analytical skills and subject knowledge.

• Your problem solving and critical thinking skills.

• Your attitude and confidence.

Do’s & Don’ts

Enlisted below are the various Do’s and Don’ts in GD.

• Keep Eye Contact while Speaking: Do not look at the evaluators only. Keep eye contact
with all team members while speaking.

• Initiate the GD: Initiating the GD is a big plus. But keep in mind – Initiate the discussion
only when you understand the GD topic clearly and have some knowledge on the topic.
Speaking without proper subject knowledge will leave a bad impression.

• Allow others to Speak: Do not interrupt anyone in-between while speaking. Even if you
don’t agree with his/her thoughts, do not snatch their chance to speak. Instead, make
some notes and clear the points when it’s your turn.

• Speak Clearly: Speak politely and clearly. Use simple and understandable words while
speaking. Don’t be too aggressive if you are disagreeing with someone. Express your
feelings calmly and politely.

• Positive Attitude: Be confident. Do not try to dominate anyone. Keep positive body
language. Show interest in the discussion.

• Speak Sensibly: Do not speak just to increase your speaking time. Don’t worry even if
you speak less. Your thoughts should be sensible and relevant instead of irrelevant
speech.

• Listen Carefully to Others: Speak less and listen more! Pay attention while others are
speaking. This will create a coherent discussion and thereby you will get involved in the
group positively. You will surely make people agree with you.

• Formal Dressing: Do not take it casually. No fancy or funny dressing. You should be
comfortable while speaking in a group. Positive gestures and body language will make
your work easy.