HOW TO FACE GROUP DISCUSSIONS ?

NEVER PRACTISE OR REHEARSE AT THE INTERVIEWS.PREPARE YOURSELF THOUROUGHLY BEFORE THE FIRST INTERVIEW ITSELF. BECAUSE OPPURTUNITY LOST IS LOST.THERE IS NO SECOND CHANCE WITH AN OPPURTUNITY. 

One always gets an impression that group discussion is all about how much you know about a particular topic.

But what is expected from you in a  group discussion is,

1. How much can you contribute to your team?

2. How much can you expose yourself bold and upright?

3. Your body language.

4. Voice Modulation.

5. Whether you are able to express what you really wish to deliver. 

Remember:

Always remember that together we win divided we loose. When you are in a group discussion you are analyzed on basically how you get on with others and not on how you win over others. A team in general may not consist of all winners. As a member of a team you must have a mixture of several things like initiation of positive things on your own, acknowledging other?s positive things, timely intervention and timely exit. 

You might be having a lot of right thoughts in your mind but in some corner of your mind a fear of expression stops you from talking. In such cases you can state your opinion by starting with  ? In my opinion -----?.This will enable you to score on others b?coz even they may have the same thoughts like you. 

BODY LANGUAGE: 

Dress: Remember that it?s never the newness of the clothes that impresses everybody. It?s the freshness. Always wear clothes which may be old but fresh and which make you feel comfortable.

Sitting posture: Neither too leisure nor too stiff. Sit comfortably on the chair. Do not sit on the edge of the seat or with full weight to one side.  

Legs: Place your both legs close to each other. Sitting with both legs thrown is bad body language. 

Hands: Do not put your hands in stiff position or with one hand placed in the other. Instead use your hands to express what you are talking. Do not scratch your head or face which shows that you are nervous. 

Eyes: Always maintain eye to eye contact while you are talking. Looking in a different direction indicates lack of confidence. 

Head: Your head should be always steady in movements. Some people shake their head vigorously in disapproval. If you disapprove something, always say ?You may be right, But what I am trying to say is ------?. 

Words: Never use expressions like ?I feel?, ?I think?. Because what you feel and think is definitely not what you know .You can start with ?in my opinion? 

Tips for a successful group discussion. 

·        Record your statements in tape and analyze yourself. Continue till you are satisfied with yourself and start speaking in front of a group of people.  

·        Understand that in today?s world communication skills play a major role; sometimes more than the knowledge itself to win you an opportunity. Better equip yourself with fluent English coupled with good body language. 

·        Never get into argument mode. You may end up winning the debate but you loose the opportunity because you are forcing someone to accept you. You must always sound convincing. Put yourself at the receiving end. Would you accept if you are convinced or when you are forced to?  

BEST GROUP DISCUSSION TIPS 

1. always be the initiator and concluder of the GD then being a participant.  

2. But if you are participant always try to be the most vial/key participant.  

3. put points firmly and always try to get others support too.  

4. if you find that the discussion os going off-track then  never loose an opportunity to bring it 

back to stream this is the best point to score max.

  

5. try to keep latest information on the topic. 

 

6. be very polite , people may try to provoke you to to get more points but try to keep cool.
 

7. most important don't wait for your turn to speak when discussion is on. interrupt politely if you want to put forward your points.
 

8. last but not the least keep a tab on the time given for discussion. score points by wrapping up the discussion if you feel that the  discussion is heating but the time is going to be over.
 

9. during conclusion, do end with the conclusion note. that shows your  leadership quality.
 

Best scoring points are:  

1. initiation of discussion,  

2.always keeping/trying to keep discussion on track  

3. conclusion on time  

4. your capability to keep your cool and listen as well as putting your points.  

5: be a leader.  

GROUP DISCUSSION

Group discussion is once again a filtering process. Here the communication ability and the ideas of a candidate are evaluated.

          A topic is given and 8 to 10 of you are allowed to speak on the subject for around 10 minutes. The topic of the GD is generic (simple). It may range from cricket to software industry, to Indian culture, to the future of humanity to anything, but it will be simpler. So one needs to have some kind of general awareness and needs to update with current affairs.

         Now how do you face it? 

*   Usually the topic is debatable, so one needs to quickly decide whether you are far or against the given topic. I suggest, try to be different in your choice the group. You are given some 2 minutes time to make points about the subject. 

*    If you initiate, you will get the advantage, but don’t initiate without ideas. It’s better to speak after two to three have spoken. 

*     Be cool and look fresh. 

*     Don’t look at the judges 

*     Speak clearly and loudly facing all. Try to anchor the group, not dominate it.

*     Clearly explain your ideas with few weighted words. Don’t speak too much of nonsense. 

*     Don’t murmur or stammer. 

*     Don’t criticise others. 

*     Always look at the person who is speaking and nod your head so that judges will see that you are listening. 

*     If somebody is speaking more, you can say ‘you have spoken enough, let’s give chance to this person’ or ‘I agree with him’ or ‘you are going out of topic, let’s stick to the topic’ 

*    Speak around 2-3 times. I mean don’t speak just once for 2 long minutes and keep quite for rest of the time, so try to speak in bursts. If somebody is listening to the discussion from outside, he should see that you are alive inside. 

*     Try to conclude yourself (if they ask to)

            One can practice mock GD with his friends to become familiarise with it. Actually Mandira Bedi’s group, ‘Extra Innings’ on Sony max on world cup 2003, had inspired me.