GROUP DISCUSSION | What You Should Avoid in Group Discussion

GROUP DISCUSSION – WHAT YOU SHOULD AVOID

What you should avoid doing in  G.D:   

·    Being shy or nervous because all others in the group are your equals, not seniors.

·       Interrupting a participant before his arguments are over.

·       Being frivolous, for group discussion Is a purposeful activity.

·       Getting emotional and criticizing others without first offering valid arguments in favour of your viewpoint.

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What You Must do in Group Discussion

GROUP DISCUSSION – WHAT YOU MUST DO

     What you must do in G.D:  

·       Keep to the point.

·       Make original points and back them by substantial reasoning and not an unfounded opinion.

·       If some other member has already made the point you wanted to make, do not worry. Even here, you can either support or oppose the point by sound reasoning, or add some additional information that might have been left out.

·       Listen to the other participants patiently, attentively and carefully and make a mental note of what they say. If their points are good, readily accept them but with reasoning, and not by just saying “I agree with the views of so and so”. If you find their arguments not acceptable, do not just say “I do not agree with the views of so and so”, instead bring in your own strong arguments to refute them.

·       Whatever you say must be with a logical flow. State you position, give a reason for your holding so and validate it with an example as far as possible.

·       Make only accurate statements.

·       Modulate the volume, pitch and tone of your voice so as to suit the nature of your point.

·       Show flexibility in your views. Don’t hesitate to accept criticism. If someone points to flaws in your argument, do not feel offended or insulted. Instead, change your original opinion willingly, if proved wrong.

·       Be considerate to the feelings of others. It being a friendly discussion, co-operation, not confrontation, is a must. You need not shout at others. Use polite and parliamentary language. If someone has not spoken and wishes to say something, you can request others to give him a chance. Your helpful, accommodative and encouraging attitude will surely be appreciated by the examiner.

·       If possible, make an attempt at initiating the discussion. But try to make a good job of it by offering a general introduction to the topic and briefly laying the scope of the discussion. Even if you could not be the first speaker, try to get an opportunity as early as possible, for it is absolutely essential that you talk and express your views. Not only this, you must talk as much as possible, effectively and sensibly, to impress others.

·       If you have reasonable doubts, you can ask questions from others and, if necessary, seek clarifications.

·       Try to get your turn. Don’t think someone else will offer you an opportunity to speak.

·       As soon as you find your argument has been refuted by someone else, you must try to justify your point of view by bringing in fresh ideas or arguments.

·       If more than one candidate starts speaking simultaneously. You can request for order and appeal for co-operation. Taking lead in such situations shows your coordinating ability.

·       Be an active and interested participant. Remain cheerful, smiling and alive to whatever is going on in the group.

·       Listen to the initial briefing of the GTO/examiner carefully. Grasp and understand correctly the topic given for discussion.

·       While speaking, address to the whole group, looking each participant in the eye in turn.

·       Be attentive to the person who is speaking and make sure that you are looking at him.

·       Talk with confidence and self-assurance as a mature person would do.

·       Sit straight and upfront. To emphasize your point, make use of hands and facial expressions.

·       If the discussion is straying from the expected course, take the initiative of bringing it back on track by gibing a new directional point.

·       What you say must be audible and clear to the group. So, speak slowly, deliberately and without rushing your works.

·       Your voice must be crisp, energetic and forceful so as to gain the attention of the group. Be assertive without being a bully.

If the discussion is stucking on one point for too long, the quality will definitely suffer. In such a case try and move the discussion forward by highlighting a new aspect or angle to it.

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Group Discussion - Introduction

GROUP DISCUSSION - INTRODUCTION

 

 Meaning:

Group discussion, as the term itself suggests, is a discussion by and among a group of people. The group has between 8 and 12 members who express their views, freely, frankly and in a friendly manner, on a topic of current and controversial nature. The topic is given on the appointed date, and, hence, the conversation that follows is a spontaneous chit chat, not a pre-planned one. Here, within a time limit of 20 to 30 minutes, the abilities of the members of the group are measured in an unobtrusive manner by the examiner who does not actively participate in the discussion.

Features of Group Discussion:  Used as a fruitful method in selecting            suitable candidates for top jobs, group discussion has the following salient features:

·        Group discussion is, unlike interview, many on many conversation which is not pre-planned and is spontaneous. Here, any interesting topic may be given to judge your public speaking talent.

·        Unlike a formal debate where one is supposed to speak only for against the motion, one by one, and within a definite time limit allotted by the President or Chairman, a group discussion follows an informal approach. The participants are free to speak in favour or against the subject, be neutral or explain the merits or demerits, advantages and disadvantages of the topic under discussion.

·        The discussion revolves around a specific subject given by the GTO or examiner, no doubt, but he does not interfere once he announces the subject. Instead, he recedes to the background watches the group behavior therefrom, and the group members immediately start discussing the topic informally.

·        In a group discussion we witness cordiality, friendliness, informality and free atmosphere. Normally, the age, educational qualifications, background, experience and aptitude of the candidates being the same, they have no fear or complexes and thus it becomes easy to assess their natural group behaviour.

Utility of Group Discussion:

·        Speaking in a group enables you to shed your shyness, nervousness and inhibitions.

·        You get to learn many new things and thus your field of knowledge is expanded.

·        Your thinking is stimulated. Discarding your prejudices and emotions you learn to think objectively, where irrelevant ideas have no place.

·        A group discussion helps you cultivate the qualities of self-confidence, mental alertness, self-assertion but without offending the feelings of others ability to discuss a subject without losing your temper, power of reasoning and ability to refute arguments offered by others without allowing any unpleasantness or ill-feeling and disagreeing with grace; event changing your original ideas during the course of the discussion if required in the light of facts and figures provided by the other speakers/participants.

·        You get to know other members of the group, understand your strengths and weaknesses and thus assess yourself in relation to others forming the group.

·        Your true personality is revealed and qualities of leadership crystallize. If you have initiative and tact, know the subject well and have self-confidence, you grab the opportunity to start the discussion and automatically assume the role of a natural leader.

·        Lastly, it provides you a wholesome entertainment in which all others too are equally entertained.

To Know More About Group Discussion Topics:

•    What You Should Avoid in Group Discussion

•    What you must do in Group Discussion

•    General Method of Group Discussion

•    GROUP DISCUSSION TOPICS - Present Education System in Our India?

•   GROUP DISCUSSION TOPICS - What isDesirable, Love or Arranged marriage?

•   Do's and Don’ts in Group Discussions

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General Method of Group Discussion

GROUP DISCUSSION – GENERAL METHOD

 General Method of  G.D: 

·        Normally a group limited to 8 to 10 members is seated comfortably around a table in a semi-circle. The group leader, if any, takes his place in the centre, facing all candidates.

·        They are assigned different serial Nos. viz. 1, 2, 3, etc. and are normally addressed as Mr. No. 1, 2, etc. and not by name.

·        They have to wear their number tags all the time so that the examiner may note down their points accordingly.

·        The examiner or the testing officer instructs them not to disclose their names, speak in any other language than in the one prescribed, mostly English, for the discussion but he does not decide who should speak first and how much time each candidate should take.

·        Sometimes the candidates are themselves allowed the freedom to choose the topic but generally they have to select out of 2 or 3 topics suggested by the examiner.

·        Generally the subjects for discussion are either light hearted ones like love marriages versus arranged marriages or serious ones like India’s Economic Policy or current ones like “war against terrorism, post September 11, 2001 attack on World Trade Centre and Pentagon.

·        Most often than not, the examiner retires to the back ground, so that the candidates may not see him and he assesses their personality and group behavior during the G.D. exercise.

A group discussion can be conducted by different methods which depend on the following two most important factors.

1.     If the level of intelligence of the group is comparatively low and the aim is teaching and learning, the discussion is held under the guidance of a group leader who selects a suitable subject in which the members of the group are interested. He seats the participants around him and announces the subject orally or writes on a blackboard. Discussion may be opened in the following ways:

·        If the subject is simple and familiar to the participants, the group leader puts questions on the subject to them and a discussion ensues.

·        If the subject is somewhat difficult or uncommon, the group leader gives a short introductory talk, explaining both sides of the question without being partisan, and he then asks the members to express their views thereon. A discussion thus follows: The group leader has to be an expert in this case and has to control the discussion.

2.     If the level of intelligence of the participants is high and the aim of discussion is to test the knowledge and power of verbal expression of the group, the person conducting the discussion announces the subject to the group, asks them to express their views , and he himself retreats to the background and watches the discussion. Here he does not perform the role of a leader. 

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