Group Discussion Skills

GROUP DISCUSSION SKILLS

Group discussion allows you to exchange information and ideas and gives you the experience of working in a team. In the work place, discussions enable the management to draw on the ideas and the knowledge of staff, and to acknowledge the staff as valued members of a team.

Some dos and don’ts for group discussions:

1. A group discussion is your chance to be more vocal. The evaluator wants to hear you speak.

2. Be as natural as possible. Do not try and be someone you are not. Be yourself.

3. Take time to organize your thoughts. Think of what you are going to say.

4. Seek clarification if you have any doubts regarding the subject.

5. Don’t start speaking until you have clearly understood and analyzed the subject.

6. Agree or disagree with the other person’s views and then move on to express your views.

7. Your body language says a lot about you – your gestures and mannerisms are more likely to reflect your attitude than what you say.

8. Language skills are important only to the effect as to how you get your points across clearly and fluently.

9. Be assertive but remember DO NOT DOMINATE ; try to maintain a balanced tone in your discussion and analysis.

10.Don’t lose your cool if anyone says anything you object to. The key is to stay objective: Don’t take the discussion personally.

11.Always be polite: Try to avoid using extreme phrases like: ‘I strongly object’ or ‘I disagree”. Instead try phrases like: “I would like to share my views on…’ on ‘One difference between your point and mine….’or “I beg to differ with you”.

12.Do not try to talk all the time. Lead your team to speak This shows your leadership skills. Motivate the other members of the team to speak –(this surely does not mean that the only thing that you do in the GD is to say “let us hear what the young lady in the pink saree has to say,” or “Raghu, let us hear your views”), and listen to their views. Be receptive to others’ opinions and do not be aggressive.

13.If you have a group of like-minded friends, you can have a mock group discussion where you can learn from each other through giving and receiving feedback.

Apart from the above points, the panel will also judge team members for their alertness and presence of mind, problem-solving abilities, ability to work as a team without alienating certain members, and creativity.

Don’t lose heart if you did not do well in your first group discussion.

The best possible preparation for a group discussion is to learn from your past mistakes. Look at every opportunity as a learning experience and try not to repeat the mistakes that you did in this one.