Communication SkillsGroup Discussion- Methodology

Subject: Communication Skills

Teacher: Ms Shweta Sharma

Presented By: Sheetal Malhotra, Kriti Sundriyal, Jayati Yaksh, Aahna Sharma and Rohit Joshi.

Course: MJMC-1, Sem II, 2012-14

What is a Group Discussion?

A GD is a methodology used by an organization to gauge whether the candidate has certain personality traits and/or skills that it desires in its members.

In this methodology, the group of candidates is given a topic or a situation, given a few minutes to think about the same, and then asked to discuss the it among themselves for 15-20 minutes.

Why a Group Discussion?

The reason why institutes put the candidates through a Group discussion and an interview, after testing your technical and conceptual skills in an exam, is to get to know you as a person and gauge how well you will fit in their institute.

The Group discussion tests how you function as a part of a team.

What is tested?

1. Ability to work in a team2. Communication skills3. Reasoning ability4. Leadership skills5. Initiative6. Assertiveness7. Flexibility8. Creativity9. Ability to think on ones feet

What To Do?

1. Take leadership responsibilities

2. Keep an open mind

3. Maintain a moderate tone of voice

4. Don’t get emotional

5. Sit upright and concentrate on your body language

6. Be a good listener

What Not To Do

1. Avoid constant objections to other people’s arguments

2. Say no to a pessimistic approach

3. Don’t insult other people, criticize in a decent manner

4. Dump your jealousy or animosity

5. No irrelevant stories/personal experiences

6. Don’t be an attention seeker

KEY TO SUCCESS

The GD is to check how you (i) behave, participate and contribute in a group, (ii) how much importance do you give to the group objective as well as your own, (iii) how well do you listen to viewpoints of others and; (iv) how open-minded you are in accepting views contrary to your own.

The aspects which make up a GD are verbal communication, non-verbal behavior, conformation to norms, decision-making ability and cooperation. You should try to be as true as possible to these aspects.