All about Group Discussions

Many companies conduct group discussion after the written test so as to check on your interactive skills and how good you are at communicating with other people. The GD is to check how you behave, participate and contribute in a group, how much importance do you give to the group objective as well as your own, how well do you listen to viewpoints of others and how open-minded are you in accepting views contrary to your own.The aspects which make up a GD are verbal communication, non-verbal behaviour, conformation to norms, decision-making ability and cooperation.You should try to be as true as possible to these aspects.Also show leadership & coordinating ability.

About GD

In general, allowed time for GD is between 15 to 30 minutes. A group of 5 - 15 people is usually formed to discuss on a particular topic. Topic may be related to computer or may be related to any current affairs.

A GD has 3 main parts-Introduction ,discussion or core,conclusion.Let us see what they contain.

Introduction: Whenever you are giving an introduction to a GD,state how you interpret the title,what you are about to argue or describe & the factors to consider, an indication of your attitude towards the title and a back up reason for any first statement made.Preferably you can put another open question like- “So this is how I feel.Kindly share your views on the same”. This would be an ideal start to a GD.

Discussion or Core: This part should involve description, explanation & arguments to clarify what has been said so far. Use of known facts to support your arguments is recommended. This is the part where your communication, attentiveness, presentation and a lot other skills are evaluated. So express your key facts precisely, specifically & in as much detail as it demands - not more.

Conclusion: Ideally you will reach a coherent logical conclusion at the end of discussion. If it does not side with any particular issue that the topic focuses on, go for a diplomatic approach. You can then argue that evidence is conflicting, the ‘fors’ & ‘againsts’ are evenly balanced or that evidence is insufficient. In either case don’t drag, just summarise main points, comment on the title or if its difficult, simply do your best in the most simple, direct & short manner possible and when you have done so - STOP! It is not desirable to sacrifice facts and arguments for style.