This document provides guidance on effective group discussion skills. It explains that group discussions allow participants to demonstrate managing situations, teamwork, communication skills, and conflict resolution. An effective discussion has an initiation, body, and summary. Good initiation techniques include using quotes, definitions, questions, facts, short stories, or general statements to introduce the topic. The document outlines best practices for participating in discussions, such as maintaining rapport, organizing thoughts, and focusing on the topic rather than personal views. Common mistakes like emotional outbursts, dominating conversation, and lack of preparation are identified.

1. Group
Discussion

2. Why Group Discussion?
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Managing a real life situation
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Ability to work in a team
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Interpersonal qualities
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Listening and probing skills
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Communication skills
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Clarity of thought
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Conflict handling
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Knowledge about subject and individual point of view
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Ability to create a consensus
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Openess and flexibility towards new ideas

3. Structure of a GD:
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Initiation
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Body of the group discussion
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Summarization/conclusion

4. Initiation Techniques:
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Quotes
Definition
Question
Facts figures and statistics
Short story
General statement

5. Quotes:
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Topic: should the censor board be
abolished?
“Hidden apples are always sweet”
Topic: customer is king

There is only one boss-the customer. He can fire
everybody in the company from the chairman or
down the line, by simply spending his money
somewhere else. (Sam Walton-wall mart)

6. Definition:
Topic: Advertising is a diplomatic
way of telling a lie

Any paid form of non-personal presentation and
promotion of ideas, goods or services through mass
media like news papers, magazines, television by
an identified sponsor.

7. Question:
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Does not signify asking a question to hamper the flow or
insulting a participant
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Implies asking a question and answering it yourself
Topic: should India go to war with Pakistan?

what does war bring to the people of the nation? we
have had four clashes with Pakistan. The pertinent
question is “what have we achieved?

8. Facts, Figures and Statistics:
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Make sure you quote them accurately.
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Wrong facts works to your disadvantage.
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Approximation allowed on macro figures (70% of Indian
population stays in villages)
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No approximation on micro figures. They have to be
correct and accurate.( Do not say 30 states of India
instead of 29)

9. Short story:
Topic: Attitude is everything

A boy once asked a balloon vendor selling helium
filled balloons. Which one will go high in sky-the
blue balloon or the red balloon? The balloon vendor
answered: It is not the color of the balloon, but what
is inside that makes it go high.

10. General statement:
Topic: Should Sonia Gandhi be the
prime minister of India?

Before jumping into conclusions, let us first analyze
the qualities a prime minister must possess. Then
we will compare these with qualities Ms.Gandhi
possesses. This will help us reach a conclusion.

11. But ….
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Initiating GD is a high profit – high loss strategy.
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Initiator has the responsibility of putting the GD in
the right perspective or frame work.

12. Summarization techniques:
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GD’s do not really have conclusions. It is
summarized.
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Avoid raising new points
Avoid stating only your view point
Avoid dwelling only on one aspect of GD
Keep it brief and concise
Incorporate all important points which came out during
GD.
Do not add anything else once the GD is summarized.
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13. Tips:
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Sound knowledge on topics like politics, finance, economy,
science and technology. (Good reading habits).
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Clarity in speech and expression.
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Better not to initiate if you are not sure on the topic of
discussion (Wait and watch attitude)
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Use simple, direct and straight forward language. Avoid slang.

14. Tips:
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Do not try to be someone you are not.
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Organize your thoughts. Think of what you are going to say.
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Do not lose your cool if any one says anything you object to.
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GD is not a debating stage.
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Maintain Rapport with fellow participants.
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Communicate with each and every candidate present.
Address the entire group

15. Positive task roles in a GD:
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Initiator
Information seeker
Information giver
Procedure facilitator
Tension Reliever
Opinion seeker
Opinion giver
Clarifier
Energizer
Compromiser
Summarizer

16. Negative roles to be avoided:
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Disgruntled non-participant
Attacker
Dominator
Patronizer
Clown

17. GD mistakes:
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Emotional outburst:
Case study: Rashmi was offended when one of the male
participants in a group discussion made a statement on
women generally being submissive while explaining his point
of view. When Rashmi finally got an opportunity to speak,
instead of focusing on the topic, she vented her anger by
accusing the other candidate for being a male chauvinist and
went on to defend women in general
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Immature and de-motivating behavior

18. GD mistakes:
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Quality Vs Quantity
Case study:Gautam believed that the more he talked, the
more likely he was to get through the GD. So, he interrupted
other people at every opportunity. He did this so often that the
other candidates got together to prevent him from participating
in the rest of the discussion.
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He is not a team player
Mantra is “Contributing meaningfully to the team's success”

19. GD mistakes:
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Egotism show off:
Case study: Krishna was happy to have got a group
discussion topic he had prepared for. So, he took pains to
project his vast knowledge of the topic. Every other sentence
of his contained statistical data - "20% of companies; 24.27%
of parliamentarians felt that; Soon, the rest of the team
ignored his attempts to enlighten them as they perceived that
he was cooking up the data.

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Self centered
inability to work in an atmosphere where different opinions are
expressed.

20. GD mistakes:
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Managing one’s insecurities:
Case study: Sumati was very nervous. She thought that
some of the other candidates were exceptionally good.
Thanks to her insecurity, she contributed little to the
discussion. Even when she was asked to comment on a
particular point, she preferred to remain silent.

You are the participant in the GD; not the evaluator. So
participate in GD.

Low confidence level.

21. FAQs:
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How do I take my chance to speak?
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Do not interrupt others while speaking.
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Maintain eye contact with the speaker.
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Gauge from his eye movements and pitch of his voice when
he is about to close his inputs.
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Quickly take it from there.
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Try to link your inputs with what he has spoken by adding to or
opposing his arguments

22. FAQs:

Do leadership skills include moderating the
GD?
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Ordering people when to speak and when not to reflect,s poor
leadership.
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Do not be a self appointed moderator in the group
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Leadership in a GD - reflected by your clarity of thought, ability
to expand the topic in its different dimensions, listening to
others and probing them to provide more information.

23. FAQs:

Quantity Vs Quality
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Success in GD doesn’t depend on how loudly you
speak
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Express your views in the group clearly.
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Knowledge and participation in group matters.

24. Remember…
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Do not spend time thinking about how others are
superior or inferior to you
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Organize your thoughts before you speak
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Keep cool
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Confidence
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Be yourself
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Focus

25. Thank you