This document provides information about group discussions, including how they are used to assess students' personalities, communication skills, and leadership abilities. It outlines the prerequisites for effective participation in group discussions, such as planning, communication skills, listening skills, and cooperation. It also discusses tips for participation, including understanding the topic, speaking clearly, listening to others, and summarizing discussions. Potential topics for group discussions are described, including facts-based, abstract, controversial, and case study topics. Guidelines are provided around dos and don'ts as well as advantages and disadvantages of group discussions.

1. Group Discussion

2. Welcome to
Group Discussion

3. Introduction
 Group Discussion is a modern method of
assessing students’ personality.
 It is both a technique and an art and a
comprehensive tool to judge the worthiness of
the student and his appropriateness for the
job.
 It is a method where exchange of ideas or
thoughts take place.

4. Pre-requisites of GD
 Topic given by panel.
 Planning and preparation.
 Communication Skills along with Body language.
 Listening skills.
 Analysing the issue or the topic logistically.
 Co-operation
 Tone and Pitch of talking
 Articulation
 It is not sufficient to have ideas. They have to be expressed effectively.
 Fluency and Modulation.

5. GD
Personality
Knowledge
Leadership
Communication Skills

6. What is assessed?
 How good you are at communicating with others.
 How you behave and interact with group.
 How open minded are you.
 Do you have great listening skills?
 How you put forward your views.
 Your leadership and decision making skills.
 Your analysis skill and subject knowledge.
 Problem Solving and Critical Thinking Skills.
 Your confidence and attitude.

7. Benefits of GD
 Stimulation of thinking in different ways.
 Expansion of Knowledge.
 Understanding your Strength and Weakness.
 You get to know about your true personality and qualities of
leadership crystallize.
 Skills like Conversation Handling, Team work, General
Awareness, Leadership, etc are honed.

8. Tips for Effective Participation
 Understand: Understand the topic before attempting to contribute.
 Speak: Try and get a chance to speck. If you can’t get a chance, just try to
make one.
 Initiate: Take the initiative to begin the discussion, if possible.
 Structure: Structure arguments logically – justify your stand.
 Summarize: Summarize the discussion effectively.
 Involve: Take active part throughout the GD.
 Articulate: Work continuously towards articulating your ideas into
meaningful sentences to make the best impact. Be clear in your speech.
 Listen: Be an Active / Attentive Listener.
 Quality matters, not Quantity: It’s not about how much you speak, it is
about how relevant do you speak.

9. Do’s in GD
 Be a good listener.
 Do not use high vocabulary.
 Never use technical language while speaking.
 Not knowing is not a problem, do not try to bluff.
 Talk appropriate to the issue.
 Make original points and support them by substantial reasoning.
 Listen to the other participants actively and carefully.
 Whatever you say must be with a logical flow.
 Make only accurate statements.
 Speak pleasantly and politely to the group.
 Respect the contribution of every speaker.

10. Do’s in GD
 Remember that a discussion is not an argument. Learn to disagree
politely.
 Think about your contribution before you speak.
 Try to stick to the discussion topic. Don’t introduce irrelevant
information.
 Be aware of your own Body Language when you are speaking.
 Agree with and acknowledge what you find interesting.
 Modulate the volume, pitch and tone.
 Be considerate to the feelings of the others.
 Try to get your turn.
 Be an active and dynamic participant by listening.
 Talk with confidence and self assurance.

11. Don’ts in GD
 Do not criticize on religion.
 Do not get personal with anyone.
 Never ever try to bluff.
 Do not be shy or nervous or try to keep yourself isolated from GD.
 Do not change opinions.
 Don’t make fun of any participant even if his arguments are funny.
 Do not get irritated.
 Don’t lose your temper. A discussion is never an argument or
debate.
 Don’t shout. Use moderate tone and medium pitch.
 Don’t use too many gestures while you are speaking.
 Don’t dominate the discussion. Confident Speakers should allow
quiet students to take chance to contribute.

12. Don’ts in GD
 Don’t interrupt. Wait for the speaker to finish what they are saying
before you speak.
 Don’t engage yourself in sub-group conversation.
 Don’t repeat.
 Don’t worry about making grammatical mistakes, matter you are
talking about is more important.

13. How to be a part of GD?
 Keep eye contact while speaking: Do not look at the evaluators only. Keep eye contact with every team member while
speaking.
 Initiate the GD: Initiating the GD is a big plus. But keep in mind – Initiate in the GD only when you understood the topic
clearly and have some knowledge about it. Speaking without proper knowledge is bad impression.
 Allow others to speak: Do not interrupt anyone in between while speaking. Even if you don’t agree with his/her point,
do not snatch away their chance to speak. Instead make some notes and clear the points when it’s your turn.
 Speak Clearly: Speak politely and Clearly. Use simple and understandable words while speaking. Don’t be too aggressive
if you are disagreeing with someone. Express your feelings calmly and politely.
 Make sure to bring the discussion on the track: If by any means group is distracting from the topic or goal then simply
take the initiative to bring the discussion on track.. Make all group members aware that you all need to come to some
conclusion at the end of discussion, so stick to the topic.
 Positive Attitude: Be confident. Don’t try to dominate someone. Keep your body language positive. Show your interest
in the discussion.

14. How to be a part of GD?
 Speak Sensibly: Do not speak just to increase your speaking time. Don’t worry even if you speak less. Your thoughts
should be sensible and relevant instead of irrelevant speech.
 Listen Carefully to others: Speak less and listen more! Pay attention while others are speaking. This will make coherent
discussion and you will get involved in the group positively. You will surely make people agree with you.
 No need to go into much details: You have limited time so be precise and convey your thoughts in short and simple
language.

15. Initiation Techniques
 State the topic
 Start with related quote (if possible)
 First define it
 Raise a Question
 State some shocking statement
 Include facts, figures and statistics
 Initiate a GD only and only when you have idea about the topic and you can put valid points.
 Don’t start a GD just for the sake to take chance
 Opening sentence should lead the GD
 Keep it brief

16. How to Summarize a GD?
 Avoid raising new points
 Avoid stating only your viewpoint
 Avoid dwelling only on one aspect of GD
 Keep it brief and concise
 It must incorporate all the important points that came out during GD
 If the evaluator asks you to summarize the GD, this simply means GD has come to an end.
 Do not add anything once the GD has been summarized

17. Accept Criticism
 If any member of the group criticizes or disapproves a point, it is unwise to get upset or react sharply.
 In case the criticism is flimsy, the same can be pointed out politely.
 Maximize participation; one must try to contribute fully, vigorously and steadily throughout the discussion.
 Show leadership ability as GD also evaluates your leadership qualities.
 Accept someone’s point of view.
 Praise the argument.
 Accept the contradicts view.
 Express your argument with few facts, cases, statistics, etc.
 Express without hurting others’ feelings.

18. Some common GD Phrases
Question Agree Disagree
What do you think? I agree. I disagree.
How about you? I feel the same way. I have a different idea. I think…
How do you feel about it? I have the same opinion as.
I don’t think so.
Could you tell me … ? That’s what I think too. Really?
I would like to ask you about… Same here. No. I think…
I would like to know… Me too. That doesn’t make any sense.

19. Some common GD Phrases
Get in Get more Get through
Pardon, but … Could you repeat that? The main reason is…
May I say something? I missed the end of that one. … because …
Excuse me for interrupting, but… Sorry, I missed something there? That’s why…
Can we go back to what you just
said?
Hmm? What was that? And then…
Sorry, but… Could you go over that again? The really important thing is…
Can we slow down a minute? Huh? That’s like…

20. Types of GD
Facts Based
Abstract Topics
Controversial
Topics
Case Study Based

21. Facts Based Topics
 There are two kind of Factual or Facts Based Topics, they are: Factual Generic and Factual Specific.
Factual Generic Topics:
• These topics require a basic level of awareness with respect to the various sectors of environment. This basic
environmental sensitivity acts as a catalyst in facilitating a smooth discussion.
• They (the topics) test you more on interpersonal skills and behaviour, rather than discrete sectoral information. The
prime objective of these topics is to measure your attitude, behaviour and communication, rather than the knowledge
or subject content.
• Examples:
o Cricket and India
o Honesty is the best policy
o Living in a joint family is better
o Is guessing an act of intelligence?
• For handling these kind of discussions, start on a general note and look for relevant convergence points. Use examples
and illustrations to support your statements.

22. Facts Based Topics
Factual Specific Topics:
• These topics require an in-depth understanding of the various sectors of environment. They are critically dependent on
the information, facts and figures.
• Examples:
o GST
o WTO
• For handling these kind of discussions, start on a specific note and look for possible divergence points. Conclude with
convergence on the issue at hand.

23. Abstract Topics
 An Abstract topic means, any topic with uncertainty and a huge scope of exploration.
 There is no particular set of rules for Abstract GD Topics, you can simply stretch your thoughts or imagination to any
level you are comfortable with.
 It is a kind of focussed thought process. Try to keep discussion in some particular direction, because every other
member has a different perspective.
 Try to relate abstract topic with some real-time examples. For example – if you got topic “Black”, you can say, Black is a
good absorber of Heat Energy.
 No one is absolutely right or wrong here, because you can’t judge or assess imagination, just one can have an idea
about it.
 Try to be unique. Think very creative to crack these discussions.

24. Abstract Topics asked in GD
 Smart work vs Hard work
 There is no right work to do a wrong thing
 Haste makes waste
 Good things come from good thinking
 Every cloud has a silver lining
 Nothing is right, nothing is wrong, everybody has different opinion
 Wheel
 Black
 Be patient with friends and enemies
 Ray
 Door
 Zero

25. Controversial Topics
 The topics that give rise to some kind of controversy or public disagreement.
 Controversy is generally defined as a prolonged disagreement.
 Examples –
• Is India becoming intolerant?
• Are women better managers than men?
• Why is molestation prevalent in India?
• Alcohol ban in India – pros and cons
• Should organ donation be made compulsory?
• Is India safe for women?

26. Case Study Topics
 A case study, just like a group discussion, is designed to assess certain group performance skills of an
individual. The difference stems from the fact that a Case Study tests a larger and slightly different skill set as
compared to a normal group discussion.
 Steps you need to follow to approach Case Study based GD –
• Situational analysis
• Problem Definition
• Statement of Objectives
• Evaluation of Alternatives
• Recommendation
• Plan B, if any

27. Advantages of GD
 Developed recalling and retention ability
 Develop self esteem
 Develop problem solving skill
 Critical thinking ability
 Self Confidence
 Team Building
 Social Skills
 Proper Attitude
 Comprehensive Knowledge

28. Disadvantages of GD
 Time Consuming
 Less efficient method for large group
 Success depends on preparation of student

29. Thank You!