5 WAYS TO NAIL THE GROUP DISCUSSION ROUND DURING

INTERVIEWS.

By: Sambit Biswal B.Tech PGDM

WHAT IS GD?

Group Discussions are an excellent way to showcase your

knowledge in current trends and matters of the globe, how aware

you are about things happening around you, and most of all to test

your communication and presentation skills. It goes without saying

that you need to be well prepared, with a good grasp on a wide array

of topics, in order to take down the opponents one by one, topic by

topic, logically. Group Discussion, whether it is for an interview for

the B-school you desperately want to get in, or an MNC that you wish

to be a part of, gives you an impeccable opportunity to impress the

mentors/ superiors by verbally sweeping them of their feet.

1. IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT YOU:

What you can bring to the table if you are hired or given admission to, is

important, yes, but what is more important is that people are here to see

how well can you handle working in a group, especially when it is a

group of people you’ve never met before. In a global market where

communication is an essential aspect, the organization wants to see if

you can communicate well with your peers, which will include clients,

co-workers, or classmates who come from different backgrounds,

lifestyle, opinion-set, beliefs, religion and countries. These people

will disagree with you openly, pay no heed to your suggestions, hog

limelight for a project that was largely your doing, and more.

CONT……

Hence, you don’t need to be the loudest and most

aggressive of the lot to put your confidence on display. You

don’t need to be the one who takes the stage for the longest

duration to emphasize on how much you know about a topic.

You can just as easily be the one who sits back composed,

listens to other members contribute, and then forms a

counter-argument based on what everyone is saying along

with his opinion for rebuttal.

2 .   Y OU D ON ’T WA N T TO B E R E M E M BE R E D A S ‘THE ON E WHO S POKE THE M OS T ’ :

What most people forget is in the end, this is not an

elocution. This is a discussion, which you don’t have to run

single-handedly. Organizations are more interested in taking a

liking to people who know how to communicate effectively,

rather than people who go on speaking without a point, and

beating around the bush, just to leave an impression. These

three thumb rules are a short and simple way to show how to

get your point across in a better way:.

RULES

Rule 1: Solid opening statement

You don’t have to have a speech prepared. A small, thought-

provoking statement that is likely to spark a further discussion will

do the job well.

Rule 2: Lead to something

Don’t leave people hanging after your kick-ass introduction. You

opening statement should flow into a strong relevant point that you

want to make, without which your contribution amounts to nothing.

RULES

Rule 3: Closing statement.

Again, no essays, please. If you’re mid-discussion, ask a question

when you end, that will keep a conversation going. If, that is not what

you want to go with, summarize everything you said in a single

sentence just to make your stance known. Like a TL;DR(Too Long;

Didn’t Read), your closing statement should be your TL;DL(Too Long;

Didn’t Listen). If you are bring the discussion to an end, then just

conclude by recounting everyone’s opinion, your opinion, and the

middle ground to both, in as less words as possible.

3. YOU WILL BE PROVOKED:

There will always be one person who will make a sexist statement, or

express an inappropriate opinion on Syria Civil War, and sometimes that

person might just be the judge of the GD. This is where you don’t sway.

Let’s face it. B-Schools are hard, and top-notch organizations

require giving more than just your best shot. Being  better with words

isn’t just enough in such a case. Of course, you’d be required to to have

your facts and knowledge in place, but  the whole point of GDs are to

see if the candidates are well suited to make it to an esteemed college,

or company and handle the pressure of it thereafter.

5 REAS ONS  WHY MBA IS NOT F OR YOU.You’re being constantly evaluated on how you react to situations and

people in those few minutes, so if there is this one intimidating girl in the

room who wouldn’t shut up and cuts people halfway through their

statements; trust me, she isn’t helping herself. Very often, the whole group

starts shouting and attacking individuals on a more personal level and there

are times when the group hits a crescendo and then there is a sudden lull.

For them group discussions are vital; since they believe that such a scenario

is where the real you comes out, and how your being upset and angry

changes your behavior and affects your judgement, based on which they

evaluate if you make a perfect fit for their work-environment and mindset.

So, how to crack this? This brings us to our next point.

4. BE YOURSELF

How cliché, right?  You must always remember why you applied to a certain

institute or organization – more often than not, it is because you felt that it would

contribute to your career-growth by providing you with relevant opportunities or

because the work culture there is something that  fits your needs. Forgoing your

beliefs, just to make an impression, or to be in the spotlight, says a lot about you.

So if someone makes an inappropriate comment, that disrespects a race,

ethnicity, gender or profession, that you do not agree with, stop dwelling too

much on what the mediators will think, go with your gut and jump at the chance

to speak. Remember, though: Group Discussion is not war. Don’t take the debate

to heart, and keep it light. You’re not going to be seeing the people involved

anytime soon or ever anyway.

5. YOU DON’T NEED TO BE THE NEXT WIKIPEDIA

One of my childhood friends, a year junior to me applied to my

university for post-graduation. Weeks before her GD,  I met her to find

she was now an expert in numbers of people killed in the Palestine and

Gaza attacks, to birth date of Kony, a civil terrorist from Uganda, who

was making a child army.

GD is mostly opinion based, and sometimes does not require extensive

amount of data to be presented. How do you plan to argue or give a

perspective on – if women are women to join the army, with numbers

alone? So, stop freaking out.

CONT…………

Learn smart, not hard. Everyday newspaper reading and keeping tab

on relevant news websites and forums should do the trick. Do not rant

about facts you’re not sure about. You don’t want to be cross questioned

on something you can’t provide a credible source to. Humor can be a

good card, to break the tense atmosphere, although refrain from crude

and sensitive issues for that as well. Everyone loves a good laugh, not

being laughed at.

ABOUT MYSELF

Name: Sambit Biswal

Home town: Bhubaneswar

State : Odisha

Email: sambit.biswal@hotmail.com

Facebook : www.facebook.com/sambitbiswal1

Twitter: @sambitbiswal2