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Nowadays Group Discussion is being extensively used along with personal interviews
for the final selection of candidates. It plays a main role in selecting the best among
the best. Having scored high marks, students who get selected for a higher/another
course or employment are placed on a par - on equal footing - based on their age,
qualification and experience. It becomes necessary to conduct further screening for
choosing a few among many. It is here, the Group Discussion plays an important part.
It helps in choosing the socially suitable candidate among the academically superior
achievers. It is one of the best tools to study the behavioral and attitudinal responses
of the participants.

Rightly speaking, Group Discussion is more a technique than a conventional test. In

fact it is one of the most important and popular techniques being used in a number of
personality tests. It is a technique or a method used for screening candidates as well as
testing their potential. It is also designed as a situation test wherein a sample of a
candidate's group worthiness and potential as a worker comes out quite explicitly



1.Group Discussion, as the name itself indicates, is a group activity carried out by
participating individuals. It is an exchange of ideas among the individuals of a group
on a specific topic.

2 It is used as reliable, testing device - mainly as a tool to assess all the candidates in a
group at one go -in order to select the best in comparative perspective.

3.Group Discussion is an informal discussion in which participants of the same

educational standard discuss a topic of current interest.

4.It is also known as leaderless discussion. It means its aim is to find out the natural
leadership level of the candidates. Strictly speaking, no one from the group or outside
will be officially designated as leader or president or chairman or anything of the sort.
Even the examiner or supervisor who launches the discussion will retire to the
background. No one will participate or intervene in the deliberations of the group.

 


nswer this question.

Why you are now being tested after successfully passing out the written examination
and perhaps the interview too?.

You have successfully completed the written examination which tests the knowledge
of different subjects as well other capabilities like writing skill, numerical and
cognitive ability, test of reasoning , general knowledge etc., Exactly like you, other
participants who have come to the final round of selection after thorough screening
are of the same qualification. Their age-group, educational qualifications, academic
achievements and background experiences are generally quite similar and all of you
are of the same level.

It is necessary that you should understand the nature of the G D technique as well as
its rationale and purpose. It is very important to know what personality traits the
examiners would focus on. If you want to attain success in this challenge test, you
should analyze its ingredients and grasp its techniques.

s all the participants in a Group Discussion are rivals, there is bound to be

competition and clash of interests among them. Everyone in the group would be keen
to top in the discussion, resulting in a good deal of rivalry and maneuvering for
situations of advantage. Thus in the group discussion- in this free for all- you have to
manage others and get the cooperation of the group by continuously relating to
situations as they keep developing and changing. The dynamics of the group will
stimulate each candidate to reveal his/her inherent natural leadership qualities in a
spontaneous manner. But only those who remain alert by adapting himself / herself to
the changing situations as they emerge, and only those who utilize the opportunities
with enterprise, imagination and tact come out successfully.

Under these circumstances, the conduct and behavior of each candidate will bring to
the surface his or her natural leadership, social, dynamic and organizing abilities in a
spontaneous manner. Group Discussion is essentially a verbal-oriented performance
and you have to talk your way out. With one's gift of the gab or power of expression.
GD also requires the verbal display of the knowledge of the candidate. The more your
ideas and the more your knowledge of the subject, the more interested, enthusiastic
and confident you would become and the more fluent and forceful would be your
speech and contribution to the discussion.

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The rationale of the GD technique rests on the principle that leadership qualities with
knowledge and power of expression are essential to achieve the results or objectives
in all group endeavors. The leadership quality of one can nowhere be more clearly
revealed than in a group discussion. For instance, see the difference between GD and
other forms of testing.

There is a considerable difference between public speaking and GD. In public

speaking, the audience merely judges and passes a verdict on the speaker. Nobody in
the audience competes with you. They listen to what the speaker says but do not
compete with the speaker. They listen to what the speaker says, but do not discuss the
subject with equal rights as does the speaker.

The same is the case with an interview. In an interview, a candidate has to deal with
the interviewer who asks questions to which the interviewed responds. He will be
given ample opportunities as the interviewer is interested in the answers. In a debate
or lecture, the candidate is given sometime to think and marshal his ideas and the
chairman or the presiding officer will ensure that no one intervenes. The interview
focuses on personality traits wherein the interviewers ask well directed questions to
assess the overall personality of a candidate.

Yet these tests by themselves are insufficient, as they do not test the group worthiness
of a candidate, a quality that is an important component for success in all vocations.

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There are certain attitudes which act negatively and they spoil the chances of
selection. Constantly objecting others and speaking pessimistically will block the
smooth flow of discussion.  totally negative attitude prevents progress and people
who are always complaining and always dissatisfied will not be found suitable.
Equally unsuitable are those who insult and criticize others betraying jealousy or
animosity. The aggressive attitude is usually disapproved. nother avoidable attitude
is telling irrelevant stories and personal experiences. Motivated by a need for
attention, some participants interject comments that call attention to their
achievements and successes. They are boastful while trying to appear not tobe so.

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The participants should adopt two important attitudes which alone will facilitate a
productive and satisfying outcome in any Group Discussion:

1.ll participants in the group must accept responsibility for the smooth conduct of
the group activities. This orientation means that each member takes on leadership
responsibilities even though he is not entrusted any such a role. Instead of passively
waiting for someone else to do what has to be done, everyone must actively seek and
accept responsibility. In an effective group discussion, there are no absolute followers
but different levels and kinds of leaderships and these leaderships keep fluctuating.

2.nother important attitude is open-mindedness -the willingness of the candidate to

consider a broad range of ideas and suggestions from others. He must be flexible and
must be open to change. Instead of taking rigid stands on issues, the flexible member
tries to adapt to the best interests of the group. This requires objectivity- in order to
make unbiased, impartial judgments. This does not mean that you completely
suppress your subjective and emotional reactions. You try to balance them with
objective observations. This requires maintaining a proper perspective, that is, either
becoming too involved in problems to maintain objectivity nor remaining too distant
and uninvolved to be fully unaware of their nature. Finally the participant with the
orientation of equality should not nourish notions of superiority and must realize that
the fellow participants are equal to him/her in all aspects. You also get an opportunity
of noticing and comparing the verbal ability, depth of knowledge, extent of ideas,
logical reasoning and the convincing capacity of others and this should enable you to
prepare yourself to match with them.

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GD Tips
GD F
Common Mistakes
GD Preparation
Facing GD
Need for GD
GD for MB
GD Types
  can be defined as a formal discussion involving ten to 12 participants in a group.

It is a methodology used by an organization to gauge whether the candidate has certain personality traits and/or s
 methodology, the group of candidates is given a topic or a situation, given a few minutes to think about the same
themselves for 15-20 minutes.

s in a football game, where you play like a team, passing the ball to each team member and aim for a common
incorporating views of different team members to reach a common goal.

Here are some of the most important personality traits that a candidate should possess to do well at a GD:

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