Normally, when you sit in a Group Discussion room
'she' starts opposing you,
'he' starts Shouting
and those two people are arguing among themselves only.
And in this noisy room you are supposed to impress the examiner
so that you clear the GD round.
Be it for MBA, Job Recruitment or Bank Exams,
Group Discussion is an important round
and also full of Chaos.
But as LittleFinger says,
'Chaos is a Ladder'
and I am going to tell you how to climb it.
Think of it this way...
When we are with friends and family, we are so good at talking
because we have an opinion about everything.
Group discussions are exactly the same
but all we have to do is to know what kind of topics will be thrown at us
and be prepared.
And today by the end of this video, I am going to get you prepared.
So in today's video we are going to learn
What is Group Discussion?
What does the examine want to know about you through the GD?
Different parts of GD along with sample answers.
But most importantly, towards the end, I'll give you a
Bonus Tip that will help you clear the GD round!
Hi, I am Taskeen.
And if you like the work I am doing and want to motivate me to make more videos
make sure you hit that 'Like' button.
Let's begin!
A group discussion is where a set of candidates (say 10-12)
are given a topic and are asked to discuss among themselves
for a set duration.
Now the kind of topics given in a GD round
can be broadly classified into 4 categories.
#1: The General Category
which can be related to facts, education policy of our country, current affairs etc...
For example: 'Should Yoga be made compulsory in schools?'
'Is India ready to go 100% cashless?'
The purpose of these topics is to find out how aware you are
of what is happening around you.
The second category is Controversial topics.
For example: 'Is Beef Ban logical?'
'Women make better managers.'
'Freshers are better than laterals.'
As you can see, these topics are argumentative in nature
and that's exactly the purpose....to provoke you!
Because the examiner wants to know how mature you are
in keeping your temper in check.
The third category is Abstract topics
that don't really point to a particular subject.
For example: 'End justifies the means.'
'The farther we look, the closer we are.'
These topics are meant to test your lateral thinking
and creativity.
And the final category is Case-study based.
For example: A company fired an employee and as a result
other employees went on a strike.
The question is, 'Why do you think the company fired the employee..
..and what can they do to end the strike?'
These use cases are usually a short description of a problem
and the team together is required to come up with a solution.
Now let's see what skills does the examiner want to see in you
and how to show them that you possess those skills.
#1: They want to know how good are your communication skills.
So avoid using informal phrases like,
'I dunno'
'Kya yaar'
'Tch..chalta hai'
On the other hand, you don't have to use
complicated words like Shashi Tharoor
or be a Grammar Nazi.
It's okay to make a few grammatical mistakes here and there.
Just make sure you are confident while talking.
#2: They want to know how flexible you are in accepting other people's views.
This is important because eventually you will work in a team where
not everybody will agree with you.
Your co-workers will come from different backgrounds,
lifestyle, opinions, beliefs, religions.
So it's important that you are open to new ideas
even if they don't align with the way you think.
#3: They want to know your subject knowledge i.e
how much you read
and how much you pay attention to what is happening around you.
But most importantly they want to know how are your listening skills.
So relax, listen carefully and maintain eye contact
with whoever is speaking.
Remember, the group discussion is not about you.
It's about the team.
The Group Discussion can be broadly classified into 3 parts.
#1: The Start
Now a lot of people will tell you that you should be the first person to start the Group Discussion.
umm...
The advantage of starting first, is that
you grab everybody's attention and can make a great first impression.
But if you talk nonsense while everybody is looking at you
then it's going to go ...
But if you start second, you will get extra time
to think about what you are going to say next
and best yet, suppose you don't understand the topic
then thanks to the first person who started speaking
you will kinda start understanding what the topic is about.
But be it first or second,
you need to have something meaningful to say.
You can start with a quote, a fact
or best yet, start with a short incident from your personal life
that you can relate to the topic.
For example, suppose the topic is
'Was Demonetisation a successful move in India?'
then you can start by saying...
So in this answer, you start with your personal experience
related to the topic and then immediately move on to the next point
where you express your opinion.
Remember, it is important to not stretch your personal experience to the point
where everybody gets bored.
After the start, comes the body.
Now, throughout the GD, you need to remember these 3 points.
#1: In GDs I have seen people hitting the table
and screaming at others if they don't agree with them.
May be that's how you get selected in Roadies
but in real life, you will be kicked out of the next round.
So, if somebody doesn't agree with you, you don't
have to be aggressive about it.
Aggressive people make bad employees
and worse managers.
Instead, be assertive and put your point across rationally.
Suppose you get a controversial topic like
'Women make better managers than men'
and if a guy doesn't agree, then don't be like
'My mother makes a better manager than you!'
Instead you can say something like...
#2: It's best to keep a notepad or a paper with you throughout the GD
so that you can note down the ideas that keep coming to you
and the name of the other participants.
Because if the argument gets heated
then taking a person's name is the best way
to attract their attention
so that you can put forward your point without having to shout.
#3: You don't have to dominate the GD
by speaking on and on...
There is no rule as such but in a 15 minute GD with 10 participants
if you speak for around 2 minutes spread across 4-5 occassions
then it should be good enough.
And finally, the examiner will ask you to summarise
and the best way to summarise is to
acknowledge other's opinion,
state your opinion
and find the middle ground to both in as less words as possible.
For example, if the topic was
'Will India emerge as a Super-Power in the near future?'
and you were 'for' the topic, then you can conclude by saying ...
Now India will become a Super power for sure.
But if you want to be a Super Power, then make sure you
'Subscribe' to my channel and hit that 'Bell' Icon because
I make Career and Finance videos only for you.
Finally, it's time for the Bonus Tip.
If you want to clear the GD round, then you need to do these 2 things.
#1: Consume data that makes you smart.
It's okay to watch Comedy Skits and Vlogs on YouTube once in a while.
But focus more on consuming data that makes you
Smart.
Like watching Infotainment videos, reading the newspaper,
atleast read Comic books because they will improve your
English language skills.
If you want to know how I learnt English
then check out this video.
I have left the link in the description.
#2: Pick 2 - 3 of your friends or family members
and create an informal GD group
and meet regularly to discuss a particular topic.
This is the best way to practise before you appear for your actual GD.
So go and form your GD group but
before you leave, here is your first GD assignment.
Comment below and let me know in 2 - 3 sentences
how will you start the Group Discussion on this topic.
'How do you think India should deal with terrorist attacks?'
Don't worry about grammar, don't worry about punctuation.
Just write.
Because that is how we will learn.
I'll be waiting to read your comments.
On that note, I promise to see you again very soon
until then..
Keep fighting, The Urban Fight to be Fit!