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DOs and DON'Ts for GD
Group Discussion is an important criteria of the selection process in admission in IIMs and other MBA Institutes. The Judging Panel typically looks out for candidates who are outgoing and smart. During the GD, the panel members essentially evaluate the candidate's potential to be a leader and his/her ability to work as a team member. It is not a very easy task to stand out from a group of ten to twenty candidates. You are being assessed for your team behavior. You cannot win by either being a mute witness to the action or by being very aggressive. While doing the right things can allow you to become a valuable member of the group, doing the wrong things can cause you to disrupt the discussion, and you may find yourself alienated from the other members.
Points to remember
Points to remember
- Remember to enter the discussion room with a piece of paper and pen. In preparation time, jot down as many ideas as you can about the topic given.
- Judging panel should notice you making a meaningful contribution in an attempt to help the group reach the right consensus.
- You should be assertive. Assertiveness does not mean being arrogant.
- Obvious things will be stated by everybody. So, highlight some points that are not obvious. This will be appreciated by the panel members.
- You must be clearly seen to be attempting to build a consensus. This is important because in most work situations, you will have to work with people in a team and take decisions as a group.
- Work out strategies to help you make an entry.
- Make your contribution based on quality and not on quantity.
- It is very important to listen and understand the topic before giving your opinion.
- Do as many mock GDs as possible before you attend the actual one.
- Listen to the subject carefully and speak accordingly at an opportune time.
- Be cool, confident and as natural as possible.
- Put down your thoughts on a paper and take time to organize your thoughts.
- Initiate the discussion if you know the subject well.
- Listen to others if you don't know the subject.
- Use proper body language, keep a smiling face and be polite.
- Keep your arguments focussed to the main topic.
- Try to generate new ideas so that the other discuss on ideas generated by you and support your point with some facts and figures.
- Keep eyes contact with maximum number of people while talking.
- Motivate other members of the team to speak and listen to them.
- Disagree politely and agree with what is right.
- Be active and attentive during the whole process. You may speak as many times as possible as long as you have something new and relevant to add.
- Your aim should be to get selected and not to win the arguments.
- Summarize the discussion if the group has not reached a conclusion.
- Don't interrupt others while they are speaking, you may start as soon as the person speaking takes a pauses.
- Don't show off your knowledge.
- Don't make it a fish market by using high pitch also don't be totally silence.
- Don't initiate the discussion if you do not have sufficient knowledge about the given topic.
- Don't over speak, intervene and snatch others chance to speak.
- Don't argue and shout during the GD.
- Don't try to impose discipline on others.
- Don't feel agitated if others don't agree with your view point, you may agree to disagree.
- Don't look at the evaluators or a particular group member.
- Don't talk irrelevant things and distract the discussion
- Don't get personal or make fun of others.
- Don't flaunt your past experiences, education qualification or other achievements during the GD.
- Don't ask others to come to a consensus by voting. Voting is not a substitute of discussion.
- Don't pose negative body gestures like touching the nose, leaning back on the chair, knocking the table with a pen etc.
- Don't mention erratic statistics.
- Don't display low self confidence with shaky voice and trembling hands.
- Don't get into cross talk with any person in the group.
