Group discussion is a variant of personality test where several candidates are evaluated simultaneously. It is commonly known as GD. Here all the candidates have to join the discussion without the participation of the examiner. The examiner evaluates the leadership level and personality traits of the candidates.
A group of eight to ten candidates are seated in a circle. A topic is announced and normally around 30 minutes is given for discussion.
The following are the essential components of a group discussion test:
Personality manifestation: dress, body language, tone/voice, manners, be polite, keep eye contact Attitude: be tolerant, be a team player, be helpful, accommodative and cooperative
don’t dominate, don’t suppress, don’t be dogmatic, don’t shout, don’t talk for too long/ don’t be silent for too long
Knowledge: general (world knowledge), technical (academic or job oriented)
Communication skills: speaking and listening skills/ persuasive skills
Leadership qualities: leading the discussion, directing discussion in a different angle, summarizing in the middle, closing the discussions appropriately- traits of social adaptability and motivation
In GD no one will give you a chance. It’s up to you to look for pauses between and enter the discussion smoothly. A good candidate should be able to initiate the process of discussion.
A few useful expressions to use in GD:
| Leading the discussion | -Its not difficult to understand that the problem exists in… -The problem is ….we may begin by looking at…. |
| Refocusing the discussion | -shall we look at the topic from another angle/ for instance… -I think we are off the track… -I think we are moving too far away from the topic… |
| Involving others in the discussion | -How will you…? -What do you think about…? |
| Help someone to participate | -yes you are right -you have a point there, I think... |
| Make suggestions | -what about…? -How about…? -Shall we…? -Let’s... |
| Intervening in the discussion | -Before we go further can I say something? -But there is a problem here… -Let me add a point here… |
| Summarizing | -Its time to summarize what we have been saying… -Lets summarize/ conclude it quickly… |
| Seek clarification | -Can you say something more? -Just a moment, I don’t understand. - If you don’t mind, do you mean…? |
| Express opinions | - I doubt it because… - I agree with you… - I don’t think so… - What you are saying sounds appealing but… - Yes, you are right… |
Evaluation:
Here are some parameters for evaluating performance in the GD. Analyse your friends’ performance using them.
| Name | Personality | Knowledge | Communication skills | Leadership | Grand Total | ||||||||||||||||||||
| A | T | G | MS | OI | T | D | R | AA | O | OI | T | LS | F | L | PA | OI | T | I | TS | E | DM | OI | T | GT | |
| | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 25 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 25 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 25 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 25 | 100 |
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Abbreviations used
| Personality: | Knowledge: | Communication Skills: | Leadership |
| A- Appearance T- emperament G- Gestures OI- Over all Impression T -Total | D- Depth R- Range A- Analytical Ability O- Organisation of Ideas OI- Over all Impression T -Total | LS- Listening Skills F- Fluency L- Language Ability OI- Over all Impression T -Total | I- Initiative TS- team Sprit E- Endurance DM- Decision Making OI- Over all Impression T -Total |
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