Group Discussions are part of the selection process most of the times in the recruitment procedures in many National and Multinational Companies and also for admission to the top Universities all over India. The purpose of conducting the same is to judge individual’s capabilities in different situations and his/her dealing with team mates having different mindsets and opinions on various issues. In most of the cases- the medium of discussion is English, due to which they can also measure one’s language communication ability apart from other useful personality aspects.
Normally the time of the discussion is kept between 15-20 minutes and around 10-12 candidates are part of the group which is required to discuss on any particular assigned topic. The Panel has normally between 1 to 3 members who observe different skills of individual candidates engaged in the discussion.. Main qualities which are mainly observed in the candidate’s are- individual’s team skills, knowledge on the subject, confidence, politeness, initiative, listening ability, command on the language etc. The one who starts or concludes the discussion is given some extra marks apart from them.
Even if you don’t know much about the topic, you can listen to some of the speakers in the beginning of the discussion and intelligently put it later in your own language. You should keep yourself in the center stage but no arrogance should be evident from your actions. The companies expect you to be a good leader who can put forward individual opinions confidently and lead the group in the most amicable way. Your command over the language is important but more than that are your confidence and leadership skills in order to achieve the desired objective.
All you have to do is to be attentive in the discussion, be extra active and have a pleasant smile on the face all the times for an outstanding performance in a Group Discussion round.
Amit Gupta
Head-Placement, Biyani Group Of Colleges
