There can be various ways of assessing an individual’s personality but group discussions and personal interviews are accepted tools to select a student because in a limited time they can give a fair idea to B-schools whether a candidate can become a manager or not. Students may argue that if this is the case, then knowing what B-schools are looking for and presenting yourself accordingly can actually help. Knowing what B-schools are looking for can actually help but not in preparing you for a superficial mask but to help you assess whether you have those traits which B-schools are looking for.

This brings us to other question: are managerial traits natural or can they be acquired? If they are natural, what is the need to do MBA? An MBA course teaches students how to achieve larger goals and it polishes those personality traits. But there are some basic traits that a candidate should have to go through the MBA process and to know that institutes conduct GD/PI.

Group discussion

A group discussion is generally a 20-to-30 minute process whose larger objective is to select thosecandidates who have the ability to perform in a team. Apart from this, the kind of topic given also helps panelists to know various traits of a candidate’s personality. In most of the GDs you are made to sit in a semi-circle and discuss a given topic. The topic can be as general as ‘Women make better managers’ or as specific as ‘India-US nuclear deal.’ What matters in group discussion is your stand on the topic, your ability to analyse the given topic, your awareness about the topic, and the way you present the topic. One person from the group is asked to introduce the topic, what follows is the discussion and the conclusion. The focus here is more on leadership and decision making, because in a GD you may or may not reach a consensus because the issues given to you are debatable. The end result of GD will not always be to reach a consensus but to assess your people’s skill.

The Winners Have

Good listening skills: Listening doesn’t mean hearing. It means listening and understanding what the other person is saying. If you have good listening skills, you will be able to keep a track of where group discussion is moving. You will know different points that have already been raised and you have to bring in some new point.

Knowledge of the topic: Some years back content was the most important aspect of GD. Although content still holds its importance but in addition to that you are also weighed on how analytical and aware are you about your surroundings. Earlier it was just about discussing pros and cons of an issue but now knowledge gathered from various sources, analysed and presented in a structured form holds the key to success in GD. Reading newspapers, magazines, and going through Economic Survey would help in enriching the content of GD.

Confidence: You have all the knowledge and good listening and analytical skills, but you do not have confidence to assert what you are saying is right, may prove a negative point. In GD panelists do not know you personally; they would only be able to judge you from what you speak.

Introduction: Introducing the topic can make or break the situation. May be you do not speak for the next 10 minutes, but if you give a good introduction you are in. When the GD begins, everybody is speaking and you might not even be listened. But when you are asked to introduce the topic, you can take the situation forward. Explain the topic, don’t read what is written. Give brief introduction to the topic and what you think of it. People think that taking a stand in GD might to go against them. But there is difference in being assertive and in being rigid. You are expected to give your point of view.

The Losers are

Those who speak a lot: Of course not speaking in GD will not take you anywhere but speaking too much can also make you lose the GD. You have all the points and you can speak a lot on GD. But it is not a one-man show. It is a group discussion. If you try to grab the attention of the panelists, cut other person short, it shows that you are not a team worker. Also speaking a lot on the topic and just repeating one point will not be appreciated. You do not speak in the entire GD, but give valid points twice that can add value to the discussion, will be appreciated.

Those who become emotional: There are topics that involve some sensitive issues. You have all the valid points to support that women make better managers, but bringing in the element of argument and accusing other persons in the group will only help you in getting rejected.

Those who over-dominate: You are taking and managing the group discussion well, listening to the arguments, giving your point of view and letting everyone speak, everything is in your favour and suddenly you decide to be a godfather of somebody who has not spoken at all and who doesn’t have one single argument to present. Cutting short somebody who is making a valid point and asking the silent one to speak, can actually cut your points.

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Group Discussion happens to be the most widely used screening tool used by recruiters in the selection process, as it enables them to judge the personality of 8-10 individuals relative to one another and in the least time.

The format of the discussion is universal

You and rest of your group are given a topic to discuss for about 15-30 minutes, within which you are supposed to speak out your thoughts on the topic. They sit around to see how you and the group as a whole carried on the discussion.

You get positive points for following

Teamwork

Since post-selection you are supposed to work in an organization with your colleagues, subordinates and superiors as a team, you are expected to be a team player. In the GD therefore, you need to show this capability by sharing the time given by recruiter and your knowledge with the rest of your group members, even helping the group members when the need arises.

Communication

You need not be a eloquent speaker but you should be able to speak out your mind clearly so that other people understands.

Initiative and Leadership capabilities:

Where possible, try to show leadership capability by initiating the discussion, by encouraging the other members to speak and also by preventing the “GD” from becoming a “Debate”. A GD is a discussion among a group of individuals on a common topic, for a ultimate common purpose and the leader of the group is expected to direct the GD in this direction.However, if you can not show the Leadership capabilities for lack of chances, just be a team player!

Knowledge on the particular subject

Although this is important, it is not a must to have a thorough knowledge on the topic even prior to the GD. If you do not know much about the topic, chose to speak towards the middle of the time allotted for the GD. In the meanwhile, listen to others and gather knowledge, so that you can speak out later. Many individuals, in their urge to show their Leadership capabilities, try to dominate the group for which they get the most negative points. Any words or actions that disturb or destroy a group activity (e.g. criticizing others negatively) get negative points. Even if you disagree strongly with the view points of a fellow member, use milder words such as: “Although I appreciate Mr. X’s view point, I chose to differ as …” instead of saying “I think Mr. X is wrong…” Your actual activity for the GD should in fact start much earlier, before entering the GD room. Read this story on how I did it 15 years back. Also remember, every member of your particular group may be selected! Yes, recruiter does not decides that only “this number” of member would be selected when the GD is initiated. So enjoy your GD!

How can you prepare for the GD

It is only through practice through mock-GD’s. For this, gather together 5 to 10 of your friends, ask one/two of them to be the observer (i.e. mock-recruiters) and rest of you as group members. Ask the observers to initiate the GD by naming the topic from these sample topics (or any other topic you think fit) and the time frame (say 20 minutes). Begin the GD and after completion, ask for the feedback from the observers. Improve upon yourselves from these feedbacks. Try to organize such mock-GD’s on periodic intervals (say every weekend/fortnight etc.) for at least 5/6 mock-GD’s and by this time you should be thoroughly prepared. I am giving below a video of a mock-GD carried out by students of ICFAI just to give you an idea on how to go ahead! While preparing for your GD, you must know what are different types of GD topics. You can find the types of GD topics (Factual type GD topic, Controversial type GD topic, Abstract type GD topics, Case Study type GD topic) with examples in my blog post: Types of Group Discussion Topics. Have you ever conducted any mock-GD amng your friends in your institute? If yes, I would love to know about it : How it was conducted, how many people participated and what were the reactions.