There is literally a “word war” going on between all the candidates of a group discussion. Still, you are there in the nook, recalling all the rules and regulations you came across either in a lecture or over the internet. The moderator breaks your chain of thoughts by hitting the buzzer, and hence your chance of making it to the next level gets wasted. Overcome these false rubrics of group discussions and brace yourself to take active participation in this war of words. Below we have busted some of the group discussion myths, which are falsely branded as the golden points of cracking group discussion.
These are some of the popular myths that we follow during group discussions-
1.Sit correctly – The moderator is not there to see how far your spinal cord could bend. No matter how straight you sit but if you don’t speak, you are out. So sit whichever way you like and speak as much as you can.
2.Be Assertive – Let’s face the fact that if you won’t be loud to prove your point, then no one is going to listen to your point. Yes! Not even the moderator. Be loud enough to make your point fall on the ears of others. Make sure not to be rude and refrain from using abusive language.
3.Try to initiate the conversation – The topic given to you is no less than rocket science for you, but to grab those brownie points, you start the discussion and eventually land in a soup. However, it’s better to wait for someone to start if you don’t know the topic’s basics.
4.Don’t roll like a ball – Remember, it is not a debate but a group discussion. Don’t adhere to a particular side right from the very beginning until the end. Switch sides and change the course of direction to gain the attention of the moderator.
5.Be a leader – A leader always takes his team members in the right direction. Unless you are sure that you could take everyone in the right way, don’t take this initiative by changing the direction of discussion in the wrong way.
6.Start by defining the topic – You are losing your precious time by defining the obvious topic. Avoid this habit and directly come to the point.
7.Never ask other candidates questions – Do it because that’s your only chance to stop those candidates who can’t stop talking. This way, you could make the heads of other people nod in your favor.
8.Never cut others short – If you don’t do it, someone else will. Hence, if you want to speak, do it by hook or by crook.
9.Summarize your point when you get a chance – If you rush in summarizing your talk and give a final judgment at the very start, then don’t expect to roll in another direction and, in fact, don’t expect another chance to speak at all.
10.Be clear in what you say while you summarize – Be diplomatic towards the end. Ensure that those who are listening to you leave the hall with a Question Mark on their faces. It is a GD, not a debate. Otherwise, the interviewer could use your same “CLEAR” summary against you in the next round, probably the Interview.
GD cannot be learned from the internet, books, or any lecture. It requires spontaneity at the last moment, and if you succeed in doing that, you could clear it with flying colors. However, the above-mentioned strategies could help you relax before GD and somewhat give you a direction to talk in GD.