Students’ Speak: Skills you must possess to crack Group Discussion round

By: Payal Jajodia

It is important that the candidate appearing for GD should have all the skills and the way he will present himself on behalf of the company, the convincing skills and the interpersonal skills.

Many students dream to get a job in multi-national companies and they prepare really hard for it. They clear the aptitude round and when it comes to Group Discussion (GD), somewhere they might lack the required skills or the parameters on which they are being judged. It is  important that the candidate appearing for GD should have all the skills and the way he will present himself on behalf of the company, the convincing skills and the interpersonal skills.

Many companies after conducting the written ability test, conducts a GD where a group of 8-10 members are given a topic to discuss and present their viewpoints on the same. This way, a candidate is judged based on their interactive skills, the way they listen to the viewpoints of others, their behaviour and contribution. There are various skills that have to be taken into consideration while appearing for GD. These are:

• Reasoning: If one is good at debating about the factual news, then they can easily crack the GD round. One should be good at reasoning skills as it supports your conclusions with valid reasons. For this, it is important to keep yourself updated with the current news and current affairs.
• Speaking: Always try to initiate the GD topic if you are well-versed with the topic and summarise all the points. If not at first, then try to speak at the second or third position. Boost up your communication skills and try to communicate in English. One can follow the English newspapers, movies and songs to get a better hang of the language.
• Leadership skills: Most important while appearing for GD is to respect the viewpoints of the other group members. It shows that you integrate everyone and are capable of building healthy relationships. Also, it shows that how you motivate team members and achieve a common goal.
• Listening skills: Listening skills play a major role as you can give the correct counter to the problem if you listen to others properly. Also, one has to listen to clients, employees and give solution to the problems. Also, you can analyse a problem properly and provide with the conclusions.
• Interpersonal skills: One has to be less self-centred and more public centred as it balances and also promotes good and healthy relationships. It is important to be a team player and be objective.
• Presentation skills: When you have to address a large number of people, presentation is the best way. It reflects your image and how you reflect your ideas. How you grab the interest of the people and their attention. Also, how much you are impactful and your convincing powers are judged. You should maintain proper eye contact and should have a positive body posture. Also, avoid using gibberish language and be clear what you are saying.
• Problem-solving skills: It involves logical and analytical thinking, more its about using logic and come up with the solutions. How you solve the problem the way you identify it and bring up the solutions and the alternatives. It is all about your creativity on the basis of which you are judged and evaluated during GD.

My GD experience

During my GD round, the overall performance was judged on the basis of the subject or the topic knowledge and the points which the candidate laud down. The communication skills and the fluency were also judged where they noticed how I interacted with the other candidates and how I understood their point of view. Also, they checked my presentation skills and how I represented my ideas. Eye contact, body posture and the way we react to the ideas of others were judged. The team leading and leadership quality were judged, too, where the experts examine the confidence level of the candidate. The convincing skills, motivational skills were also judged the way a candidate put their views on the given topic. The experts often look if a candidate is a active listener or is just sitting idle and starring others blankly.

About the Author:

Payal Jajodia is a student at Poornima University studying Bachelor in Technology with a specialisation in Computer Science Engineering.