EXPERIMENT NO. 3 GROUP DISCUSSIONS GDs may refer to a communicative situation that allows its participants to express views.

It is a systematic purposeful oral exchange of information, views and opinions about a topic, issue, problem or situation among members of a group who share certain common objectives. During GD there is exchange of ideas, thoughts and feelings as each member of the group speaks and listens to the views of other members expressed orally in a clearly persuasive language supported by proper voice and gestures. Its an effective goal oriented or group oriented interaction which involves both person to person as well as person to group discussion so that it leads to team work where each participant is concerned with the ego needs of other participant, unit of group and overall objective of the discussion. The interaction is structured where the participants are seated face to face so that they can express their views conveniently and comment on opinions of others. Such interaction is purposeful where the group identifies the purpose and a goal is set for the discussion. Importance of GDs GDs help in problem solving, decision making and personality assessment and it has become a significant tool to assess a candidate as a student, professional, job seeker etc. Therefore to effectively participate in GD participants should know How to persuade group members How to reflect confidence while speaking How to reflect leadership qualities How to make the group achieve its goals And should improve ability To take initiative To present personal views effectively To develop ideas logically To analyze and respond to views expressed by other members To emerge as the leader of the group Characteristics of successful GD Effective GD should achieve group goals, aiding in decision making to end in group consensus. Successful GDs share some of all the seven features: Agreement on group goals Goal oriented interaction Agreement on procedures, cooperative and friendly atmosphere Use of effective communication techniques Equitable distribution of participation Shared leadership GD as a selection tool There are four major areas of evaluation in selection GDs. Subject knowledge, oral communication skills, leadership skills and team management. Subject knowledge It is the first requirement of effective participation in GD. As GD topics / tests include issues related to society, culture, polity, economy, scientific and technical research, social, economical, political or environmental problems, controversial issues or case studies, the candidates should update of latest events and national and international developments by reading daily newspapers, good magazines, and periodicals also watching news bulletins and informative programmes on television and through internet world wide web. Developing subject knowledge also implies an analysis of the topic and giving an interpretation of it relating it to personal experience and exposure. A person who can put new, bright, brilliant ideas and schemes is considered a leader as examiners evaluate each persons contribution based on relevance to the topic, original approach and wide perspective. Oral communication skills

Besides good subject knowledge, the ability to it orally in an effective way also helps a candidate to actively participate in GD. The oral competence is generally assessed in terms of Listening skills: An active listener may contribute effectively to the groups deliberations which can be achieved by attentive and alert listening to the discussion and deliberation of the group. It helps in successful contribution to the discussion as a leader. Appropriateness of language: demands no grammatical errors or usage and precision in the use of words, phrases, sentences and paragraphs. The candidate should be simple and concise avoiding difficult words, unfamiliar phrases or flowery language. Clarity of expression (making the meaning clean to the audience): The secret of clear expression is clear thinking. Sloppy, illogical or incomplete thinking may cause lack of clarity leading to confusion in group. Direct, clear specific language should be used rather than round about constructions, indirect expressions, exaggeration, artificial eloquence and ornamentation of speech. Positive speech attitudes: The evaluation panel evaluates speech attitudes and adjustments to assess whether each member of group is responsible communicator or careless speaker, nature and dignified or immature and apologetic, positive towards listeners or antagonist, released speaker or tensed, sincere to other speakers or indifferent. Therefore participants should develop positive speech attitude and adjustments. Clear articulation: A cheerful voice with good articulation avoiding slow or weak voice, a monotonous tone and indistinct articulation keeps a participants always on winning side. Participants should remember to not to speak fast but be slow, clear and distinct. Non verbal cues: As nonverbal cues such as eye contact, body movements, gestures, facial expressions and so on speak louder exhibiting personality factors such as nervousness cooperation, frustration, weakness, insecurity, self-confidence, defensiveness and so forth, candidates should learn to use non-verbal messages to reflect their self confidence, cooperation, positive attitude, openness of mind and sincerity. Leadership skills Examiners and evaluators in a GD test evaluate candidates to for strong leadership qualities like adaptability, analysis, assertiveness, composure, self-confidence, decision making, discretion, initiative, objectivity, patience and persuasiveness. Although leadership functions are shared in GD, each participant should try to first perform the function Initiative is vital element that forms basis for good leadership and participant can exhibity by first Initiate the proceedings of discussion Create an atmosphere for free participation Promote positive group interactions Point out areas of agreement and disagreement Clarify points when required Keep discussion on right track Lead the discussion to positive and successful conclusion with in the time allotted. Analysis of a situation, problem or condition marks qualities of a successful leader with an analytical and rational but of mind participant can contribute opinions and views in a continuous and logical manner. A positive analysis of all the views, suggestions, proposals and solutions exchanged during the discussion can lead group consensus. Assertiveness: A leader has to be bold and assertive without being offensive, aggressive and rigid. A weak, submissive and passive person can give up in face of opposition and obstacles and therefore cannot be a leader. Assertiveness helps in bringing order to a chaotic group, encouraging balanced participation dealing with conflict and leading the discussion to a positive end. Self-confidence: is hall mark of a leader. Selection experts and examiners look for candidate with strong but realistic level of confidence with self-assurance. However participants should avoid being boastful, pretentious and should not forget that over-confidence causes failure and under-confidence leads to lack of productivity.

Objectivity is the quality of being impartial, rational and factual, in other words an approach which is systematic, scientific and realistic. The leader can overcome opposition by adopting logical, rational, and practical view point, utilizing concrete and foolproof illustrations and examples rather than being emotional irrational. Patience and composure Patience is key to successful leadership in GD. In a group of heterogeneous elements, it is always difficult bring people together to discuss amicably and it requires a lot of patience and composure. The ability to keep cool and maintain composure, despite provocation, and to bring people with different temperaments together to strike a consensus in the GD marks the participant as a leader. Persuasiveness: is the ability to persuade other members of the group to accept and believe in what one says. In order to be persuasive, one has to advance strong, convincing and logical arguments properly supported by factual data and forceful illustrations in a firm tone and a sober voice. Motivation: A leader can display the quality of motivation by being active and positive contributor to the discussion. By clarifying the topic of discussion, explaining its difficult aspects, end providing enough material for other members to follow discussion, a leader can motivate them to take an active part in group deliberations to bring the discussion to a successful conclusion. Team management Apart from subject knowledge, oral communication and leadership skills, every participant needs team management skills as examiners try to assess whether each participant is a team player or individualist saving his / her ego. The team management skill includes adaptability, positive attitude, cooperation, coordination. Adaptability refers to the ability to adjust with other members of the group and get along with them rising above personal likes and dislikes in order to accommodate the larger interesting the group. As each member of the group may be different in temperament, IQ, social attitude, personal preferences, points of view and other aspects. An adaptable and flexible leader will only be able to carry the entire group with him / her. Positive attitude will help bind the team and get along well with teammates, including the difficult ones. A cheerful and positive attitude will help in dealing tactfully aggressive, rigid, authoritarian, obstinate and quarrelsome people. Cooperation: A team derives its success from inherent factor of cooperation which the GD is based on the success of group depends on success of individual members of the team and vice versa. Therefore cooperation helps to achieve the groups goal within a given time. Coordination: GD is a group activity and a group success depends on the involvement of each member of group. It reflects the spirit of the team. GD strategies Getting the GD started: As a leader is not assigned to a group, a natural leader evolves during the discussion. The examiner announces the topic, the total GD time and explaining general guidelines and procedures and withdraws to the background. An assertive natural leader without wasting time in cross talking, low-key conversations and avoiding confusion initiates discussion. A few examples of opening lines are: Well friends, may I request your kind attention please? I am sure all of us are keen to begin the GD and complete it within the allotted time. Let me remind you that we have only thirty minutes to complete the task. So let us get started. My dear friends, may I have your attention please? As you all know, we have to complete the discussion in 45 minutes and we have already used up five minutes. I think we should start the discussion now. Hello everybody, I am sorry to interrupt but I have something very important to say. We are here to discuss the topic Reduction of IIM fees I s a retrograde step and the time given to us is just 30 minutes. Let us begin, shall we? Hello friends! May I have your kind attention for a few seconds. Please! I am sure you will agree that we are to exchange our views on the reservation policy of the government and we have to complete the

discussion with in 35 minutes. As we have already used up more than five minutes, we should begin the discussion now. Shall we start? Once the GD is initiated, the leader should propose the procedures to be followed. Procedures may include time management, order of speaking, length and nature of individual contributions and nature of group interactions. While trying to get the GD started, the leader should attempt to create an atmosphere where all members feel free to participate. Contributing systematically: The success of group discussions depends on systematic contribution of each member to the group deliberations and through the process of reflective thinking. They should be able to identify the stage of discussion i.e. the individual stage where each member contributes systematically and group interaction stage, where members have to exchange views and opinions in order to reach a consensus and contribute accordingly. The participant should ensure that the contribution Relates to what has previously been said by others Focuses on the theme of discussion Deals with the specific point under consideration Is directed towards overall objective of the group Is as per the requirement of the particular stage of discussion Creating a friendly cooperative atmosphere: The following suggestions may be helpful in crating a conducive atmosphere for positive discussion. All participants should help the group to make the discussion lively and pleasurable Participants should develop a consensus regarding group standards early in the discussion. In order to maintain friendly attitudes, participants should demonstrate a sense of fair play by treating others as they would like themselves to be treated Participants must conduct themselves with decorum and dignity. Every participant should make sure that other members feel free to express their views, opinions, comments and feelings Members must be kept informed of their own progress and they should be appreciated for contributing effectively to group goals Participants should avoid being too formal with each other Moving the discussion along: A leader should ensure the GD moves along the right direction and should ensure every member of the group gets time to express views and politely thank the aggressive speaker and firmly ask to give the next person a chance to speak, avoiding digression. Few examples of bringing order out of chaos by requesting members to see reason and come to the point: I do not understand your point but I think we should stick to the main subject at hand I see what you mean but it would be better if we limit our discussion to the given subject That is all well said but I do not find a link between what you want to say and the subject on hand. Could you please return to main point. That is not the main point under discussion. Let us come to the main subject. The leader may use other techniques to keep GD on right track. By emphasizing the objectives of GD or summarizing and clarifying point to focus on the main objective of GD. Promoting optimal participation: With patience, restraint and proper motivation, the GD leader should ensure maximum participation even from the shy and reluctant members. Following suggestions may be followed in this regard: Make each member feel hat his or her contribution is necessary to make the discussion successful Encourage each member to make maximum contribution Recognize members of the group who have not talked and request them to express their views May request the non-participating members to comment on others contribution

Direct some relevant questions related to the topic to reticent members. Try to control talkative members Make talkative members take responsibility for getting non-participants to speak Avoid pushing the GD too fast and take care of slow speakers

Handling conflicts: As a group always tends to be heterogeneous, conflicts is natural. Although conflict resolution is a complex art, leaders need to remember just few points to handle conflict Maintain a friendly attitude and try to create an atmosphere in which people respect conflicting opinions Strictly follow the discussion procedure that has been decided earlier in the discussion Avoid conflicts between persons and not between ideas Clarify conflicting statements so that they do not lead to personal differences Provide positive guidance by occasionally summarizing Help establish an attitude to critical objective Effecting closure Every member has to see the GD ends in positive conclusion and to ensure this the group has to be reminded of its goal and requested to reach a group consensus. The leader should do it by himself or make other group members draw to positive conclusion if not group consensus. Summarize the program made by the group Put forward the common points of agreement Indicate the differences that need to be resolved Review decision / suggestions / views already decided Techniques for individual contribution In order to avoid confusion and chaos, the group should plan a procedure and follow it without mixing the two stages of discussion and for this all participants should ensure to follow few norms of individual contribution and group interaction techniques for individual contribution involve analyzing and interpreting the given topic which may include opinions, problems, issues or case studies. Topic analysis Participants, in a GD, have to speak on the spun of the moment and for this they should think of the topic with a cool open mind and all aspects of topic should be related to life experiences to give fresh ideas. In order to analyze it, participants should ask few questions. What is this topic all about? What do I know about it? What do I personally think about it? Does it require a judgment from me? What should my approach to the topic be? Discussion opinions The topic of a GD could be a one-sentence opinion related to social, economic, moral, political issues or ongoing issues and debates in society. When opinion has to be discussed, the participants should begin individual presentation by interpreting the opinion and making his / her stand clear. As every participants purpose is to influence the other members in group, news must be presented logically and convincingly supported by appropriate data and information. The conclusion should concise to the point and direct. Discussing problems If the topic of GD is a problem or an issue, the participant should understand the nature of problem whether it is a problem of fact, problem of nature or problem of policy. In a problem of fact one is concerned in the truth a statement while in a problem of value is concerned in the certain questions related to value of judgement or desirability of some actions, concepts, persons, processes or things and problem of policy is concerned in the certain

questions related to policy decisions. Depending on nature of problem, the discussion should be furthered however while expression opinion.