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Key GD tips, revealed! http://in.rediff.com/getahead/2005/feb/16gd.htm

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Key GD tips, revealed!

Brijesh Singh | February 16, 2005

n our previous article,

we discussed the
personality traits
required to excel at Group
Discussions.

Let's go on to how GD is Article Tools

initiated and summarised.
Email this article
A group discussion can be
categorically divided into Top emailed links
three different phases: Print this article

Write us a letter
i. Initiation/ Introduction
Discuss this article
ii. Body of the group discussion

iii. Summarisation/ Conclusion

Today in Getahead
Let's stress on the initiation and summarisation: Is telemarketing your forte?
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Initiating a GD is a high profit-high loss strategy. A holistic system of education
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When you initiate a GD, you not only grab the opportunity
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If you can make a favourable first impression with Got an analytical bent of mind?
your content and communication skills after you initiate a How safe is nightlife for women?
GD, it will help you sail through the discussion. Today in Cricket

'Experimentation will continue'

But if you initiate a GD and stammer/ stutter/ quote wrong
facts and figures, the damage might be irreparable. Pawar denies batting for
Ganguly
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If you initiate a GD impeccably but don't speak much after
that, it gives the impression that you started the GD for McGrath charged over
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the sake of starting it or getting those initial kitty of points
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earmarked for an initiator!
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When you start a GD, you are responsible for putting it Mazumdar to Mumbai's rescue
into the right perspective or framework. So initiate one Maharashtra bowled out for 237
only if you have indepth knowledge about the topic at India want Champions Trophy
axed
hand.
Indian eves retain Asia Cup
There are different techniques to initiate a GD and make Today in Sports
a good first impression:

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Key GD tips, revealed! http://in.rediff.com/getahead/2005/feb/16gd.htm

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ii. Definition Hingis enters semi-finals
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~ Quotes
Lyon extend lead
Quotes are an effective way of initiating a GD.

If the topic of a GD is: Should the Censor Board be

abolished?, you could start with a quote like, 'Hidden
apples are always sweet'.

For a GD topic like, Customer is King, you could quote

Sam (Wal-mart) Walton's famous saying, 'There is only
one boss: the customer. And he can fire everybody in the
company -- from the chairman on down, simply by
spending his money somewhere else.'

~ Definition

Start a GD by defining the topic or an important term in

the topic.

For example, if the topic of the GD is Advertising is a

Diplomatic Way of Telling a Lie, why not start the GD by
defining advertising as, 'Any paid form of non-personal
presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services
through mass media like newspapers, magazines,
television or radio by an identified sponsor'?

For a topic like The Malthusian Economic Prophecy is no

longer relevant, you could start by explaining the definition
of the Malthusian Economic Prophecy.

~ Question

Asking a question is an impactful way of starting a GD.

It does not signify asking a question to any of the

candidates in a GD so as to hamper the flow. It implies
asking a question, and answering it yourself.

Any question that might hamper the flow of a GD or insult

a participant or play devil's advocate must be
discouraged.

Questions that promote a flow of ideas are always

appreciated.

For a topic like, Should India go to war with Pakistan, you

could start by asking, 'What does war bring to the people
of a nation? We have had four clashes with Pakistan. The
pertinent question is: what have we achieved?'

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~ Shock statement

Initiating a GD with a shocking statement is the best way

to grab immediate attention and put forth your point.

If a GD topic is, The Impact of Population on the Indian

Economy, you could start with, 'At the centre of the Indian
capital stands a population clock that ticks away
relentlessly. It tracks 33 births a minute, 2,000 an hour,
48,000 a day. Which calculates to about 12 million every
year. That is roughly the size of Australia. As a current
political slogan puts it, 'Nothing's impossible when 1 billion
Indians work together'.'

~ Facts, figures and statistics

If you decide to initiate your GD with facts, figure and

statistics, make sure to quote them accurately.

Approximation is allowed in macro level figures, but micro

level figures need to be correct and accurate.

For example, you can say, approximately 70 per cent of

the Indian population stays in rural areas (macro figures,
approximation allowed).

But you cannot say 30 states of India instead of 28 (micro

figures, no approximations).

Stating wrong facts works to your disadvantage.

For a GD topic like, China, a Rising Tiger, you could

start with, 'In 1983, when China was still in its initial
stages of reform and opening up, China's real use of
Foreign Direct Investment only stood at $636 million.
China actually utilised $60 billion of FDI in 2004, which is
almost 100 times that of its 1983 statistics."

~ Short story

Use a short story in a GD topic like, Attitude is Everything.

This can be initiated with, 'A child once asked a balloon

vendor, who was selling helium gas-filled
balloons, whether a blue-coloured balloon will go as high
in the sky as a green-coloured balloon. The balloon
vendor told the child, it is not the colour of the balloon but
what is inside it that makes it go high.'

~ General statement

Use a general statement to put the GD in proper

perspective.

For example, if the topic is, Should Sonia Gandhi be the

prime minister of India?, you could start by saying, 'Before
jumping to conclusions like, 'Yes, Sonia Gandhi should
be', or 'No, Sonia Gandhi should not be', let's first find out
the qualities one needs to be a a good prime minister of

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India. Then we can compare these qualities with those

that Mrs Gandhi possesses. This will help us reach the
conclusion in a more objective and effective manner.'

Summarisation Techniques

Most GDs do not really have conclusions. A conclusion is

where the whole group decides in favour or against the
topic.

But every GD is summarised. You can summarise

what the group has discussed in the GD in a nutshell.

Keep the following points in mind while summarising a

discussion:

Avoid raising new points.

Avoid stating only your viewpoint.
Avoid dwelling only on one aspect of the GD.
Keep it brief and concise.
It must incorporate all the important points that
came out during the GD.
If the examiner asks you to summarise a GD, it
means the GD has come to an end. Do not add
anything once the GD has been summarised.

DON'T MISS!

Are you good at group discussions?

CAT on rediff.com

Brijesh Singh is an alumnus of Mumbai's Jamnalal

Bajaj Institute of Management Studies. He is Project
Head, Top Careers and You (www.tcyonline.com),
which prepares students for competitive
examinations.

Share your comments

What do you think about the story?

Read what others have to say:

Number of User Comments: 9

Sub: Impact of Technology on Youth

At present the burning fact is mis-use of technology due to

the immaturity of Youth. So the Impact of Technology on
Youth is to be ...

Posted by Bala Srinivas

Sub: gd topics

5 of 6 1/5/2006 5:05 PM
Key GD tips, revealed! http://in.rediff.com/getahead/2005/feb/16gd.htm

can anyone help me in dragging the information regarding

gd topics. if v are of the topic then only v can succeed in
gd, so ...

Posted by riya

Sub: india has 30 states...

i believe India has 30 states as opposed to 28 as claimed in

the article...can anyone confirm??

Posted by narayanan

Sub: Killer tactics for winning GDs

Theoretically Brijesh Singh's views about particiapting and

winning in GDs sounds good. But winning in a GD requires
killer instincts, and hence calls for killer ...

Posted by Raj

Sub: group discussion

hello, i don't know what is this please introduce about that

what is group discussion and on which type of subject
included in this session

Posted by pramila

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