Group Discussion Guidelines

Overview: The group discussion process should facilitate participatory, egalitarian discussion
among group members, and not the lecturing or domination of the group by one or two members.
It won’t work if people are passive; you all must be active both in listening and sharing.

General Guidelines:

 Group discussion is a cooperative, not competitive, learning process. Good results depend
on everyone sharing their thoughts. This is a dialogic learning process.
 Everyone participates and makes some contribution to the group discussion process,
taking turns doing so.
 Stay on topic, trying to discuss as comprehensively as possible, but without digressing
from the topic at hand.

Group Process:

Step 1: Introduce yourselves

Step 2: Identify and discuss main ideas and themes from the topic, & your reactions to and
critiques. Participants also often focus on examples of main ideas or themes here (be they real or
hypothetical, from the news, your personal experience, or your imagination).
Step 3: Assume certain role during the discussion: try to either initiate a discussion,
contribute constructively, listen actively and add meaningfully or summarize the discussion.
Step 4: Please refer to the following dos and don’ts guidelines.

Group Discussion Leaders’ Roles :

1. Initiating & Guiding (but not controlling)

Get the discussion started or restarted to avoid group silence. Pose a specific question or a
topic that can include conflicting opinions.
2. Facilitating participation -- Make sure that all members get at least 1 opportunity to
participate or speak. Invite everyone to participate.
3. Keep the discussion on topic and moving.

Roles for All in group discussion:

1. Giving and asking for information & reactions & critiques

You must talk & listen to each other to get information, and more so to raise new points
and insights that may only emerge through discussion.
2. Discussing and Questioning each other’s interpretations, insights, and views
Explaining, questioning, and debating various interpretations and views of the readings and
related issues facilitates greater learning and understanding! It’s fine to disagree; just be polite.
3. Stay on topic
Discussion can often become pretty broad-ranging and free-wheeling, but it is important
to not go too far off topic, and instead try to keep your comments relevant to the topic.
4. Ask the moderator for help when needed.
 Dos and Donts for Group Discussions

 Be as natural as possible. Do not try and be someone you are not. Be yourself.
 A group discussion is your chance to be more vocal. The evaluator wants to hear you
speak.
 Take time to organize your thoughts. Think of what you are going to say.
 Seek clarification if you have any doubts regarding the subject.
 Don't start speaking until you have clearly understood and analyzed the subject.
 Work out various strategies to help you make an entry: initiate the discussion or agree
with someone else's point and then move onto express your views.
 Opening the discussion is not the only way of gaining attention and recognition. If you do
not give valuable insights during the discussion, all your efforts of initiating the
discussion will be in vain.
 Your body language says a lot about you - your gestures and mannerisms are more likely
to reflect your attitude than what you say.
 Language skills are important only to the effect as to how you get your points across
clearly and fluently.
 Be assertive not dominating; try to maintain a balanced tone in your discussion and
analysis.
 Don't lose your cool if anyone says anything you object to. The key is to stay objective:
Don't take the discussion personally.
 Always be polite: Try to avoid using extreme phrases like: `I strongly object' or `I
disagree'. Instead try phrases like: `I would like to share my views on…' or `One
difference between your point and mine…' or "I beg to differ with you"
 Brush up on your leadership skills; motivate the other members of the team to speak (this
surely does not mean that the only thing that you do in the GD is to say "let us hear what
the young lady with the blue scarf has to say," or "Raghu, let us hear your views" -
Essentially be subtle), and listen to their views. Be receptive to others' opinions and do
not be abrasive or aggressive.
 If you have a group of like-minded friends, you can have a mock group discussion where
you can learn from each other through giving and receiving feedback.