How to crack a GD -- Tips and tricks for Group discussion

How to do Well In a GD-I

This is the question that haunts every CAT/MBA aspirant before and after the initial written exam. Honestly speaking ,  there is no definite answer to this question as well. One can't define a fixed procedure by following which , one would be able to succeed in any GD.  A GD has so many aspects to it , that no fixed solution can guarantee success.

Now here comes a "BUT" , nothing in this world can be termed as impossible. Solution might be difficult , but if done step-by-step , success can be achieved. Cracking a GD of any good B-School is a great achievement , and it is said that "No great thing is achieved by impulse , but by a series of small things."  Here in this article , we would look into all the aspects , a GD comprises of . Also,  I would expose a lot of aspects that go un-noticed and un-touched by a student , and in the end affects the final outcome.  "How to do well in a GD" has three parts , and i will deal with each and every aspect , one-by-one , in subsequential parts.

This part majorly covers -

1.)   Overview of a GD.

2.)   Types of GD

WHY DO COLLEGES CONDUCT GD?

Beginning the first part , the first and most important question about a GD is why do B-Schools conduct a GD. What do they want to test in a candidate by making him/her sit with a group of 12 or 13 and discuss. Do they expect a real concrete solution after the discussion if they give a topic like "Should Kashmir be handed over to Pakistan"?. or "Should RBI switch to CPI for calculating inflation".  Well the answer to this question is a big "NO". They do not expect you to be an expert on the topic and come up with a solution in 15 minutes .If they would really want a concrete solution they would invite people from home ministry and RBI to have a discussion and not a slighlty nervous candidate like you.  It would be completely imparactical if they started having such expectations .Then ,  What does a B-School really want out of a GD?

The result of any group discussion should be a conclusion. But ,  it is not necessary for you and your group in a B-School GD to actually come up with a conclusion . If you actually are able to come up with a solution in just 15 minutes on such sensitive and broad topics . It would give the GD Panel , an impression , that you do not have enough content to discuss . You cannot think on this topic multi-dimensionally . The discussion must go on and on and on until the alotted time is over. Discussing more and more would give the GD panel an impression that you are well aware of the topic and can think and assess both the positives and negatives of the topic given. Also , candidates should keep in mind that not coming to a conclusion and keeping the discussion going dosen't mean speaking anything and speaking all the time. You should speak max 4 to 5 times in a GD of 15 minutes , and what you are speaking should be solid content. We will discuss more about what and how much to speak later.

WHAT a GD LOOKS LIKE ?

A GD would normally have 8-12 candidates in a panel , with candidates sitting in a circular or a semi circular arrangement. Different colleges conduct group discussions for different durations , but , GD normally lasts for 20- 30 minutes apart from a few colleges like IIFT . IIFT is famous for extending its  GD to even an hour. But most of the colleges keep a GD to a maximum of 30 minutes .  A GD may or may not  have a moderator. A moderator is someone who conducts/looks after/ analyses the GD and the group. A moderator might observe you being sitting in front of the group , he might observe you by being somewhere else through a cctv camera or whichever way. The moderator’s role is not of great importance. He might come and  tell you the topic and say start. He might point out somebody and ask him/her to start. He might give you a fixed time say you all have 20 mins to discuss on the given topic , start. Or he might just stop you without any prior time limit.  

When a moderator is present during a GD , one basic rule is “ Never look at the moderator during the GD”. You are speaking or you are not speaking , you are not supposed to look at the moderator. You are supposed to address the group all the time during the GD. Also If someone is speaking , your complete attention should be on the speaker and nowhere else. If you look at the moderator , it would not give a good impression. The moderator might feel you are not concentrating on the GD. This might affect the chances of your selection.

Once in a GD , there are other small details too ,  that should be taken care of . We will look at them in the later parts of this document. Let us now see what type of GDs can  we come across.

 TYPES OF GD

GDs are mostly of three types

1.)   Fact Based

2.)   Abstract

3.)   Case Studies.

1.)  Fact Based .

Fact Based Gds would have topics that involve incidents recently happened or some issues which keep moving  in and out of news. These topics can fall under any category . They can be from Sports , Poilitics , Defence , International Issues  etc .Basically anything that comes under the sun and has been in the  news recently ,  has the potential to become a GD topic .

Now our approach should be based on what a college is looking for in a candidate. If a college has given you a fact based GD , what do they want to test? What are they looking for.?  The first answer to these questions is obviously your awareness level. A topic  ,  which involves facts from a recently happened incident or event can only be discussed if one knows about the topic. You cannot discuss on a topic like  “Should AFSPA be repealed from J&K?” without knowing what is AFSPA? Why was it imposed? What are the reasons that lead to the question of its revoking? Would it be practical to do so? And many other qsns. So the first thing such a GD would test , would  be your General Knowledge and not only knowing about a certain issue would do , for discussing it , you should know enough about the issue so that you can speak ,  both in favour  of and against the statement.

Now to speak in both , favour and against the statement,  leads us to another very important notion that must be addressed. A lot of candidates feel , it is always good to take a side ,  if the GD topic  is a question asked , such as ,the one mentioned above.

Candidates can even ask a question : Wouldn’t it be an unwise thing to do , to speak both in favour and against the statement. It would give an impression that we are not sure of our opinion. We do not have enough confidence to take a stand.

Well , let us see it this way .  Among  the qualities that a manager should have and that a bschool looks for in a  candidate ,  pragmatism and flexibility tops the chart. If you take a stand i.e if you only speak in  either favour or against  the topic given . It might not show you in bad light (unless you act like a fanatic and a diehard supporter who is not ready to accept anyone uttering a word against him/herself)  but it will definetly block the qualities like pragmatism and  flexibility , that can be highlighted , if you speak in both favour and  against.

Speaking in both favour and against , would first of all , give an impression that you are well aware of the topic.

Also , if someone is speaking in both favour and against a statement , it would give an impression that the person is mature , practical and flexible enough to look at all the perspectives surrounding the statement. It would show that one can take views of different perspectives for reaching  a conclusion. And obviously a person who is capable of thinking on a problem from different perspectives would  make a better manager than someone who is seeing only one side of the problem. So it is always better to speak in both favour and against the statement.

2.) Abstract GD

The name itself explains the nature of the topic given under this GD. Abstract means which does not have a defined form. It exists in a thought , but not in any physical form. The topics coming under this GD also have a similar nature. They can mean anything. I should rather say , they can mean anything that you want them to mean.

An example would make things more clear , say a statement “ Deep blue is not blue enough”.

What does this mean? For different perspectives , it can mean different things.

Someone who is looking for a deep  blue shirt , he comes across a shirt which has a tag that says  the color of this shirt is deep blue.

But it wasn’t blue enough for the person , he wanted an  even deeper shade of blue.

Hence , Deep blue is not blue enough.

Let’s say one fine day , someone from ISRO looks at the sky and feels , we have not explored the sky enough. We do not know much about it. We just know it is deep blue in color and it is not enough knowledge. We should know more and thus he plans for a space exploration mission Mangalyaan.

Here also , deep blue was not blue enough .

Similarly , we can relate this statement to many other things.

Indian cricket team inspite of an excellent batting display could not win the match. As the color of their jersey is deep blue. Deep blue was no blue enough to win a game.

Ocean is really vast. It hides a lot of mysteries under it. But , inspite of so many hardships and difficulties involved. Oceanographers still manage to go under the sea and conduct research and what not. Ocean’s deep blue color is not blue enough to hide its little secrets.

If you observe , an abstract topic is all about how well you can relate different fields to blue color. And the best part , you can never be wrong about an abstract relation. You just have to let your mind wander and find an analogy for you.

Abstract GD is all about how well you can imagine , how fast you can think and relate the happenings around you with the given statement. But for those who are already  feeling comfortable with this type , there is a bad news. Now a days , not a lot of colleges would give you abstract topics. It is a rare site for anybody to encounter an abstract topic for his/her GD. But since it cannot be counted off as a possibility , one should prepare oneself for this type too.

3.) Case Study based GD

The third and final type is a group discussion based on a case study. In this , you would be given a scenario or a situation in certain organization or a place where the problem should be dealt practically , and you would be asked to discuss on how to handle the situation.

A lot of colleges now a days are having GDs based on case study. There is an increase in the trend of having Case Study GDs.

Why would a college conduct a GD based on a case study? What do they want to test in a candidate by giving him/her a case study? Well the answer is very simple. Once you start your MBA course , you would spend most of the time dealing with case studies , similar to the one you would encounter in the GD. But the idea would be the same. To make you sit in a group and analyse and solve a situation.

The colleges want to see , which candidate is better suited to such an environment .

Now the question comes , what is the way to handle such a GD. The best way to handle such a GD is , think as professionally and ethically as you can and practice by being part of  as much mock GDs as possible that involve case studies.  

Till now , you know how a GD is conducted , what does a group discussion for a b-school looks like and what are the different types of GD. You also now have become aware of a few approaches that should be kept in mind before attacking a GD topic. In the next part you would come across the different approaches that one can take to handle different type of GDs. Some of these approaches would be type specifc but most of them can be used in any type of GD. 

Hope you excel in your GD.