Team work is more pronounced in educational institutes and organizations these days. Your individual skills matters but your team involvement matters more. Group discussions are a good way to test your leadership skills and your ability to work in a team. In fact, it is a good way to check an individual's communication skills, knowledge about a particular subject, and capability to co-ordinate and lead. It is a healthy way to test an individual for a specific role. Group discussions are of various types- from very informal ones between friends to highly structured and challenging discussions included as part of a selection process. In either case, you need to develop some skills so that you can participate in a group discussion effectively such as:
Speaking skills: You need to speak on a particular topic to convince others. You must posses excellent communication skills so that you can present yourself effectively. Your views must be clear and forceful as it represents the clarity of your knowledge. To grab the audience attention you need to be specific and clear while speaking.
Knowledge: Knowledge is the most essential skill need to prove yourself. An individual can only present his/her ideas well during a discussion if he/she knows about it or studied for that particular subject. Your knowledge helps to put more convincing views. Read a wide variety of topics to procure more knowledge.
Leadership and coordinating skills: GD is a method to take out your leadership and coordinating skills that can't be analyzed during an interview. These are certain skills that are needed to work in an organization. The evaluator conducts a group discussion to analyze your abilities to lead, convince, understand things, and coordinate projects based on that particular topic.
Language: Always use simple English while participating in GD. Fillers are a total no-no during a formal group discussion. Don't use casual language while speaking in a discussion. Address everyone present in your group and don't concentrate on your examiner or a specific person. Group discussion is for everyone, and you are presenting your views that can be heard by every single person.
Listen: Listen to what others are saying and respect their views. Listening is a very important skill needed to crack a group discussion. Until you don't listen what others are saying you cannot prove them right and wrong. You can only give your views once you hear another person completely.
These are some of the skills you must develop to face a group discussion with confidence. This is not a complete list as there are a lot of things which you can practice and develop to overcome a group discussion. Your behavior, attitude, and other skills are also analyzed by an examiner. You cannot match every individual's expectations but there are certain common rules to be followed while appearing in a group discussion.
