To
ensure good participation from your side in Group Discussion, there
are number of issue that you need to address. These issues are listed
listed below and discussed in detail.
If
you have a soft voice
Those
who have softer voice will necessarily have to speak louder in a GD
than they normally do. in addition to raising your voice level, you
should also look for opportune moments to enter into the discussion.
If You are interrupted when you are discussing
Participants
interrupting each other is a common occurrence in GDs. The group
members will obviously try to grab every possible opportunity to
speak. But if that happens when you are speaking, you would
definitely like to try and prevent others from grabbing your chance.
When somebody tries to interrupt you while you are speaking, you
should tell him in clear and unambiguous terms that you should be
allowed to speak. you can do it in your style. You can say “Excuse
me, please let me complete ,” or you can say just a minute – let
me finish my point. Don’t wait for him/her to get into the flow of
his/her speech.
How
to get into discussion
For
getting into discussion there are different ways
1.
Start the discussion – be the first member to start the discussion
as soon as the moderator gives the group the go-ahead.
2.
The moment the noise level is low, get into the discussion. Remember
that other members who are not actively participating will also be
waiting for the same moments. That is the reason why you have to be
very attentive, of course, without looking and sounding desperate.
3.
By interrupting a speaker. At the earliest possible, identify the
strong speakers and the soft speakers in the group. You can try
getting into the group by interrupting when a soft voiced speaker is
speaking. Get in forcefully with your points and most of the times
you will be successful. see, you should interrupt in a natural manner
but not as if you are bulldozing.
4.Do
not try to interrupt when a strong speaker is speaking. You attempt
may not be successful. If a strong speaker has spoken for a long
time, interrupt when he seems to be running out of content. If he
doesn’t seems to yield to this also, then try getting into
discussion by supporting him or by speaking in a manner that you
seems to be supporting him. Get used to using expression like, “Yes,
what you say is true – be sure that the strong speaker you are
interrupting has stopped, thinking that you are stopping him, and
then immediately continue thus: ” …. but there is something more
that we should look at….., or and there is another reason to
support what you say…..”
If
you are not noticed when you are speaking:
In
GD if your not noticed or ignored – you may feel miserable and
lost. Some student ask whether they should stand up and speak in such
situations. The answer to such a question is a firm ‘no’ . Do not
do that. Do not raise your hand to speak. Do not thump on the table.
Situation of this sort would own prove the observation of a
philosopher that civilization is nothing but cannibals eating with
forks.
If you do not know much/anything about the topic -What to do if one has no idea about the GD topic?
This
is the most undesirable situation to be in. In case you ever get into
such a situation, you should certainly not be the one to speak first
. Let the other members start the GD and speak for some time. Listen
carefully to the point introduced by the other members who are into
GD. Make a note of those points and apply your commonsense to
elaborate upon them and, finding a suitable moment, get into the GD.
If you good at your communication skill this becomes much easier.
You
should ensure that you have developed knowledge with as many topics
as possible . Reading news paper and magazines and special articles
on various current affairs will be helpful to you.
supporting somebody else whose ideas are similar to yours
A
GD is a discussion among peers to find a solution to a problem or
reach a consensus or an issue. As you can easily see, it is not
possible to have ten different opinion on an issue. If you disagree
with a fellow member, he/she may try to prove his/her point and may
try harder to do that. That may not serve basic purpose in this case.
In fact, you should make it habit to use expressions like, “yes you
are right” or “I agree with you” . Such expression make your
entry into the discussions smooth and easy. This may be called ‘
the art of verbal pampering’ You should avoid negative expressions
like “you are wrong” or ” I don’t agree with you” .
While
there is no fear of your losing marks by agreeing with what another
member of the group has just said, there is also a word of caution.
Do not keep quite after repeating or rephrasing what some other
member has said. You should continue with your elaboration of the
issue by adding your own points.
What
if you know a lot about the topic and the others relatively ignorant
If
such situation arises, use it to your full advantage. You can start
the GD. But donot present all the points you have at the beginning it
self. Just let one or more points our and let the others take up them
for discussion. As the discussion progresses, keep introducing point
after point.
The
first to start the discussion
If
you are the first person to speak in the GD, you may gain a small
advantage but you will nor get any additional marks. Your overall
performance is that what matters. You may have heard of one of the
popular sayings that first impression is the best impression. But
equally true is the case with the last impression. A last impression
that lingers on the minds of others including the moderator is
certainly better than a first impression that haunts them. Act
accordingly, ie, depending on the presentation habit of other
members.
Questioning
other members on points made by them
For
example when a member says “Introducing mid-day meals scheme in
schools is going to improve attendance levels in schools” your
asking “how does it improve?” shall not serve any purpose. But
you may say “How could that be possible?” Don’t you think that
there is another side to it which actually works against it like…..”
and continue the discussion. But be sure that you can effectively
present the “other side” and you have talked about.
Language
to be used in a group discussion
A
GD is a formal situation and it is an unspoken but unanimously
accepted practice to use English as the medium of communication.
Hence, do not switch over to Hindi or vernacular languages even of
you feel more comfortable with languages other than English. You
should avoid using slang while speaking in a group discussion.
Using
statistics in your discussion
In
case you feel like talking in terms of ratios, proportions and
percentages, use expression like a “lot of people, a great majority
of the population of the country, a great numbers of experts”, etc.
This will reduce the risk and will still serve the purpose you have
in mind.
There
is another issue when using statistics in GD – If some other member
quotes wrong statistics, should you point out the mistake? . Remember
that you will not get any additional marks for pointing out at the
mistake of others.
Role
of body language in a group discussion
Body
language is just a part of non-verbal communication. Try speaking
even one sentence without moving any body parts except your mouth-
and you will find how unnatural and ridiculous the effort looks. Thus
we can say that body language is an integral part of our
communication in every walk of life. Common movement that all of us
indulge in while we are speaking are movement of head, maintaining
eye contact with various members of the group, moving eye lids and
eye brows, gesticulating with our hands, leaning forward from
sitting-straight posture and vice-versa, etc. Let these movement
happen naturally – do not focus on or worry about going through
with these movements consciously.
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