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employee2owner
INITIATING A GROUP DISCUSSION (RECRUITMENT SCENARIO)
When you initiate the discussion you obviously grab the attention of the panelists and other
participants. Initiating GD thus could be quite profitable if it is properly done. You could make a
favourable impression with your knowledge and logical presentation which will help you sail
through the discussion. Yet if you were to initiate the discussion howsoever impeccably and did not
contribute much to the discussion later it might leave an impression that you started the discussion
just to grab the kitty points that are sometimes earmarked for initiating the discussion.
The person who initiates the discussion sets the tone of the discussion and must with brief
contribution guide the discussion without being overbearing. Thus initiating a discussion becomes a
high risk activity and you must take the initiative only when you are absolutely sure that you know
the subject well and can confidently steer the conversation.
Once again remember that you can steer the conversation not only by talking but also by listening
actively. An active listener can draw the attention of all the speakers towards him. When you
initiate the GD you set the tone and the perspective that other speakers respond to. If you were to
hesitate, stammer or get your facts and figures wrong you might have done irreparable damage to
your cause.
It is better not to initiate the discussion if you are not sure about your views on a particular subject
or you have little knowledge about it. Remember that it is not the end of the world if some one else
makes the introductory remarks. You can certainly come up on top without initiating the discussion
though you must take the initiative if you are confident about your knowledge about the subject
and your stand on it.
Techniques to initiate a GD
Like in any presentation your initial remarks are made to grab the attention of the group and to set
the tone of the discussion. One of the following techniques could be used to achieve your purpose
- Quotes
- Definition
- Question
- Shock statement
- Facts, figures and statistics
- Short story
- General statement
Quotes
Quotes are an effective way of initiating a GD.
If the topic of the discussion is. ‘Customer is King’, you could start with Mahatma Gandhi’s quote, "A
customer is the most important visitor on our premises he is not dependent on us. We are dependent
on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our
business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving
us an opportunity to do so." Or you could start with 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 down,
simply by spending his money somewhere else.'
Quotes are an effective way of initiating a GD.
If the topic of the discussion is. ‘Customer is King’, you could start with Mahatma Gandhi’s quote, "A
customer is the most important visitor on our premises he is not dependent on us. We are dependent
on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our
business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving
us an opportunity to do so." Or you could start with 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 down,
simply by spending his money somewhere else.'
Definition
Another way to initiate a GD could be by defining the topic and thus setting the parameters of
discussion.
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', you could start
by defining advertisement, as ' a public promotion of some product or service’: a lie, ‘ as an
inaccurate or a false statement’ and Diplomacy as ‘the art of saying the nastiest things in the
nastiest way.’
In this manner you can set the parameters of the discussion. And given a lead for other people to
accept or oppose your definition and then express an opinion on the subject.
Another way to initiate a GD could be by defining the topic and thus setting the parameters of
discussion.
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', you could start
by defining advertisement, as ' a public promotion of some product or service’: a lie, ‘ as an
inaccurate or a false statement’ and Diplomacy as ‘the art of saying the nastiest things in the
nastiest way.’
In this manner you can set the parameters of the discussion. And given a lead for other people to
accept or oppose your definition and then express an opinion on the subject.
Question
Asking a relevant question can make quite an impact in starting a discussion.
It does not mean you are asking other participants a question for them to answer. It means
asking a question, and answering it yourself. Make sure the question is relevant and the answer
appropriate.
Questions that insult a participant or make them uncomfortable are avoidable. A leading question
or a question that might convert the discussion into a heated debate should not be posed. Only
questions that promote a smooth flow of ideas are appreciated.
For a topic like, ‘India should attack Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir Issue”, you could start by
asking, 'What does war bring to the people of a nation except misery? The pertinent question is:
what have we achieved after four wars with Pakistan? What do we expect to achieve through
another one?'
Asking a relevant question can make quite an impact in starting a discussion.
It does not mean you are asking other participants a question for them to answer. It means
asking a question, and answering it yourself. Make sure the question is relevant and the answer
appropriate.
Questions that insult a participant or make them uncomfortable are avoidable. A leading question
or a question that might convert the discussion into a heated debate should not be posed. Only
questions that promote a smooth flow of ideas are appreciated.
For a topic like, ‘India should attack Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir Issue”, you could start by
asking, 'What does war bring to the people of a nation except misery? The pertinent question is:
what have we achieved after four wars with Pakistan? What do we expect to achieve through
another one?'
Shock statement
If you are initiating the discussion and want to catch immediate attention of the participants
‘shocking statement’ will achieve the goal for you.
If a GD topic is, The Impact of Population on the Indian Economy, you could start, “Hats off to the
industry of the common Indians that we increase the population of our country by more than the
entire population of Australia. 'Nothing is impossible when a billion Indians go to work together'.'
If you are initiating the discussion and want to catch immediate attention of the participants
‘shocking statement’ will achieve the goal for you.
If a GD topic is, The Impact of Population on the Indian Economy, you could start, “Hats off to the
industry of the common Indians that we increase the population of our country by more than the
entire population of Australia. 'Nothing is impossible when a billion Indians go to work together'.'
Facts, figures and statistics
Another fine way to initiate a group discussion is by quoting facts and figures. When you decide to
initiate your GD with facts, figure and statistics, make sure they are accurate. While approximation
is accepted in macro level figures, micro level figures should be correct and accurate.
For example, while it is OK to say that approximately 60 per cent of the Indian population lives in
rural areas (macro figures, approximation accepted); it will be considered to be a gross mistake if
you were to say that there are about 30 states in India. Micro figures should be exact.
Stating wrong facts works to your disadvantage.
Another fine way to initiate a group discussion is by quoting facts and figures. When you decide to
initiate your GD with facts, figure and statistics, make sure they are accurate. While approximation
is accepted in macro level figures, micro level figures should be correct and accurate.
For example, while it is OK to say that approximately 60 per cent of the Indian population lives in
rural areas (macro figures, approximation accepted); it will be considered to be a gross mistake if
you were to say that there are about 30 states in India. Micro figures should be exact.
Stating wrong facts works to your disadvantage.
Short story
Use a short story in a GD topic like, “Be content with what you have” you could start with the
famous Aesop’s fable:
A dog held a juicy bone in his jaws as he crossed a bridge over a brook. When he looked down into
the water he saw another dog below with what appeared to be a bigger juicier bone. He jumped
into the brook to snatch the bigger bone, letting go his own bone, He quickly learned of course that
the bigger bone was just a reflection, and so he ended up with nothing.
Make sure your story is short, sweet and apt.
Use a short story in a GD topic like, “Be content with what you have” you could start with the
famous Aesop’s fable:
A dog held a juicy bone in his jaws as he crossed a bridge over a brook. When he looked down into
the water he saw another dog below with what appeared to be a bigger juicier bone. He jumped
into the brook to snatch the bigger bone, letting go his own bone, He quickly learned of course that
the bigger bone was just a reflection, and so he ended up with nothing.
Make sure your story is short, sweet and apt.
General statement
Use a general statement to put the GD in proper perspective.
For example, if the topic is, 'Will Rahul Gandhi be the prime minister of India?' You could start by
saying, 'Before jumping to conclusions whether Rahul Gandhi should or should not be the prime
Minister of India, let us first delineate the qualities of a good Prime Minister. Then we can see
whether Rahul Gandhi possesses those qualities or not.
Use a general statement to put the GD in proper perspective.
For example, if the topic is, 'Will Rahul Gandhi be the prime minister of India?' You could start by
saying, 'Before jumping to conclusions whether Rahul Gandhi should or should not be the prime
Minister of India, let us first delineate the qualities of a good Prime Minister. Then we can see
whether Rahul Gandhi possesses those qualities or not.
Summarization As Important as Initiating
It is not possible to reach a conclusion in each and every group discussion. Actually most GDs do
not really have smooth conclusions.
By conclusion it is meant that the group unanimously decides against or in favour of the topic. But
all discussions can be summarized.
In fact it is a good idea to summarize the discussion if you missed out on initiating it. In fact
Summarization is as important as Initiating if you can summarize well. Make sure you take into
account the views of all the participant when you summarize the GD and do not introduce any new
points.
Keep the following things in mind
It is not possible to reach a conclusion in each and every group discussion. Actually most GDs do
not really have smooth conclusions.
By conclusion it is meant that the group unanimously decides against or in favour of the topic. But
all discussions can be summarized.
In fact it is a good idea to summarize the discussion if you missed out on initiating it. In fact
Summarization is as important as Initiating if you can summarize well. Make sure you take into
account the views of all the participant when you summarize the GD and do not introduce any new
points.
Keep the following things in mind
- Do not raise any new points in the summary
- Do take into account the point of view of all the participants.
- Do present an overall view not just your own
- Be brief
- The summary must incorporate all important points discussed
employee2owner