What is Group Discussion ?
group discussion is a process in which candidates are divided in groups (generally ranging from minimum 3 to maximum 12) and a topic is given to them to discuss upon for a fixed period of time (this fixed time duration depends on the number of candidates in a group, but generally it averages around 10-15 minutes). A panel is present to observe, guide (wherever necessary) and most importantly to decide whether to select or reject a candidate. The size of panel varies according to number of candidates in the discussion group (generally ranges from 1 to 4 members in the panel).
What is the significance of group discussion?
The competition in the Banking/ corporate sector has become cut-throat nowadays, because of which companies intend to hire people whose skills are not only limited to a specific domain. They want professionals who will be able to represent their organization at a global level in future, if need be, and that’s where group discussion comes in the picture.
Through group discussion they are not trying to judge your knowledge of the topic, instead they are trying to judge:-
- Your soft skills
- Your attitude and level of comfort when you are in a discussion with unknown people
- How efficient you are in understanding what people have to say
- How well you can put your thoughts in front of people and make them understand
- How calm and reasonable you can be in situations of heated discussions.
- How good a listener you are
With all these aspects in consideration, they are trying to judge whether you will be a right fit for their organization.
Keep one thing in mind that you need not be the best speaker or listener in the world to crack group discussion, you just need to be above average and should be aware of the right strategy to apply in different group discussion scenarios.
