8 tips to help with your GD preparation

By: Rishabh Mishra

Knowledge of what to speak and when to speak is crucial in a GD. Maintain eye contact with others, speak politely yet confidently, keep up-to-date with the recent events, and listen to others are some of the important points to keep in mind while preparing for GD.

Group Discussion (GD) is conducted by B School and companies for selecting potential candidates. It is conducted to assess various skills of a person like team management, problem-solving and leadership, and so on. The content of the discussion should be good as this would help in enhancing the score during GD. In a GD, the participants should showcase their skills while speaking or listening. With communication skills, listening skills are also important for a participant. While preparing for GD, the participants must focus on enhancing their communication skills, fluency, confidence level, correct body language, and other factors. In this article, I will be sharing preparation tips for GD based on my personal experience for the students who are appearing for GD.

Preparation of Group Discussion

The students should keep the following tips in mind while preparing for GD

• Formal Dressing- Formal dressing gives an effective good first impression on the judge. Hence, students should dress-up in professional and comfortable clothes for GD.
• Current Affairs- Current affairs are the base of the group discussion as the topics given in a GD revolves around the current affairs, the recent happenings, and events. Read newspapers daily to keep up-to-date with the current events around the world.
• Knowledge about the topic- The participants should know about the topic of discussion. They have to prepare well as scores are given based on the content spoken by each speaker. Also, give examples related to the topic as this would help in fetching marks.
• Communication skills- Good communication skills is one of the most important aspects to enhance the score in a GD. The evaluation would also focus on the communication abilities of the participant. Hence, speak confidently and politely while putting forth a point.
• Listening skills- Effective listening skills are also required in a group discussion. , The participant should listen carefully to other participants.  This would help in framing and conveying points in a better manner. Good listening skills would help in understanding other’s point of view on the topic. 

• Mock practise - Mock GD is important as this would help in enhancing communication skills. Create a group with friends and take any recent topic for discussion. This would help in evaluating your performance and enhancing knowledge about the topic. Also, this technique would help in improving the convincing skills. 

• Eye Contact- Eye contact in a GD shows the level of confidence. The participant should make eye contact with the other participants while speaking as well as listening. 

• Convincing Power- Convincing others is a great skill. The ability to convince others while discussing a point in a GD is important. This would help in creating a good impression and boost the confidence level.

About the Author:

Rishabh Mishra is pursuing his MBA from Tapmi School of Business. He has completed his graduation from Microtek College of Management & Technology, Varanasi.