Make the right first impression to crack the GD
By: Jayant Khurana
Practise with friends and peers often help to prepare for GD. Stay up-to-date with the latest events and practise with groups to crack the GD.
A Group Discussion (GD) is a tool to test the skills of a participant for admission in a college. In this article, we will discuss the strategy to prepare for GD.
The GD Preparation primarily involved the following three things:-
- Reading about different tips and strategies for GD
- Reading news and articles on hot GD topics
- Practising with groups
The above three tasks are explained below in detail:-
1. Reading about different tips and strategies for GD:
Refer to book on several tips and strategies for GD provided by all major coaching institutes. I referred to a book which was a part of the study material provided by TIME. There is no need to refer multiple books, any book focused on MBA aspirants would work.
2. Reading news and articles on GD topics:
The students should read newspapers and articles to stay updated. For news, I referred to magazines provided by TIME, their online portal is also good, and one could refer any of the two. Moreover, all the major coaching institutes provide sufficient material to stay up-to-date with the current affairs. In case, a student is not taking classes from any of the coaching institutes, there is nothing to worry as these magazines are available in the market as well, so, one could always refer to them easily.
For both GD and PI, I would recommend reading any single institute’s magazine in the last six months of preparation. Also, reading the newspaper as a part of the preparation in the last six months would suffice. One could clear GD without reading news as well as a lot depends on the strategy for GD.
For example, general knowledge rarely helped me in the GD while I also have friends who relied solely on general knowledge. also, one should always keep in mind that keeping abreast with the current affairs is important, might not in GD but needed in PI and it also aids in the preparation for the VA section. Apart from staying updated with current affairs, one should also check out previous GD topics and could read articles on them.
3. Practising with groups:
Practising with groups is the most important part of the GD preparation and in this phase, coaching institutes are very helpful. I would advise being a part of any good coaching institute for this phase would help in the preparation process. Most major coaching institutes have batches solely for GD/PI preparation as well. Therefore, one should learn different strategies and tips for GD during these practice sessions. In most coaching institutes, a mentor observes practice sessions and one must work on the feedback provided by the mentor.
