Students’ Speak: The points should sound pragmatic and not based on your emotions

By: Abhishek Desai

Abhishek Desai says that any point you put forth should be backed by some valid real-life examples. Interviewers appreciate meaningful points during the discussion.

To clear the GD round, there are certain vital skills a candidate has to work upon which are as follows:

• Awareness about the current affairs
• Reasoning
• Articulation
• Structuring of the topic
• Listening

The panelists evaluate all the candidates in a GD based on the aforementioned facets to the best of their judgments and decide the most deserving ones. Each of these skills is equally important for one to stand out among the group and increase his/her chances of getting selected.

Being aware about the latest happenings in India as well as the world helps a lot for a candidate in putting forth the relevant points well and quoting logical examples, as and when required. One can take the help of YouTube and other reliable sources available on the Internet to get acquainted about the important recent issues across different domains.

Whatever point has been put forth, it should be backed with some valid rationale (say, a real life example or relevant data). Interviewers always appreciate only those who bring in meaningful points during the discussion. The points should sound pragmatic and not based on your emotions. If someone is unable to put in the points, letting him/her speak and requesting the others to patiently listen to their views shows your leadership trait; strengthening your chances of selection.

If you have a lot of information in your mind but are unable to present it well in front of the group, that information is of no use. Effective articulation in simple English is essential to crack any GD. One must be politely assertive during the entire duration of the GD.

Providing a nice structure to the GD also catches the panelists’ attention instantly, since it implies you have put in the required efforts for it. Starting the topic by explaining it to the group rather than directly jumping to the solution is always advised (unless advised not to do so). If the group is deviating from the given topic, bringing them back also fetches one some brownie points. And then properly summarising and/or concluding a GD also helps a candidate in highlighting himself positively in front of the interviewers. In case one is unaware about the topic, listening to others’ points goes a long way in helping him structure his thoughts around that topic accordingly.

During my Welingkar GD, there was a group of 10 candidates with two middle-aged panelists.

About the Author:

Abhishek Desai is currently pursuing Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) in e-Business from Welingkar Institute of Management. He has done his Summer Internship in the field of Market Research with 'TimesofMoney'. He's also served as 'Secretary of the Green Committee' at Welingkar.