Time to step on the gas

If you plan to make it to a B-school, get into the habit of looking at any topic from the business perspective. Regularly soak up business news and join online groups of people preparing for group discussions and personal interviews. And, it's time to step on the gas.

These were some bits of advice college students got on how to get through the group discussion round in B-school selections, during the Mission MBA session organised at the Hans Raj College, in association with HT Horizons.

Those without a commerce or economics background can learn their basics from sites such as quickmba.com and investopedia.com, suggested Dinup G Mathew, director, PT Education. Also, if you take a stand, stick to it, or don't take a stand at all, said Mathew. Further, he said, "You may contradict others in the group but be polite. Say, ‘I have an alternate point', instead of saying, ‘I disagree'."

The four key ingredients of a group discussion are content, group dynamism, body language and communication, said Mathew.

Be very clear about why you are there in the GD - and why you are seeking an MBA. Satwinder S Saimbi, said selectors evaluate your attitude. "Prepare - what am I good at? What are my weaknesses?"

Saimbi said, students should think hard rather than start off with whatever comes first to their minds. "Write down your points. Interject and then withdraw."

These experts pointed out that GD participants must avoid using words and phrases like ‘according to me', ‘you know', ‘I think', ‘basically', ‘frankly' and ‘actually' and slang such as ‘gonna'. They added that candidates should look at the members of the group, but not at the moderator. Akash Gautam, representative, emphasised that in the GD, students must quote the source of the statistics. Gautam suggested the PREP approach for content - make your ‘Point', give the ‘Reasoning' behind it, give an ‘Example' and repeat your ‘Point' in different words. Students could also use the keyword approach wherein you divide a point into keywords.