Skip to main content

What is a Group Discussion (GD) - SSB Interview

What is a Group Discussion - GD?


A GD is a methodology used by an organization to gauge whether the candidate has certain personality traits and/or skills that it desires in its members. In this methodology, the group of candidates is given a topic or a situation, given a few minutes to think about the same, and then asked to discuss among themselves for 15 – 20 Minutes and place their opinion on the topic. Group Discussion Test is the most important and most popular technique of personality testing. It is used for selecting candidates for MBA, SSB, Airlines, Bank officers, Research scholars, Call Centre etc. It enables the examiner to assess candidate's leadership ability, intellectual level, communication ability, socialisation skill and an ability to motivate and influence others. The most important aspect of Group Discussion is its practical approach for analysing the inner orientations of the candidates. The enhanced leadership ability of the candidate has to be in context of abilities and responses of other individuals of the group.
Let’s Talk Training module for Group Discussion would help to train the minds of the readers so that they could appear in the Group Discussions and emerge with flying colours. The module comprises three parts-I, II and III-and covers the current topics with complete fidelity. It would inculcate the basic principles and values in candidates so that they could succeed in any Group Discussion Test. Some of personality traits the GD is trying to gauge may include:

Ability to work in a team
Communication Skills
Reasoning ability
Leadership skills
Initiative
Assertiveness
Flexibility & Creativity
Ability to think on ones feet








GDs can be Topic based or Case based:
Topic based Gds can be classified into three types:-
Factual topic | Controversial topics | Abstract topics |

Factual Topics
Factual Topics Factual topics are about practical things, which an ordinary person is aware of in his day-to-day life. Typically these are about socio-economic topics. These can be current, i.e. they may have been in the news lately, or could be unbound by time. A factual topic for discussion gives a candidate a chance to prove that he is aware of and sensitive to his environment. E.g. The education policy of India, Tourism in India, State of the aged in the nation.

Controversial Topics
Controversial topics are the ones that are argumentative in nature. They are meant to generate controversy. In GD’s where these topics are given for discussion, the noise level is usually high, there may be tempers flying. The idea behind giving a topic like this is to see how much maturity the candidate is displaying by keeping his temper in check, by rationally and logically arguing his point of view without getting personal and emotional. E.g. Reservations should be removed, Women make better managers.

Abstract Topics
Abstract topics are about intangible things. These topics are not given often for discussion, but their possibility cannot be ruled out. These topics test your lateral thinking and-creativity. E.g. A is an alphabet, Twinkle twinkle little star, The number 10. Case-based GD
Another variation is the use of a case instead of a topic. The case study tries to simulate a real-life situation. Information about the situation will be given to you and you would be asked as a group to resolve the situation. In the case study there are no incorrect answers or perfect solutions. The objective in the case study is to get you to think about the situation from various angles.

Given below are 5 easy to follow tips which will help you in your GD preparation


  • Brushing up on your general awareness is a must. Being aware of current affairs and issues and happenings, which affect our lives, however remotely, shows a well-rounded personality. Interest in one's environment is an essential quality for a agent, as only when he is well informed about all the facets is he able to take correct decisions. Make a habit of reading newspapers like TOI and Economic Times and general interest and business magazines like Frontline, Outlook and Business India.

  • Being aware of current happenings is not enough. One must also form opinions on those happenings and issues that arise. Think about what you feel about different issues, say, terrorism .Write down your thoughts. Ask yourself why you feel that way, what are the premises underlying your thoughts and beliefs. Also question whether your point of view is based on facts, or on opinions.

  • The process of opinion formation is incomplete without getting inputs from others. Get into the habit of discussing issues with your friends and family. Hear multiple points of view. Listen, question and argue. Express your opinion. If you are proven wrong, accept it with good grace. Modify your opinions as you go along. This will help you clear your own thought process plus it will get you into the habit of discussion.

  • While discussing, learn to check your temper. Maybe you'll find others holding view which are disagreeable to you. But remember that they have a right to their opinions. Everyone does. Learn to respect their points of views even if you don't accept them. It shows maturity on your part. This will be a good training for controlling your emotions, which is of utmost importance in a GD.

Practice: Try and mobilize other people who are interested in GDs and simulate GDs. Get someone who has been through GDs before to observe it and give you feedback on your performance. It is better if the group consists of people who you don't know too well. 

CLICK ON GIVEN LINK FOR VIDEOS OF SSB GTO TASKS, SUBSCRIBE US AND STAY UPDATE  HOSLA ACADEMY

Also Read:
SCREENING - PROCEDURE AND GUIDELINES
HOW TO WRITE A DEFENCE MECHANISM STORY IN TAT
DO YOU HAVE IT IN YOU?
How to achieve optimum level in GTO outdoor group tasks "Guru Mantra"

Regards
Hosla
B.A, M.A (Psychology)
Specialist of GTO outdoor group tasks
(Having 11 Years of Teaching Experience As a GTO Instructor)
Mob: 95411 85701, 7015202663
Ambala Cantt, Haryana

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Thematic Apperception test (TAT), Picture Perception and Description Test - SSB Interview

How to write TAT or PPDT Stories SSB consists of three techniques, Psyche, GTO and the Interview one. Tests differ but the technique is the same and the technique is looking for suitability. Means possession! Projection and rating, ranking and grading of OLQs of the optimum satisfaction of the “Assessors” I will show you one of picture and would like to make up a story on the picture. The story should be as dramatic and imaginative as possible. Tell me what is happening in this picture?, what led up to it? And what will the outcome be? Describe as fully as you can, the thoughts, feeling, action and emotions of the character but please do not describe the picture as you are required to write a story with the blank card. The subject is asked (Subject here, would mean the candidate) to imagine and write a story about it. To encourage the flow of the story, I will suggest you to bear these aspects in the mind and to act like this. What is happening? How is it happening?
Post a Comment
Read more

SSB INTERVIEW - GOOD AND BAD HABITS

A very important question was asked by someone regarding a very important question of SSB. This question is asked in different formats but the answer which they are looking for is related to your personality... Questions are: • Write 3 good and bad qualities of yourself? • Write 3 good qualities of your friend or what do you like about your friend? (actually they are your qualities) • Write 3 bad qualities of your friend or what is it that you don't like in your friend? • Which are the three qualities of yours that your friends like? (your good qualities) • Which are the three qualities of yours that your enemies like? ( your weaknesses) What is the purpose of these questions? The first purpose is to see if you know about your own self or not, its a SWOT analysis of your self (Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats). If a person knows about him/her self he can handle any situation and has a better judgment power. The second purpose of these questions like
Post a Comment
Read more

SSB Psychological test - Word association test (WAT)

Word association test or WAT is one of the famous tests of psychology. The main purpose of this test is to get a clear idea about a candidates thinking. You may be wondering how can they check our thinking ? well its quite simple actually. Humans think about something if they get some time, but if there is no time at all then we act on the very first thought that comes in our mind. What happens in this test is that you are shown a word on which you have to make a sentence. The problem is that you only have 15 seconds to think and write a sentence on that particular word. Words rage from 60. Most of the words are repeated in order to see if the candidate has the same mode of thinking or not, usually after 15 20 sentences candidate's mind begins to give up thinking and he/she starts writing whatever comes in mind in split of a second, he doesn't know what he has written in the test when it finishes , the test actually get the true thinking of the candidate on the paper.
5 comments
Read more