39. Group Discussion

Group discussion means brainstorming or contemplating ideas and thoughts -- sharing input amongst a group of people. Any collection or assemblage of persons or things; cluster; aggregation: a group of protesters; a remarkable group of paintings. A number of persons or things ranged or considered together as being related in some way. A group discussion is the one in which some ppl come together to form a group and discuss on some matter. In this each one tells what he/she thinks about that matter. So some of the people are against that matter and some are in favour of it. It is all about exchange your point of view and your thoughts about that topic.

In a threaded discussion, a group of individuals is connected through an electronic medium, such as an e-mail distribution list, listserv, online conference group, an Internet-based bulletin board service, or a bulletin board established on a local area network. This allows group members to communicate about common interests asynchronously — that is, not simultaneously or in a rapid exchange as in face-to-face conversation, but individually, at their own time. GDs can be topic-based or case-based. Topic based Gds can be classified into three types: - Factual Topics, Controversial Topics and Abstract 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 GDs 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