Group Discussions skills include leadership skills, social skills, listening and articulation skills, situation handing ability and interpersonal ability. A typical GD involves 8 to 12 participants sitting in a circle or semicircle discussing a topic for a stipulated time, usually for 15 to 20 minutes. Most GDs follow one of the three formats: Structured, Unstructured, or Specialized.

General Topics
Here the time limits and topic is defined. No consensus expected at the end. No leader is to be selected for facilitating the process. These are easier to handle. Topics chosen are usually general and do not require technical knowledge.

Choosing a leader
Choosing a leader is mandatory and the group has to reach a consensus at the end of the GD. The leader has to direct the group, set the tone for discussion and control the dynamics of the group. Things are sometimes made more complicated by asking the group to propose a topic, discuss it and reach a consensus.

Know about the content and process
It is crucial to understand the difference. Content refers to things like your level of preparation, the ability to organize your thoughts in a logical way, understand the topic in its totality and the ability to innovate. Process includes manner of expression, communication skills, body language and the attitude of the person.

Most candidates are preoccupied with process. Consequently, all too vital questions like ‘what should I say? ’,’ do I have enough reasoning to sustain my line of argument? ’,’can I think of examples to substantiate my logic? ’, take a back seat. A preoccupation with process alone is fraught with disastrous results. Both content and process are equally important for an effective contribution to a GD.

Prepare your mind about the context
This is the only way to ensure that you perform above a threshold level of quality. Take your mind off the context for one minute. Utilise this one minute to focus on WHAT you are going to say and to organize your thoughts. All this must be done much before you are swept away in the maelstrom which will follow.

Success Factors of Group Discussion
* Innovativeness: Ability to have an entirely different perspective.
* Quality Of Content: It shows the level of preparedness.
* Logical Ability: Ability to reason, think and debate the pros and cons.
* Behavioral Skills: Aggressiveness is negative while assertiveness is positive. Assertiveness is standing on your own feet, while aggression is trampling on others’ feet.
* Communication: This includes articulation, listening and body language. Clarity of thought leads to articulate language and frequent and consistent participation. Fundamental knowledge of language is all one needs.
* Leadership: Leadership involves all the above skills. More importantly, the fundamental strength that you need to portray to be effective is MOBILITY. It is mobility that lets you demonstrate leadership skill as the context demands.

The Key factors of GD
Give data, examples, anecdotes, survey figures, compelling short stories. This gives people the impression that you know a lot, also, participants do not brand you a bore or Mr. Brains. In this way you avoid facing interjections or arguments. However, be sure of the validity/relevance of your data or story. Always remember the age-old formula for success: KISS-Keep It Short, Stupid.