GD 2.0

The last post covered the critical aspects of the checklist, the body language to be maintained, beginning the discussion, cutting in while someone is speaking and group behaviour in a group discussion. But all these tips need quality content to support them. After all, how can you begin or interrupt someone without actually having something to speak? And even having ‘something’ to speak is not going to help your cause until that ‘something’ is logical and valid. So, this post is all about “The Processes to Generate Quality Content during a Group Discussion”.

First of all, to be able to talk about the given topic in a logical manner, you need to stay updated with the current topics and the aspects associated with them so that you can have a strong stance while speaking. This ability to generate content comes from:

1)      Read Newspapers:
Read newspapers like The Hindu, The Economic Times, Mint, etc. to stay updated with the current topics. The fact that they are available online and that too for free makes it even easier for us to subscribe to them.

And when it comes to choosing newspapers, be wise! If you choose The Times of India then your knowledge bank will be consisting of gems like “Lionel Messi joins Rahul as all time top scorer of UEFA Champions League” (you are free to interpret Rahul as Rahul Dravid or Rahul Gandhi or any other Rahul in your mohalla! :P). It even has the audacity to quote Sachin Tendulkar as saying “RIP Sachin Tendulkar”. So, BEWARE!!

2)      HG-SPELT: 
Consider all the factors related to the topic given. Namely, Historical, Geographical, Social, Political, Economical, Legal and Technical factors which might be related to the topic. This gives you an overall top view of all the aspects related to the topic so that you can have an informed opinion with logical points to support it.

Next up, we need to know about the processes we can adopt to put forward our content in a structured manner. So, these are the processes you can follow:

1)      Headline Approach: 
Just the way newspapers do it! Frame a catchy headline which captures the essence of what you will be speaking and catches the interest of the group. Then speak your points. This will make sure that your talk goes noticed.

2)      PREP Approach:

a)      State your position (the side or stance that you are taking in this discussion).

b)      Give the reason as to why you share that opinion.

c)      Give an example to kind of prove your position right.

d)     Finally, state your position in different words as if you have proved it right.

This gives a structured form to your speech and ensures that people can’t bash you logically if you have given valid points following this approach.

3)      Sequel Approach:
Give a point to each example that you give during your speech. A structured form of speech to validate your point as you go.

4)      Kidnapping Approach:
Give an example to each point that you make. Another structured form of speech to validate your point as you go.

5)      Keywords Approach: 
Define the keywords which are related to the topic as you know them. Then you can proceed with your opinion or even compare your definition with the definition that others have given. Gives validity to the point made by the speaker as he/she has already defined the aspects which have influenced the point.

6)      Affected Party Approach:
Think about the people whom the given topic affects the most. This will help you generate logical and valid points to support your arguments and stance taken.

7)      Rangeela Approach:
Use this method when you don’t have too much knowledge about the given topic and are about to reach at a loss of words. Give lots of examples that you think can be analytically related with the topic and use them to generate a solid viewpoint.

So, what should be the Ideal Approach to take part in a group discussion? Here is a small tip:

“Speak once at the start, but not too late, within the first 4 speakers. Speak twice in the middle, meaningfully, showing different perspectives. Try to keep it as out of the box as possible. And speak once at the end.”

Now that you have adequate knowledge about the resources and processes that will help you to generate quality content in a group discussion, please try it out. Choose any topic of your interest from a wide range of fields such as Politics and Sports to anything like brands of clothes or shoes. Sit with people having common interests, your friends or in DebSoc and discuss about a few topics at length. Believe me you will have fun.

Please feel free to comment. Any questions, suggestions, feedback (positive or negative), agreements or even disagreements are more than welcome.

So, Ready? Set? And Don’t Go! No really, don’t go anywhere and stay tuned! Because we have a lot more useful posts coming up.

                                                                                                              -Aditya Bose