I am writing this post based on my experiences in Group Discussions and this post is aimed at helping people who stammer be better prepared for Group Discussions during Job Recruitments.
The first and foremost wrong belief that you need to take out of your mind is that,you need to be fluent during your G.D.
G.D.s are not about being perfect-perfect in fluency,perfect in your English,perfect in your knowledge,NO,NO,Absolutely Not.
G.D. is all about confidence,confidence in the points you put forward,confidence in the words you use no matter how elementary are they and most of all confidence in yourself as a person that you deserve to clear the G.D.Its not about hi-fi words,its not about remembering big numbers,its about believing firmly in what you say.Also,the most important point to remember in a G.D. is not to oversell yourself.If you have made a good point,relax and let others talk,dont keep on babbling without caring about others.The Company wants Team Players,not a Dictator.And while others are giving their points,dont be lost in thoughts about what you have to say next,listen attentively while maintaining eye-contact and genuinely try to understand the speakers views even if you are against them.And let him/her finish,never cut his/her talk in between.And while opposing his thought,always say-"I do agree with some of our points but................ or something else like that.Dont just start talking like only your points matter and the rest of the people are just fools.You gotta treat everyone with respect.
Now a stammer specific point and the most dreaded one .What do to do if I block ????????? I did block a 3-4 times while giving my points,the others thought it to be the end of what I had to say,and hence started speaking,At that point I immediately said with a firm yet polite tone-"Please let me finish my point" at which everybody silenced out and I completed my sentence.So,does that show my weakness.NO.This projects me as a strong person who will not allow anyone to cut him off just because he has a speaking disability.
The other thing is that I used to make such a genuine eye-contact with other participants that,most of them were speaking their points just looking at me as if they are just talking to me.This automatically increased my involvement in the discussion as the same persons whom points i had listened with 100% attention were all ears when I had to say something.
Also,never ever lose composure,if you get irritated even a bit,you will be out of G.D. in no time,a guy from my group wasnt selected for the same reason.
So admist all these points you can see,fluency plays no role at all.Its just Listening(others),confidence(in self),respect(towards competitors) and composure(all the time).I again want to point out that Listening is much more important than talking.e.g-A guy got through the G.D. by just conducting the G.D. and by appreciating what others had to say and making others put forward their points.Also,never lose eye contact both while speaking and listening.So this is what I believe,are the essentials of giving an effective G.D. performance.I hope I have been of some help.
PS-Based on my friends experiences-If you manage to start a G.D.,then your chances of getting selected increase a lot.
http://mystammer.blogspot.com/
The first and foremost wrong belief that you need to take out of your mind is that,you need to be fluent during your G.D.
G.D.s are not about being perfect-perfect in fluency,perfect in your English,perfect in your knowledge,NO,NO,Absolutely Not.
G.D. is all about confidence,confidence in the points you put forward,confidence in the words you use no matter how elementary are they and most of all confidence in yourself as a person that you deserve to clear the G.D.Its not about hi-fi words,its not about remembering big numbers,its about believing firmly in what you say.Also,the most important point to remember in a G.D. is not to oversell yourself.If you have made a good point,relax and let others talk,dont keep on babbling without caring about others.The Company wants Team Players,not a Dictator.And while others are giving their points,dont be lost in thoughts about what you have to say next,listen attentively while maintaining eye-contact and genuinely try to understand the speakers views even if you are against them.And let him/her finish,never cut his/her talk in between.And while opposing his thought,always say-"I do agree with some of our points but................ or something else like that.Dont just start talking like only your points matter and the rest of the people are just fools.You gotta treat everyone with respect.
Now a stammer specific point and the most dreaded one .What do to do if I block ????????? I did block a 3-4 times while giving my points,the others thought it to be the end of what I had to say,and hence started speaking,At that point I immediately said with a firm yet polite tone-"Please let me finish my point" at which everybody silenced out and I completed my sentence.So,does that show my weakness.NO.This projects me as a strong person who will not allow anyone to cut him off just because he has a speaking disability.
The other thing is that I used to make such a genuine eye-contact with other participants that,most of them were speaking their points just looking at me as if they are just talking to me.This automatically increased my involvement in the discussion as the same persons whom points i had listened with 100% attention were all ears when I had to say something.
Also,never ever lose composure,if you get irritated even a bit,you will be out of G.D. in no time,a guy from my group wasnt selected for the same reason.
So admist all these points you can see,fluency plays no role at all.Its just Listening(others),confidence(in self),respect(towards competitors) and composure(all the time).I again want to point out that Listening is much more important than talking.e.g-A guy got through the G.D. by just conducting the G.D. and by appreciating what others had to say and making others put forward their points.Also,never lose eye contact both while speaking and listening.So this is what I believe,are the essentials of giving an effective G.D. performance.I hope I have been of some help.
PS-Based on my friends experiences-If you manage to start a G.D.,then your chances of getting selected increase a lot.
http://mystammer.blogspot.com/
2 comments:
Great post, Dhruva. I am sure it will help many young people realize that chasing Communication skills is much more worth while than chasing "cure" for stammer.. This is why TISA conducts Communication workshops..
Brilliant Dhruva!! Absolutely genuine and very useful advice for young PWS. I fully agree with you... Carry on, All The Best.
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