Tips and tricks to get through a Group Discussion in an impressive way

Group discussion is a new trend that has come up in order to evaluate student personality. A group of participants are made to discuss on a topic or subject for a limited time and then assessed accordingly. It is a chance for you to be more vocal.

 

There are a lot of advantages of a group discussion:

1. It helps to shed away the shyness of a candidate and brings his viewpoint amidst all. 

2. It stimulates to think in a different, new way.

3. It helps the candidate in understanding his/ her own strengths and weaknesses.

4. It acts as an aid in expansion of the knowledge of the participant. 

5. It helps to analyse the social or economic issues more logically. 

Not just these, there are various other advantages to add on to. But, let us first have a glimpse of how to perform well in a group discussion.

 

Here is a list of what should be done and what should be avoided at a Group Discussion (GD)

 

1. Be as natural as possible. Do not try to be someone you are not. Be yourself. In an attempt to be someone else, your opinions will not be portrayed. 

2. Sit with a straight and confident posture. 

3. Be assertive yet humble. You need to stick to your values and beliefs, but learn to respect the values and opinions of others too. 

4. Grab the opportunity to speak first, i.e. to start the group discussion with your opinion. It generally leaves a good impression on the evaluator, but take the move only if you have complete knowledge of the subject.

5. Do not repeat a point, or be lengthy or irrelevant. Also intervene, if someone else is going on an irrelevant track. 

6. Facilitate contribution from others. Do not just go on and on and on with only your opinionated view. Remember, it is a group discussion. Allow others to speak too.

7. Make an eye contact with all the participants. It creates more room for conversation. Also keep nodding, when others speak, it shows receptivity. 

8. Be an active and dynamic participant. The examiner wants to hear you speak. So do put forth your views. 

9. Be positive and prepare your thoughts well but do not be over-confident. 

10. Think well before you speak. You are being heard and judged upon. 

11. When raising an objection to a point kept by another speaker, back it up with a solid reason to get the point across. 

12. Use quotes, facts and figures, statements, everyday life examples to express a clear chain of thoughts. Also it might leave a good impression on the examiner and help you score well. 

These are some basic yet very vital tips that will help you feel a bit more confident about yourself and make you ready to appear for that group discussion trend.

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Tips and Tricks: CBSE Class 12th Psychology

Come class 12, tensions come along too, be it any subject. Similar is the case with Psychology . But here are some smarter ways to boost up your knowledge and clear the exam with flying colours.

But before we get on to some study tips, let's take a look on the syllabus.

Units    
1. Intelligence and aptitude: 9 marks
2. Self and personality: 10 marks
3. Human strengths and meeting the life challenges: 7 marks
4. Psychological disorders: 10 marks
5. Therapeutic approaches and counselling: 7 marks
6. Attitude and social cognition: 8 marks
7. Social influence and Group processes: 7 marks
8. Environmental and social concerns: 6 marks
9. Applied psychology: 6 marks

Tips
- The first and the foremost necessity to studying for a psychology exam is to plan a sufficient amount of time to study. You cannot sit with the books a night before and go ahead with that.
- The easiness and difficulty of a topic varies from person to person. So, you, as an individual need to decide your difficult topics and study them first. Easy ones can always be written instantaneously.
- Make a study plan and remember to stick to it.
- Create flow charts to help you understand how the topics inter-connect.
- Practice the diagrams as they help to increase marks during exam even if diagrams are not asked for.
- You need to know this subject thoroughly in order to attempt its exam. So, another point to keep in mind is listening skills. Listen attentively during classes and lectures and note down points you feel are important in addition to class notes.
- Clear any doubts as soon as they occur from your teachers.
- Don't try to blindly memorize the answers; focus on understanding the concepts first then summarizing in your own words.
- Try to relate the study material with real life examples. It becomes a lot more easy to grasp and remember the subject if you have a real life incident supporting it.
- Summarize important text point-wise in your own words. This will help your preparation thoroughly. You can also use these point wise notes for revision.
- Make flashcards to study definitions.
- Class notes and text should be re-read in order to retain the content.
- Group study can help with Psychology. Each select a topic and discuss.
- Attempt a lot of sample papers/practice paper in order to know your answers well. Practice writing out the complete answers in your own words, this will help you phrase your words and answer correctly.
- During exam highlight keywords and headings to score marks.
No longer restricted for Psychologists and Psychiatrists, Psychology will help you in every sphere of life as the study of Psychology will give you a better understanding of people.

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XAT 2014: Tips and Tricks

Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) 2014 conducted annually at national-level by XLRI Jamshedpur is used for admission to various Management Institutes and Business Schools, including all the Xavier Group of Institutes. Around of 89,328 candidates have registered for XAT 2014 to be held on 5th January 2014. It's tough to make your mark among so many aspirants but here are some tips to help you!

Paper Pattern:XAT 2014 is a 3 hour, pen and paper based examination that will be held from 10:30 AM to 1:30 PM on 5th January 2014. The exam is divided into 2 sections, Part I and Part II and consists of multiple choice questions. Negative marking is applicable.
Part I Consists of:
1. Verbal and Logical Ability
2. Decision Making
3. Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation
Part II:
1. General Knowledge

Only the marks of Part I will be used for cut-off selection, but marks of General Knowledge section (Part II) will be considered in the final selection by specific Institutes. XAT 2014 is the first session including General Knowledge as a separate part of the entrance test.

TIPS:
- Make sure you have a study plan in mind. Create one after studying the syllabus and paper pattern and remember to stick to it.
- Increase reading to help in reading comprehension, verbal ability and in General knowledge
- Practice speed reading to help you complete the reading comprehension sections quickly
- Before you read the passage given in reading comprehension glance through the questions so you will have an idea of what to look for
- Remember key for decision making is quick thinking.
- For verbal and logical ability section practice metaphors, analogies, sentence structuring, personification, and other figures of speech.
- Increase your vocabulary
- Practice basic Maths to improve speed and accuracy
- Focus on mastering approximation skills in Maths
- As negative marking is applicable and exam is lengthy skip questions you are not sure of
- Practice as many sample papers/previous year papers as you can to familiarize with the new topic of Decision Making
- For General knowledge study current affairs related to organizations, personalites, sports and businesses national and international
- Study section-wise so you don't get confused at the last min
- Revise twice and make sure your basic concepts of Mathematics and English grammar are clear
- Practice specialized XAT question banks
- Sections apart from Decision Making and General Knowledge are similar to those of CAT (Common Admission Test) exam so you can use CAT preparation exam for extra reference

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CPT 2013: Tips and Tricks

Clearing the Common Proficiency Test (CPT) is the first step to becoming a Chartered Accountant. CPT is held twice a year in June and December by The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and takes place in 2 sessions of 100 marks each on a single exam date. To be considered has having cleared CPT it's necessary for the candidate to score minimum 30% in each individual section and 50% aggregate overall in spite of negative marking. With the next CPT exam date 15th December 2013 approaching its time to study smart. Here are some tips!

Syllabus:
Session 1 (from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM)
    Section A: Fundamentals of Accounting 60 Marks (18 marks passing)
    Section B: Mercantile Laws 40 Marks (12 marks passing) 
Session 2 (from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM)
    Section C: General Economics 50 Marks (15 marks passing) 
    Section D: Quantitative Aptitude (Maths and Statistics) 50 Marks (15 marks passing)

Tips:
- The first step is to thoroughly understand the detailed official syllabus, so you don't end up wasting time on topics/areas that are not that relevant
- Create a study schedule giving more time to topics you feel you are weak in
- Try to study minimum 2 subjects a day
- Focus on studying from the official study material provided by ICAI and use other books as reference 
- For Accounts, refer to your class 11th and class 12th textbooks
- Accounting is a scoring subject, to maximize your chances of scoring, first read the theory of a chapter and then attempt its questions. Don't skip the theory.
- Study basic Maths, sticking to the topics on the CPT syllabus and not studying the entire school textbook
- Mercantile Laws are scoring as there are only 3 laws in the syllabus. Make sure to study all three. Practice writing the Mercantile laws point-wise to test your understanding
- Although the question paper will ask only multiple choice questions, practice some subjective questions as well to refresh your understanding
- As negative marking is applicable skip questions you are not sure about
- Do not ignore any section as minimum passing marks are required for each individual section
- Start revision 2 weeks before the exam
- Practice as many sample papers, question banks and questions given in Study Material from ICAI as possible
- Definitely complete previous 3 years exam papers
- Identify trends in the question paper and where you seem to lost marks. Focus your time in improving your weak areas. 
- At least 3 days before the exam attempt sample papers (or previous year papers) in the exact timeframe you will have at the CPT exam that is 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM for Section A and Section B and 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM for Section C and Section D. This will help you get in the habit of thinking about those topics in that time frame.  

As marks scored or rank obtained doesn't matter for the next examination in becoming a Chartered Accountant and only passing marks are required, it's easy to become overconfident. However it's essential to stay focused on studying so you are able to clear the CPT examination.  

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XAT 2014: Tips and Tricks

Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) 2014 conducted annually at national-level by XLRI Jamshedpur is used for admission to various Management Institutes and Business Schools, including all the Xavier Group of Institutes. Around of 89,328 candidates have registered for XAT 2014 to be held on 5th January 2014. It's tough to make your mark among so many aspirants but here are some tips to help you!

Paper Pattern:XAT 2014 is a 3 hour, pen and paper based examination that will be held from 10:30 AM to 1:30 PM on 5th January 2014. The exam is divided into 2 sections, Part I and Part II and consists of multiple choice questions. Negative marking is applicable.
Part I Consists of:
1. Verbal and Logical Ability
2. Decision Making
3. Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation 
Part II:
1. General Knowledge 

Only the marks of Part I will be used for cut-off selection, but marks of General Knowledge section (Part II) will be considered in the final selection by specific Institutes. XAT 2014 is the first session including General Knowledge as a separate part of the entrance test. 

TIPS:
- Make sure you have a study plan in mind. Create one after studying the syllabus and paper pattern and remember to stick to it.
- Increase reading to help in reading comprehension, verbal ability and in General knowledge
- Practice speed reading to help you complete the reading comprehension sections quickly
- Before you read the passage given in reading comprehension glance through the questions so you will have an idea of what to look for
- Remember key for decision making is quick thinking. 
- For verbal and logical ability section practice metaphors, analogies, sentence structuring, personification, and other figures of speech. 
- Increase your vocabulary 
- Practice basic Maths to improve speed and accuracy
- Focus on mastering approximation skills in Maths
- As negative marking is applicable and exam is lengthy skip questions you are not sure of
- Practice as many sample papers/previous year papers as you can to familiarize with the new topic of Decision Making
- For General knowledge study current affairs related to organizations, personalites, sports and businesses national and international
- Study section-wise so you don't get confused at the last min
- Revise twice and make sure your basic concepts of Mathematics and English grammar are clear
- Practice specialized XAT question banks
- Sections apart from Decision Making and General Knowledge are similar to those of CAT (Common Admission Test) exam so you can use CAT preparation exam for extra reference

Read more »