Group Discussion along with Personal Interviews is one of the important phases of CAT Selection Procedure. CAT Group Discussion will be conducted for candidates who clear the cut off for CAT 2021. GD is conducted to analyze how a particular candidate perceives and presents an idea in contrast to other candidates present in the discussion. 

GD is considered by IIMs to be one of the best ways to select the best candidates from a pool of prospective candidates and a useful tool to screen the candidate’s potential as well as their skills. CAT 2021 exam is expected to be held in November 2021. Check CAT Exam Dates

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Key elements of CAT Group Discussion Rounds

• Groups of 8-10 candidates are formed into a leaderless group and are given a specific Group Discussion topic to analyze and discuss within a given time limit. 
• The time limit for a GD ranges from 12-15 minutes. 
• As it is an interactive form of assessment, a candidate must pay a lot of attention to the preparation for this round.
• A candidate will be judged majorly on the basis of your vision, and his/her potential for making decisions on any particular topic that will be designed for a candidate.
• The only difference between most other GDs and the GDs conducted by the IIMs after CAT or other top B Schools is the intensity of the competition.

How is Group Discussion Conducted?

In the Group Discussion round, each candidate forms a group of 8-10 leaderless groups and they are thrown into the discussion with a particular topic to analyze and perceive their opinion in contrast to others. The time for each GD ranges from 12 minutes to 15 minutes. 

• The group may be given a topic and asked to discuss the same and each candidate needs to present their views on a given group discussion topic.
• A panel will observe the proceedings and evaluate the members on their views.

Why is GD important for MBA Admission?

GD helps to channel the layers of candidates' perceptions and thoughts over a particular topic. It helps to evaluate the candidate on a high note. GD, in fact, is a selection as well as elimination round before the final selection for admission in B-school. It is important as it helps in:

• Understanding a candidate's interpersonal skills.
• Identifying if a candidate has the ability to work in a team.
• Understanding one's attitude. 

Check Top Institutes that accept CAT score for Admission

How to Prepare for Group Discussion?

Below are jotted down some details you need to follow to ace yourself in preparing for GD round for CAT 2021.

Rigorous Reading: Reading Newspapers every day will help you in being updated with current affairs is essential as most of the Group Discussion topics are picked up from news and updates from the business sector. The more you read the broader your vision and understanding of issues will become. 

Conversation Skills: You should learn to speak English to enhance your vocal skills so that you don’t feel hesitant while speaking on the final day. It will also enhance your ability to express.

Leadership Skills: Showcasing leadership skills is the most important aspect of CAT GD round. Hence, candidates need to make sure that they work on improving their leadership qualities to stand out from the crowd. However, it must be kept in mind that what is required of them is to lead the conversation but not dominate it.

Practice Groups: You can practice GD with your seniors, fellow applicants, or friends who had appeared or will be appearing for GD. There are various coaching institutes that take GD sessions where you can develop your skills for group discussion.

Personal Grooming: How you dress among the judges could really make or break the situation. There is no need to take things casually. You have to dress formally. Make sure your shoes are clean and your clothes well ironed. Your body language should be good and make sure to smell fresh that day.

There is no need to go into details: There is no need for you to go into the details. Keep things short and simple! Always remember that you don’t have all the time in the world so you don’t have to be all that analytic. Just keep things simple and to the point. There are ways to convey your thoughts and you can always do it in a way that is simple and straightforward. There is no way to keep things complex. Otherwise, it would become too boring for the person to hear.

Best Books for CAT GD Preparation

Check more CAT GD-PI Preparation Books

8 Effective Tips to crack CAT Group Discussion

• Keep your opinion utmostly:

 Do not just listen to other people speak, keep your points and opinions in contrast to the other candidates that will jot only help you stand but will boost your confidence to channel and target the round effectively. Remember to be mature while answering your questions. 

Check CAT PI Preparation Tips 

• Be positive: 

Your criticism should suggest how to overcome the problem. The presentation must have a clear and coherent flow of ideas with the support of facts and figures at least to some extent.

• Be confident:

If you are confident enough, you can take the lead, speak a minute or two and then take more clues from others and put forward your analysis of the problem/situation. This will give you an edge. The more confident you are, the more chances of selection await you.

• Always be a good listener:

A future manager must not only be a convincing speaker but also a good analyst of the situation. Hence, it is judged whether you can listen to others attentively and put forward your views when the person in front of you has spoken or you don’t even allow them to speak.

• Have good knowledge of topics:

When you begin speaking, your quotes, facts, figures, coherent delivery of ideas, let them become the measuring points of subject knowledge and outstanding personality.

• Analyze the topic:

First, understand the topic and then decide whether it will be fine to speak for or against the topic. Of course, putting forward the points to make the delivery quite effective. It is suggested to go through the newspapers, watch TV news & discussions apart from reading important periodicals regularly to broaden the vision and form your viewpoint on important issues.

• Speak Sensibly:

You don’t have to keep speaking just to increase the time of your speaking. Your thoughts should always be very sensible and relevant and even if you are speaking very little, there is no need to worry too much about it as far as you are making sense in what you are saying. Maximize your speaking time and do what you think is right! 

• Test of your behavior and ideology:

If you shout at others– you may not be a good option to be offered a managerial position in the future. If you are a broad-minded person then you will welcome others’ ideas OR after listening to them may politely but firmly place your viewpoint why they are not so beneficial

Skills Required for Group Discussion rounds in IIMs

A Group Discussion checks how a candidate behaves, participates, and contributes in a group. It also judges how much importance a candidate gives to the group objective as well as one's own, how well do you listen to the viewpoints of others, and how open-minded a candidate is in accepting views contrary to your own.

Major aspects which make up a GD are verbal communication, non-verbal behavior, and conformation to norms, decision-making ability, and cooperation. One must try to be as true as possible to these aspects. Given below are a few more aspects that a candidate should work on while preparing for GD in order to clear it:

• How good you are at communicating with others.
• How you behave and interact with the group.
• How open-minded are you?
• Your listening skills.
• How you put forward your views.
• Your leadership and decision-making skills.
• Your analysis skill and subject knowledge.
• Problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
• Your attitude and confidence.

Check Details about CAT 2021 Selection Process 

Sample GD Topics for CAT 2021

Given below is a list of common Group Discussion Topics topics which can be asked in the GD rounds at IIMs. These topics are related to Business/Economy, Social Issues, Current Affairs, and International Current Affairs. 

• National Anthem to be played in cinema halls
• Cryptocurrency: Should it be legalized
• Social drinking is okay
• Marxism is still relevant in the globalized economy
• India's growth rate is bridging the gap between rich and poor
• IT revolution has done more harm than good to India
• In India, students graduating from college should serve two years in the army
• The threat of violence is necessary for peace and harmony
• Economics liberation has helped only rich people to become richer
• Should media have freedom of expression
• Impact of globalization on the environment
• The IT boom and the growing pressure on Indian cities because of it
• Cyberspace-Different personalities and how it affects us?  

NOTE: Candidate should adhere to the examples as references, as the university may give the candidate different topics of varied difficulty accordingly.