Week #4 - Group Discussions as an Oral Means of Communication

Group Discussions as an Oral Means of Communication

Goals from this hand out:

·         To Know the nature and significance of Group discussion (GD).

·        
To understand the characteristics of successful group discussion.

·        
To identify the areas of evaluation in successful group discussion.

·        
To get trained about the method of participation in the Group Discussion.

·        
To know how to acquire the oral skills and the body language used for effective Group Discussion.

PART 1: Read and answer the following questions:

Introduction

Discussions of any sort are supposed to help us develop a better perspective on issues by bringing out diverse view points. Whenever we exchange differing views on an issue, we get a clearer picture of the problem and are able to understand it. The understanding makes us better equipped to deal with the problem. This is precisely the main purpose of a discussion. The dictionary meaning of the word: Group Discussion is to talk about a subject in detail. So, group discussion may refer to a communicative situation that allows its participants to express views and opinions and share with other participants. It is a systematic oral exchange of information, views and opinions about a topic ,issue, problem or situation among members of a group who share certain common objectives.

GD is essentially an interactive oral process. The group members need to listen to each other and use voice and gesture effectively use clear language and persuasive style.

GD is structured: the exchange of ideas in a GD takes place in a systematic and structured way. Each of the participants gets an opportunity to express his/her views and comments on the views expressed by other members of the group.

GD involves a lot of group dynamics, that is, it involves both -person to person as well as group to group interactions. every group member has to develop a goal oriented or group oriented interaction. A participant needs to be aware of needs of other group members and overall objectives of the discussion.