Group Discussion

-
Group discussion is a goal directed form of communication. It is different from group conversation. A small group of people meet to share information, solve problem and arrive at a decision. The main purpose of group discussion is to share information, to arrive at the best possible solution to a problem, to make best possible decision, and to provide a wide range of information.
 There are different types of group discussion. The common types are Panel and Symposium. A Panel consists of four to six expert members. It’s a formal discussion before an audience for which the topic, speakers etc. have been selected in advance. They share information and opinions. Whereas in a symposium four to six members present short, prepared speeches. Towards the end, the members discuss the ideas.
Some other types of group discussion are Private Group discussion, A Standing Committee, An Ad Hoc Committee, A Round Table Discussion, A Progressive Group Discussion. Private Group discussion is the most common one. It happens inside an organization or institution. A standing committee group discussion make recommendations to the organization. An Ad Hoc committee is formed to study a single issue. A round table discussion is held to share information on a specified issue. In a progressive group discussion a large group is divided into small groups and they discuss the different aspects of a topic.
A well planned group discussion will follow a particular order. First of all a topic should be chosen, and then the discussion questions should be phrased. The main goal of a group discussion is to answer the questions. The wording of the questions should be clear and concise. The wording should be neutral.
A good leader of a group discussion should lead the group towards the goal. He should confine to the agenda. A good leader should identify and manage the conflict. He should be able to resolve a conflict. He should analyze and evaluate the facts. He should also identify and establish an opinion. The leadership quality can be of Laissez Faire, Authoritarian, Democratic. A Laissez Faire leader shares the responsibilities with all the group members. He gives full freedom to his group members. An Authoritarian leadership is tyrannical and so loses the support of other members. A Democratic leader gives a chance to everyone to contribute to decisions.
The group members too have some responsibilities of their own. They should share the information. They should ask question to help the group to stay on track. The members have to listen carefully to the discussion. They should be able to weigh and evaluate the ideas, facts and opinions. All the group members should consider others opinion and co-operate with others. And finally they should speak clearly and loudly.
-----HAPPY LEARNING------

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thundu and Other Stories by K. V. Balasubramanian

-
  Dr. K. V. Balasubramanian, was the former professor and head, Department of Literature, Tamil University, Thanjavur. He believed that in every breath of people and in every eye there is a story hidden. His first short story “ Thundu ” was published in a monthly magazine named Annam. The social awareness imbibed in this short story is noteworthy.             Dr. R. Shanti, translated this work in English in 20 13 . The translation is excellent. She has brought the portraits alive in the foreign tongue. The flavor and the breath of the original are alive in her translations.   A LESSON: This is the first short story in this collection. The unnamed protagonist was worried about the debts that surrounds him.   Most part of his salary is spent for milk, curd, school fees, and electricity bill and so on. He could not save his income. He suffer financially. Though his family is just limited to two children his sa...
Read more

Spoon Feeding by W.R. Inge

-
William Ralph Inge is well known as a genial writer on topics of contemporary interest. In “Spoon Feeding”, he elaborates on how mankind is dwindling into a race of pygmies by excessive dependence on the comforts of science and technology.                 He begins his essay by comparing the noble savage with the modern man. According to Inge, the noble savage is far better than the civilized people because he never had any trouble with his teeth. He was able to tear tough meat without the help of knife and fork. But the modern man eats with the help of knife and fork and that became the reason for the most of his diseases.                 Earlier the house wives used to bake bread and make her own jam but now she has become incapable of anything. The laborers before industrial revolution were self-sufficing, but now he depends on tool...
Read more