Roles that Participants Play in a Group Discussion

Roles that Participants Play in a Group Discussion

There are a number of roles that a candidate can play in a GD. It has been observed that many candidates act or behave in a certain way or make their points in a particular manner.
Let us discuss some of the roles that candidates may choose to play:

The Initiator

Such a person typically is the one who tries to commence the discussion and make his point in the beginning. He may try to give direction to the GD and speak as much as possible in the beginning, before the GD gets too noisy or chaotic.
However, this person does not speak much later or participate in subsequent stages of the discussion. It appears that he has exhausted himself early in the game.
• Remember that if you initiate, do so with a structure and aim to give direction to the discussion. Lay down the ‘paramaters’ of the discussion-i.e. what all can be discussed
• Do not think speaking in the beginning is enough. You need to participate actively throughout the discussion

The Data Giver

The person playing the role of a data giver provides all the statistics and data relevant to the discussion. He seems to be a ‘talking newspaper’ or ‘talking journal’. However, he does not use the data that he gives to present his point of view in a logical manner.
Thus, the points he makes can be considered as being incomplete-although the supporting statistics are there, it is not really clear what the point of presenting them is.
You must try and go beyond just giving data in the Group Discussion-you are not meant to play a role of being a ‘talking newspaper’!

The Criticiser

Some participants play this role, in which they contradict or criticize the points that others make. Whatever others say, these participants object and state that the point may not be correct or accurate.
However, such participants do not make sufficient and impactful points of their own; they merely respond to the points that others make. They are unlikely to score well.

The Supporter

These participants play an opposite role to that described above. Here, participants agree with or support the points that others make. Whatever others say, these participants indicate their agreement, possibly by nodding their heads or saying, ‘hmm’.
Once again, the issue is that such participants do not make sufficient and impactful points of their own; they merely respond to the points that others make. Hence, just like above, they are unlikely to score well.

The Questioner

Rather than make points of his own, the ‘Questioner’ asks others questions-he solicits the opinions of others or asks them for data. He seems to almost play the role of an interviewer.
Since he doesn’t make substantial points of his own, the evaluation panel is not going to be too impressed with his performance and will not award him too many marks.

The Gatekeeper

Have you ever heard, during a Group Discussion, someone suddenly state that the others had better hurry up as only a few minutes were left?! This is the gatekeeper’s role, among other things.
This role is played by some participants who keep a check on various aspects-the time that has elapsed during the discussion or the time left, who all have spoken and how much etc. They seem more bothered by these aspects and in maintaining order and decorum rather than in making substantial and impactful points of their own.

Hence, the evaluation panel will not give such a participant high marks.

The Traffic Policeman

This person behaves like a traffic policeman trying to control the flow of traffic. He makes a number of gestures with his hands, trying to stop someone from speaking or waving his hands about while making a point.
Too many gestures are unlikely to impress the evaluation panel; so try and avoid this. do not stop others from speaking by raising your hands!

The Spectator/ Audience

These participants hardly say anything on their own, but almost seem part of the audience or spectators. They make no contribution, except nodding their heads or saying ‘Hmm’ almost to themselves!
When probed as to why they did not speak, they sometimes claim to be listening to others in the group. Such participants are unlikely to get selected.

The Leader

This is the role that you should try and play. We have discussed in another module as to how you could be perceived as the leader of the group.
Keep in mind that if you wish to be recognized as the group leader, then:
• You must try to initiate the discussion and provide a structure to the discussion
• You must try and provide a direction to the GD
• You may try and lay the framework or boundaries of the discussion
• You support your points by strong logic
• You give adequate examples to support your views
• You may try and involve others in the discussion
• You could try and manage the ‘flow’ of the discussion
• In the end, the ‘leader’ may try and summarize the discussion and review all the ideas discussed

The Summariser

This person tries to summarize the discussion at the end. Remember that this could be a good strategy, but you also must participate during the course of the discussion; you cannot only summarize!
Keep in mind, the following points while summarizing the discussion:
• Present both sides of the discussion while summarizing, not only the points reflecting the view you support
• Do not add new points during the summary-typically limit the summary to what was discussed during the GD
• Remember that you need to summarize the points that the group as a whole discussed, not just the points you made!
• Points mentioned during the summary must be in brief; yet the summary as a whole should be comprehensive: Present both sides of the picture, as mentioned earlier, and try to mention at least 4-5 points that came up during the discussion in the summary