Group discussions are the best way to vomit out all your opinions and thoughts about the topic socially. But while you participate in a group discussion, you are supposed to be well-behaved, respectful, and dignified through your words. Furthermore, you need to understand that the mode of discussion is highly official and completely formal. Thus you need to take care of every single word you speak. According to research done by top boarding schools in India, This traditional atmosphere most of the time causes utter silence into the discussion table, but since it is called a group discussion, it means you are supposed to be discussing. Therefore silence cannot be an answer to it.
A lot of time, students fear confrontation, they have a fear of social speaking, they feel being misjudged or misinterpreted, or even they face language barriers. All these factors affect communication, and not everyone’s honest opinion is collected on the table center. Making students participate and taking advantage of the group discussion is not easy. The one who has always been behind the curtains always fears to step into the stage spotlight where multiple eyes stare at you and expect you to be good.
Facing such a bright light and meeting expectations is not easy; a lot of courage and confidence are needed. Being a speaker, you also require a reasonable sum of knowledge about the topic to speak informatively over the issue. You have the dignity of the platform you are standing on to say. This is a lot of pressure to handle.
Here are some tips and tricks for the mentor that can be helpful
- To make it a successful group discussion, you must choose a light topic at first to learn certain etiquettes and develop good communication skills. Being a teacher, you are a mentor whose job is to teach students how to speak publicly and express thoughts, opinions, and emotions through words on a given platform.
- Comfort is another factor that counts while speaking. To make a speaker say, you must address him/her politely and give enough time to process thoughts and gather the courage to provide honest self-derived opinions over the topic. While it is a group discussion, people from the opponent’s table can try to be manipulative with their thoughts. Being a moderator and a mentor, you must know the exact place where to decline a conversation that can grow offensive or disrespectful.
- Practicing constantly helps. You may have several introverted students within the class and to make them speak isn’t that easy. They might have better opinions and facts to say but couldn’t do it due to fear or lack of confidence. So to provoke them, you have to point or poke them individually. They must matter the most to you because making a good student best isn’t a tough job but uplifting a poor or below average student to average is. This ability of yours is what will make you a good mentor.
- Conducting regular based discussion over topics from all streams is engaging. There might be students who are not interested in certain topics, but when you try to cover a variety of topics, you might learn about the student’s interests. If the discussion is conducted on a daily basis, you will find a constant increase in student involvement as students cannot avoid or skip the class; thus, they will have to be present, and their presence will get the involvement.
- While moderating a group discussion does not let the fire of discussion burn you. If ever your class discussion turned into a fight or a revolt, you will experience a sudden fall in the engagement of students. Most students like to be at peace and to maintain that peace. You must be fierce enough, or else you students will make themselves shut forever.
- Avoid interruptions from not just your side but also from the opponent’s side. Each side of the table is given a chance alternatively to resist or go in favor of the discussion topic. Any kind of interruption makes the speaker nervous, and it is also out of chivalry that you allow an individual to complete the term of words.
- Follow the rules and work into a system where everyone has a right to speak, choose aside, and share individual thoughts. The opponents can question the points, and another can give a suitable answer. Any kind of hate or mean comments should be avoided, any personal reasoning should not be framed, and the choice of words should be strictly formal.
- The most important factor of engagement is fun. It is your responsibility to create it fun and interesting through your choice of topic. Also, advise your students to be more natural and honest, not fake. Ask them to speak what they believe in whole-heartedly as your individuality is what is being tested, the way how you out-shine others. You might also get face entanglement when you try to act fake, as the opponent can catch you over the same.
