How to Handle Surprise Questions in GD and PI Rounds: Tips, Important Questions and Topics 2023

Important Tips to Handle Surprise Questions in GD Round 

A GD is the first step in the MBA Admission process after the declaration of the CAT results. However, it is not as easy as it seems to be. The students must keep in mind certain tips that would help them to get through this phase of the admission procedure and be admitted to the top B Schools.

• Listen before you speak: The main agenda of a GD is not just speaking and discussing thoughts and opinions but also listening to others. Listening is often considered an important step because it will help you to know about certain points of others which you might not have an idea about and can add up to your answers to make them much more worthy. 
• Be courteous and polite: Being a responsible team member, the candidate must be polite and courteous to their group members. They should keep patience and wait for the other person to complete their talk. They may even give chance to other members of the group who have not secured a chance to speak up about their points. Such behavior will provide the judges with an indication of a team-spirited candidate who can turn out to be a good team leader.
• Be calm: The candidate must try to be the leader but should not force themselves on the other members of the group. The benefit here lies in getting the opportunity to be the first person to begin the GD. Candidates must be calm and not over the top. 
• Don’t interrupt: The candidate must not interrupt any member while they are speaking or should not even interfere in their talk with their personal opinions or thoughts. If you want to say something relating to what the other person says then you can just say so once they finish by saying “Adding to your point” or “Contrary to the point”, etc. 
• Intervene at the right point: One of the important questions is “How to intervene in a group discussion”. The answer will be to maintain eye contact with the present speaker. Observe when he or she is about to end his or her points. Try to start immediately. If you still do not get a chance to speak, try to find a pause in their speech after they make a point and say “ I agree or disagree” (Depending on your stand) and start making your point.
• Don’t speak too much: The candidates must try to be mindful while speaking because sometimes it may seem to the judges that the candidate doesn’t care about what other people share while you are just busy showcasing your knowledge and understanding of a certain topic. To ensure this a candidate must listen to everyone and not only keep speaking for themselves.

MBA students should keep practicing their GD skills even after the admissions. It is because the GD skills would come in handy for MBA Placement Preparations.  

Know More: MBA GD Topics

Important Tips to Handle Surprise Questions in PI Round

The step of GD is then followed by the PI Round in which a panel of members from the administration sits and assesses the qualities and personalities of the candidates. This round requires the candidates to present themselves in the best possible manner and that too individually. The candidates are judged on their knowledge, experience and the way they carry and present themselves in front of the panel members. Some of the basic points which the candidates must keep in mind during PI Sessions have been listed below:

• Be confident: The candidate must be confident enough in front of the judges and should never be unsure or unconfident of themselves. However, they must avoid being overconfident because it often leads to messed up situations. Hence, confidence should be considered the most essential thing during the entire process but be positive about yourself.
• Be prepared about the general topics asked: No one is ever sure about what questions could be asked during the interview but one can always keep certain answers prepared for the general questions such as current affairs and the subjects that have been pursued by the candidate during higher education along with the previous work experiences. 
• Keep good body language and posture: Body Language is something that is the most noticed thing in an interview. A good posture of the candidate might take a long way in building an excellent first impression in front of the panel members. This might prove that they are confident enough and are even aware of their surroundings. Hence, it is very important for the candidate to dress up properly when appearing for an interview like wearing formally, being well groomed and having a fresh look on the face. 
• Be calm and never lie: Be it your resume or an answer to a question you do not know, always maintain your composure and be calm. Never lie in an interview or in your resume.
• Be prepared: No matter how qualified you are or how good your resume is, the interviewer would ask you some tricky questions regarding your qualifications or career choices. It is vital that you keep a calm demeanor during the entire duration. Try to answer the questions as calmly as possible. Keep in your mind that the personal interview during the admission process is a prelude to MBA Job interview that you will face in the final semester.

Check Out: It can be useful if the candidates knows a bit about the MBA syllabus during the PI rounds

Dos and Don’ts of Group Discussion 

It is quite difficult to maintain a particular flow during a group discussion round as the candidate's open veer from the topics of group discussions. It often leads to the rise of surprise questions during the group discussion. The best MBA colleges in India provide maximum weightage to the GD and PI round. The following are some of the dos and don'ts that the candidates must follow to surprise questions in GD and PI rounds.

Dos  

• While answering surprise questions, always try to collaborate with the other speakers in the group discussion. If the question has caught you off guard chances are that it has done the same for others. Creating likeability will help to earn leadership points during the group discussion.
• In case of surprise, topics try to support your arguments with as much statistical data as possible. Also, try to find the ideal exit point after making your statement.
• Recapitulate the main point of the group discussion. Address the strong points made by the others in case of surprise topics and try to correlate them with your points.
• If asked to summarize, use the points made in the discussion that are relevant to the topic. If possible try to have a key point that has not been made during the discussion for the conclusion.

Don’ts

• In case of surprise questions during GD, do not start straight away. First, try to understand the topic. Try to recall as many facts you know about the topics, organize your thoughts, listen to others' points and then make your first point.
• Don't over-criticize fellow members of the group. Counter their points logically. Concede points that are true.
• While making points it is advisable not to look at the panel directly. It may make you look like an insecure person.
• If you do not have sufficient information on the surprise topics, do not make points that are unrelated to the topics, just for the sake of speaking. Instead, try to find ideas from others’ points and use them.