Why Should You Worry About GD/PI now?

Its just the beginning (or maybe the middle, depending on when you started!) of the CAT prep season for the 2008 year. And you are probably concentrating on the Big Daddy of all subjects...Math/ Quant. For some strange and unknown reason, most of us tend to take English as the Small Cuddly Bear that "We will tackle anyways".

So, the point is: Is this really any time to think about the GD/PIs? I have been interacting with students since 1999 when I joined from the K campus. And, invariably, I found the one quality lacking in most students at all places (and I have seen students in Delhi, Lucknow, Bangalore and now, Pune)- Public Speaking Confidence. And I am not referring to a stage fright here! Its plain and simple "Standing in front of the class and saying a few words..."!

I must say this one time...Wake Up! Get Ready for the next phase NOW! Assuming your best dreams coming true, you will get about 2 months' time to get ready for a GD and PI call. At that time, if you are at the current communication levels of not knowing what to say about yourself, or where to get that economic "current" data from, I can promise you that it will a really uphill task.

I have a concise bulleted list to help you start:

1. "Think in English"- If you are in the habit of first thinking in Hindi/ Marathi etc. and then translating into English, you are wasting time. And more importantly, you are not "feeling" the language.
2. Reading Practice- I know I am violating the golden rule of RC by asking you to read aloud. But you need to read aloud in front of a mirror, though the RC reading still has to "mann mein"!
3. Read the Editorial of a newspaper from the first to last word- Its really hard, but its inevitable. And do this practice also for one business magazine. Slowly, you will start understanding it too:)
4. Understand both sides of the coin- Try and understand all aspects of a statement. The quality of your participation in a GD is guaged by the way you respond to other people's viewpoints. Can you think of points going against the conventional standpoints? For instance, think of points in favour of Dowry, Child Marriage or Reservations. Once you understand the other person's views, you can present better counter-arguments!

There is a lot of work to do, and the time is not too much, considering you have grown up doing things the easier way. The good news is...there is enough time to make amends :)

All the best!