How to prepare for GDPI rounds for IIMs?

The IIM aspirants have to go through the GD PI rounds in order to get into the prestigious IIM chain of institutes. These rounds help the institute to judge the knowledge level of their future students and the aspiring students need to get through with this round successfully in order to get admission in the IIMs. 

Essentials for GD round

For the GD round, here are a few things that the candidates can consider while preparing themselves:

1. The candidates need to have main focus on the current topics. They should have a basic knowledge about the whereabouts of the current world. It is also important for the candidates to cross check their facts while researching and keep their ground on mind. Strong knowledge and knowing the grounds for argument will help the candidates to gain advantage over the others. This is enough for them to qualify the round effectively. 
2. Only knowing the facts is not enough; it is equally important to present it in the right way. The candidates should know when to present which point and how to contradict the opponents point. 
3. Always stick to your ground. Never change sides in the topic because that can lead to negative remark on the judge. 

Essentials for PI round 

When it comes to the PI round, it is very important for the candidates to take not of certain key points:

1. Be gentle, polite and most importantly, be yourself. Don’t try to be fake – It is very important for the candidates to be true. This is important because the panelists can ask any question and not being yourself can eventually backfire. 
2. Be calm and don’t panic. Keep a gentle smile on the face – It is very important to keep 
3. Listen the panelists carefully and then answer the questions. 

Skill sets required for GDPI

Mainly, the candidates require these skill sets to excel in the GD PI round for IIMs:

1. Communication skills – We very well know that the ability to communicate with the various team members, superiors or colleagues is an essential task to build their confidence and communicate in order to get a work done more effectively and efficiently. Communication skills will help you get admission into IIMs or to be successful throughout your career. 
2. Subject knowledge – The subject knowledge has a very important role to play because it provides the fundamental knowledge of the given topic and helps the candidates to put forward valuable points and get in the eye of the moderator. 
3. Listening power – Listening is another key feature of communication. It basically means to pay attention to someone or something in order to hear what is being said and in order to provide adequate responses to the questions or topics provided by the moderator in an IIM GDPI.  
4. Confidence – In GDPI, confidence means to make a certain someone feel sure of yourself and your abilities in a realistic manner rather than an arrogant manner. Confidence isn’t about being superior in front of others rather it is presenting the facts of the topic in a comprehensive manner. Try to present yourself in a mature way and don’t be nervous in the scenario. 
5. Presentation skills – Present yourself in a professional manner and keep personal emotions at bay. Answer the questions in PI and participate in GD in a proficient way staying specific to the core and important points. Try not to sound robotic and bring out the human aspect in the interaction. 
6. Interactive skills – The candidates need to have good interactive skills to get through the complete process of GDPI. Proper and fluent interaction with the moderator and the fellow candidate is essential as for an MBA grad, communicating is immensely essential. The career requires getting involved with many people and without proper communication or interaction skills, it becomes difficult to handle the situation as well as complete the task. 
7. Managerial skills – Different managerial skills like decision making skills, problem solving skills, critical and analytical thinking, leadership skills, etc. help in building a team and providing necessary guidance to achieve organizational goals in an efficient and effective manner. The GDPI is a great process to evaluate these skills of an individual to know the scope of improvement and nurturing. 
8. Open-mindedness – Being open-minded is another essential characteristic that a person needs to carry. MBA professionals require a great deal of understanding and opening up their mind to different ideas and views in order to make efficient decisions.