Page 69 - 633 102 Professional English for Pharmacists E-Course book

● Assertiveness when you have positiveness and confidence about what you are saying,
together with evidence, not in an aggressive way. You are firm with strong communication.
● Listening skills by striking a proper balance between expressing your ideas and taking
suggestions.
● Creativity when you put across new ideas, think out of the box.

3. Practice

● Not only read from textbooks
● Get into the group and practice
● Observe others and give feedback
● Analyse the group discussion performance and plan for improvement

Before starting a Group Discussion, remember that people can agree or disagree with you.

● How can you disagree without being disagreeable? (Do not force but win by using words
and rational evidence)
● Can we be analytical without being critical?
● Can we be assertive without being aggressive?
● Can we listen and not just only speak?

Do’s and Don'ts of group discussion

Group discussion is like when we play tennis. A tennis ball goes back and forth. People in
group discussion need to listen and talk. There are common rules that need to be aware of. For
example:

Do’s
1. Respect other speakers
2. Speak pleasantly. Avoid using swear word
3. Learn to disagree politely
4. Try to stick to topic discussion. Do not talk about something that is not related to the main
topic.
5. Your body language should be ‘open’ & friendly
6. Try to speak as clearly as possible. Don’t whisper because everybody in the group should
be equal to know everything.

Don’t

1. Don’t ridicule others by using comments like ‘you’re wrong’ or ‘you’re stupid’ that will
make other people do not want to say anything

66 633 102 Professional English for Pharmacists