During the 3rd and 4th day of the SSB interview, there will be a test called GTO Tasks going on. It is conducted to check the candidate’s performance as an individual, commander, and team player. It consists of nine tasks:
- 2 rounds of Group Discussion (GD)
- Group Planning Exercise
- Progressive Group Task (PGT)
- Group Obstacle Race
- Lecturette
- Half Group Task (HGT)
- Individual Obstacles
- Command Task
- Final Group Task (FGT)
Many candidates may feel that they have performed exceptionally well in the GTO because it is the most direct assessment of their personality. But what many fail to realise is that there is a hidden meaning even in every action you perform in the GTO Tasks.
To tackle this, you need to know certain tricks to tackle the GTO tasks. Here we bring you 8 such tricks to help you in GTO:
- Listening is the key:
Instructions given by GTO are very very important. Pay special emphasis while the GTO is briefing for the tests. Normally repeaters think that they know everything and they might miss something important. For example, the GTO might interchange the colour codes of Red, Blue and White. If you still go on with the thought that you are a repeater and you know everything, you are making a huge mistake. So, trick number 1 is – Listen Carefully.
- Just put in your idea so that GTO listens:
Candidates try to push their ideas to the group in any task and keep on repeating them for the group to accept it. This gives the GTO a signal that you fail at convincing the group. Instead of this, if you tell your idea to the group loud enough such that GTO listens to it, you need not bother repeating it because if that idea is workable, the group will come back to accept it.
- Do not nominate anyone in GPE:
After the discussion on the story and making a common conclusion, try to be the one who delivers the group story. Do not nominate anyone to deliver the group story as it makes you look less self-confident. For the speaking part, you do not need any permission from the group to get up and speak, because the GTO briefs this very well in his instructions – “… no matter who, stand up and deliver the group story.” Hence, point 1. Just get up and speak.
- You are a commander in CT, not a worker:
During Command Task, you are made a commander which means that you are given a responsibility to lead them, not start working on your own. You have to express your idea there, convey it to your subordinates and make them work on it.
- Look at the bigger picture in Command Task:
In the command task, it is only you that gives the ideas and your subordinates who implement them. The more you see, the more you can analyse the obstacle. Instead of grabbing the helping material, running, and trying to fix the plank at improbable places, come up with concrete ideas and explain it to your subordinates and make them work. This is the essence of the command task.
- Observe the structures:
Sometimes candidates are so full of pre-conceived ideas that they do not even bother noticing the minute details present in the structures. For them, they have to make use of all the materials irrespective of its necessity. Just look, apply the technique, not the ideas.
- Always cheer up the group:
Cheer the group at every point in the GTO tasks. The snake race is not the only place where you need to cheer the group by shouting slogans. You can cheer the group by accepting their workable ideas, appreciating them, denying them respectfully, and helping them with their ideas.
- Always be the first one to enter the 3 & 4 level of PGT:
During the progressive group task, the obstacles are designed in such a way that the entry in the first task is wide so that many can get in and it narrows down till you reach the fourth obstacle. This is designed in such a way that the candidates who take initiative, generally go ahead with the first obstacle.
- Don’t shout or be aggressive:
Never shout while giving your ideas to your group but make sure you are loud enough that the GTO hears you clearly. There is a fine line between shouting and being loud and that is the difference between being nervous and confident. Shouting shows that you are aggressive and tend to lose your calm when things are not going your way. So avoid it.
- Learn from SSBCrackExams SSB Course:
The best method to prepare for GTO tasks is to go out and do them. The second best way is to look and learn. There are ample videos available on SSBCrackExams SSB Interview Course. Just watch them, apply your ideas and try to remember the technique, not the idea.
Conclusion:
GTO is the most straightforward and most tricky test to clear as the tests are simple but the assessment is complex. So, perform well in every test and give your best shot.
