Picture Perception and Description Test (PPDT) is conducted on day-1 as the second test of the Stage-I screening series. It comprises of story writing, narration and group discussion. The narration is equally as important as story writing and GD. And most of us report that delivering a speech or speaking in public is our greatest fear. And yet the ability to speak in public is one of the most valued skills today.
Fear of public speaking is estimated to affect 75 per cent of adults. Rethinking the way we perceive stress may actually improve our physical and mental performance. It may be easier to give in to our fears, but we will accomplish much more in life and feel a greater sense of pride for facing them. For some people, with just a little effort they have the ability to conquer these fears. For others, it takes a lot more work and some tips or tools for masking these mental pressures.
Let’s have a look at some points that will help you in delivering better PPDT story narration:
1. To get the fluency right in the spot and the ability to use your thoughts as well as your written expressions, a candidate needs to practice a lot. One way of getting fluency is to practice the story narration and speaking your thoughts freely in front of the mirror or with your friends. You will do mistakes and that’s for sure but again, it will give you a chance to introspect your weaknesses in this context and you can clear them gradually.
2. You must remember one very important thing that most of the candidates tend to forget. Everyone will get some time in the form of a short break of around 15-20 minutes after your story writing. When everyone is gossiping around and doing silly stuff, you can use that time to narrate your story at least 8–10 times in your mind or under your breath. We have written the story just a while ago and our brain needs to develop the familiarity in order to speak it without any hurdle or barrier. You just have to keep on telling the entire story yourself and you will find that it will help you in your narration.
3. Confident narration by the candidate is a way forward to go in the story narration. A candidate should be able to greet the group in a bold manner and narrate the entire story without fumbling. It can be done in a power pack manner by remembering that you don’t have to address the assessors and rather your group sitting all around you. Maintain a light smile coming from your heart during the entire activity.
4. When it comes to addressing the group in an effective manner, you have around one minute to narrate the story in an active way. You don’t have to take the long route by wasting time in introducing yourself. You can start the narration by simply saying “Good Morning, Gentlemen!! I have perceived x no. of characters, their age is around y years and the combined mood of the picture is seemingly positive.” This could be a better start for your story narration and it’s simple yet effective in the approach.
5. The assessors have no time as well as the inclination to listen to the extra part of your story in the form of greetings as there is a large crowd of candidates in the screening test and they are just checking for the basic level of intelligence as well as the perception of the candidate over there. The candidates in screening should speak to the point and in a concise manner without slipping off the extra words that don’t hold any value. Also, they should know how and when to conclude and stop the narration while the dice is in their hands.
6. As we all know that you have just a single minute or less time, so you should narrate the summary and main points of your story because all they want to know is about your thoughts regarding the picture. You don’t have to speak line by line or simply copying the entire stuff from the story written on the sheet. You should know the brief of the story and should focus on speaking only the major points that can be covered well within the time limit.
7. What attracts everyone to you in the story narration? It is the way that you narrate the story. A candidate with cool and calm composure, having good control on flow in narration, and giving equal attention to everyone attracts other candidates and assessors alike.
8. The best way of narrating the story is to keep your ears and mind open to everyone’s stories and then approaching the group with a hint of a personalized approach in your way of narration. Talking from my own experience, don’t try to outsmart everyone else or prove that you are much superior to the rest of the group in any manner.
9. Your voice should be loud and clear enough so that your group of 12-18 candidates along with the 3 assessors can hear you clearly. You should be able to modulate the tone of your voice and know when to raise the tone or when to keep it passive. The way of speaking along with the tempo of your voice should be soothing and should be oozing confidence.
10. Do as you are asked to do and follow each word of instructions carefully. The candidates should address their group and not the assessors. Many candidates’ feel that they need to narrate the story to the assessors or they simply want to see the reaction of the assessors while they are narrating the story. The best to deal with it is not feeling like a test is going on but narrate it with confidence just like you are talking to amidst your friends but in a formal manner.
You can prepare for SSB interview and defence entrance exams such as NDA, AFCAT, INET, and CDS by taking Written Online courses as they will not only give you access to full-length quality lectures but will also provide the facility to take standardized mock tests for better study and strategic growth in the exam. You can take multiple quizzes after each lesson to ensure the full understanding of the subject along with creating your customized lesson plans. You can check out the course content along with other important specifics at SSBCrack exams.
You can also access them through the SSBCrack Exams app available in the google play store.
Jai Hind
