Abstract GD topics are an important aspect of your preparation for your selection in a B-school. Such topics have also been a cause of concern among students due to their abstract nature, but if approached in the right way, they can actually give you as much scope to prove yourself in a GD as a general topic.

The following pointers should put your mind at ease and equip you to go prepared to face abstract topics in your GD confidently.

An understanding that an abstract GD topic puts your lateral thinking skills to test can help you sharpen those skills better. Your critical and creative thinking are being put to test. In fact, an abstract topic is an excellent opportunity for you to display your wide knowledge about a variety of subjects. It is up to you to make connections creatively and explore different possible aspects of a topic. A one word topic like green can be made content rich with your creativity and presence of mind. From prosperity or freshness to Islamic Fundamentalism, the color can have multiple angles to build your arguments on.

Abstract topics are about intangibles and cannot be taken literally. You are free to interpret in different ways and discuss the disparate interpretations. The key is to find a pattern in the random ideas that get thrown up. One basic approach that you can apply to abstract topic apart from the general ones is to analyze the keywords in the topic. You can pick key words of the topic and explain what you feel they stand for.

For instance, let's take the topic,

Only the holy cow produces the best hamburgers

Here, the holy cow represents the quality of the input whose outcome is juicy hamburgers. Going by this association, you can say that the holy cow represents a sound value system that produces the best hamburgers as commendable results. This can be exemplified by the economic equation where business tycoons who worship their work have done wonders for their shareholders.

Or you can reflect on the word holy. In the social context, Indians consider the cow to be holy; hence it is a sin in our culture to slaughter the holy animal to make hamburgers. Hence, holy cows are not worshipped and fattened to produce the best hamburgers at least in our country. Another way of looking at it would be to say that the holy cow might fail to produce the best hamburgers because of mad cow disease which prevents it from being put to good use. This can mean that even the best inputs might fail to produce desired results.

The above example also throws up another technique of effectively handling abstract topic. You can connect the topic creatively to current affairs or other subjects of your interest-sports, economics, politics, entertainment, humor. this will help you feel make an impact by making a confident start of the GD, While practicing for abstract GDs you can pick a topic and make at least two points for every subject you can connect it to.

Abstract topic can be discussed by exploring the metaphoric meanings then can be attributed to the keywords.

For instance,

Life is a chair

A chair can be having different meanings to it with respect to life. You can use it to discuss the constant political struggle to acquire the best chair or the significance of one's position in the society or a company depicted by the chair one occupies. A chair can trace the growth of a person from childhood- baby chair -to old age-a rocking chair. You can use these meanings to talk of different ways in which life can be like a chair.

You also have the freedom to agree or disagree with the topic, you can disagree be saying that you can discard an old or broken chair and get a new one but life goes on despite ups and downs. Also, you can leave a chair and move around when you are tired of sitting but there are no such breaks from life.Some of the most puzzling abstract topics have colors in them. The techniques discussed here should help you handle them.

For instance,

Red is red and white is white and never the two shall meet

A topic like this seems quite abstract. You can easily handle it by creatively explaining the different connotations the keywords-red and white-can have. Red and white can be blood and peace or pristine beauty universe.

Similarly a lot of other things have lost their original colors. Politically, countries in the neighborhood, which were once friends, have become enemies. The Indian society is changing it's colors for the better and emerging as a more liberal one in which Gay marriages have legal sanction. Turning around one of the points from the previous version, we can say that the topic stands for innovation and creativity. The sky and grass can be given different colors to begin a journey of exploration of its effects.                                                           

Abstract topics demand out-of-the-box thinking most of the time.

Let’s look at one last topic,

when the clock strikes thirteen

A clock striking thirteen sounds odd for Indians who follow the 12 hour time cycle. However, it is an everyday occurrence in places where a 24 hour time cycle is used. You can give this international angle to the topic. You can also dwell on the superstition associated with thirteen. In the Indian context, we will get an additional hour to work for better productivity. When the clock strikes thirteen, it might be time for our society to realize that evils like child marriage and communalism are best given up to make the world a better place.

I am sure the above points have thrown the much required light on abstract GD topic. The right approach a can help you excel even in abstract topic making you a winner. Train your mind to make creative associations with the topic and you shall nail the topic confidently.