Knowledge reflects your ability to have an opinion on issues and concerns of contemporary relevance and hence your ability to connect with different aspects of the environment (economic, political, business, social, etc.). It assumes, even more, relevance for a fact-intensive topic like "Indian Economy in the post WTO regime". Here, knowledge becomes a sharp differentiator and helps you to leverage a strong competitive advantage. Unless you have the requisite knowledge of the given topic, your discussion runs the danger of being superficial and unsubstantiated. Being well versed in current affairs and issues of concurrent importance can help you to do well with this parameter.
This basically demonstrates the skill to strike a balance between individual excellence and group performance. A person scoring high on this parameter will be more probable to work in groups and hence contribute effectively to organizations. It also reflects your team skills, listening skills and willingness to accept diverse viewpoints.
This indicates your ability to effectively flowchart your thought process and analyses the topic in a comprehensive manner. It reflects your ability to construct logical arguments and structure the discussion in a streamlined manner, avoiding random forays.
This reflects your ability to think on your feet and contribute on a creative and unorthodox tangent. It is even more relevant for an abstract topic, where the scope to view the topic from an avant-garde angle is proportionately more (e.g. in a topic like "red and blue", somebody who translates this into a coke (red) and pepsi (blue) warfare or discuss the marketing strategies of kingfisher (red) and jet (blue) or harp on the gender differences as mentioned in John Gray's "Men are from Mars (red) and women are from Venus (blue)", will definitely stand apart.)
This evaluates the candidate's ability to connect with the group and is measured from a dual perspective - verbal and non-verbal. While verbal communication scores the student on parameters like fluency, articulation and modulation, the non-verbal quotient defines his/her adequacy vis-&-vis body language, gesticulation, eye contact and posture.