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Month: May 2021

Nathan

Good Things

Daily Post

A simple piece of viva prep and confidence building: make a list of as many good things about your research and thesis as you can think of. Add anything about your development too, what knowledge or skills you’ve built up over the course of your PhD years.

It’s fine to list items, but even more powerful if you go back and add details as to why these things are good. Why is that result or piece of research good? What did reading that paper allow you to do? How does a skill help you?

A PhD can be hard for many reasons. There’s a lot of good there too.

Find the good, and use that to help you feel ready for your viva.

Nathan

Clearing Up The Vague

Daily Post

You have to read your thesis to get ready for your viva, even if you don’t want to. You thought about it, you wrote it, you rewrote it and now you’re done-

-except you read it and you think you could still do some more.

A paragraph that meanders. A section that is too long, or perhaps too awkward. The odd typo or twenty is fine, but what about the places that proofreading forgot? What about the vague sections that sort-of-but-don’t-quite make the point you wanted?

You grin and bear them in the viva, if they’re brought up. You explain what you meant, and what you would do to make it better – not perfect, never perfect – but better in your corrected thesis.

And when you see them during your prep you think, you write and maybe rewrite again, leaving a note in your margins or on a Post-it, clearing up the vague that you left in. They don’t disqualify you or your thesis at all.

There’s just that little bit more to do, then you really will be done.

Nathan

Great Power

Daily Post

With great power comes great responsibility.

It’s fun to know that Stan Lee didn’t quite invent this phrase, but lovely to know that it’s popularisation is pretty much all due to Spider-Man. It applies to more than just superheroes and those in positions of power, it’s a beautiful truth that applies to many situations.

Like PhDs, of course! I have a couple of thoughts in mind for today.

First, through what you’ve built up over the course of your PhD, you owe it to yourself to prepare well for the viva. This doesn’t have to take a lot from you – remember, you’re powerful! – but you have that responsibility after all this work to see it through to a good conclusion. You have power in that.

Second, and more important by far, with all that power, you have a responsibility to do something that matters after your PhD. That could be a job in academia or somewhere else. It could be you start a business, or you volunteer your skills; it could be that you do something to help one person or many. Your family, your local community, your organisation or people all over the world. You can make a difference.

Knowledge is power, but you have more than just that. You have skill. You have talent. You have know-how as well as knowing lots. With the great power that you have, you have a responsibility to make a difference.

Spider-Man isn’t “better” than someone without powers. A person with a PhD isn’t “better” than someone without. But you might have skills that they don’t, skills that they could really need.

So help. Make a difference.

Be a hero.

Nathan

Being Right

Daily Post

“What if I’m wrong?” asks the concerned PhD candidate, getting ready for their viva.

Typos are a kind of wrong. Not quite meeting expectations with the thesis is too. Not knowing something is a flavour of wrong, but can be fixed.

You could be wrong when you respond to a question. Your examiners could know something, or have a different opinion, or a different belief… But perhaps they’re not right either. Perhaps you’re in a situation where there are lots of good “right” opinions. That could be interesting

Most of the time, considering the work you’ve done, the time you’ve spent, your talent, your knowledge and your thesis, you will be right.

That might be the easy part. Now you have to share what you know with others. That might be harder, but again, considering the work you’ve done, the time you’ve spent, your talent, your knowledge and your thesis, you’ll rise to that harder challenge when you need to.

Am I right?

Nathan

The Long Way

Daily Post

Between the first day of your PhD and your last you travel a huge distance. From potential to results, you’re talented when you start and even more talented when you submit – plus you have a lovely book too!

Across all that time it’s sometimes hard to see the moments when you succeeded, when you’ve had amazing times of personal growth or completed projects. The great stuff can be hard to pick out from all the days of hard work: reading, thinking, writing and developing what you did.

You can’t get to the end of your PhD, to submission and on track for the viva any other way. There’s no shortcuts, you have to come the long way.  To be sure of your confidence for the viva you have to review that journey when it nears the end. Look back over what you’ve done and consider how you got to where you are.

The PhD journey is long. It can be hard. It can be so hard to get to the end.

But you will – you will reach the end. As you get closer to the viva, reflect on how you got there and what that means.

Nathan

The Day Before

Daily Post

Gather what you need: thesis, notes, pen, paper… What else do you need for your viva?

Decide on what you will wear: wear something for comfort, for confidence, to feel right or to feel happy… Decide in advance to remove a decision from the day of the viva.

Check the details: whether online or in-person, check what you’ll do or where you’ll go… Then put it away for the next day.

Talk if you need to: find a trusted person, someone who can listen if you have any worries or concerns from nerves… You may or may not need this, but find someone in advance who could support you.

Rest: take a break, relax, distract yourself… All the work you can do to get ready has probably been done.

Nathan

New Webinar Dates!

Update

The short version: I have five upcoming webinar times for my 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva session!

7 Reasons has been a super-popular session in the last year since I started it during the first UK lockdown. I’ve developed as part of my offering to UK universities, but also continued to offer it independently with booking via Eventbrite. I’m thrilled that it has been so well-received in the past, and in the last twelve months I’ve shared it with over 650 participants.

I’m next running it on Monday 17th May 2021, 11am UK time, and registration is open now. If you’re looking for support, if you’re looking to find out more about the viva, if you’re looking for a confidence boost and some encouragement, this 1-hour session is for you. Places are limited for each session, and there’s a little earlybird booking discount if you book soon.

I’m so glad that people have found my webinars helpful in the last year – and very excited that I can continue to offer them now. If May 17th doesn’t work for you, but you’re still looking for help, check out this page for dates of all of my upcoming independent webinars – including sessions running on three consecutive days in June at different times. You can ask for reminders there too, as registration opens two weeks before each session.

But if you are free on Monday 17th May, do take a look at 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva – I hope to see you there! 🙂

Thanks for reading!

Nathan

7 Nudges For Viva Prep

Daily Post

While there are lots of good tasks that can help with viva preparation, maybe it would be better to gently nudge candidates. A few gentle nudges could be far more helpful to offer than a super-structured programme of work and deadlines.

So:

  1. Sketch a plan for your prep.
  2. Ask for help.
  3. Your thesis can help in the viva – how could you prepare with it?
  4. Tell people about your work, and invite questions.
  5. Listen to stories about viva experiences.
  6. Reflect on the work you’ve done already.
  7. Explore what you could do to build your confidence.

A few gentle nudges can move someone to figure out what they need to do to feel ready for the viva.

Nathan

Another Bank Holiday Rest Post

Daily Post

Quite simply, it’s the best thing to say on days like today.

Yes, you need to read your thesis, make notes, have conversations and do lots of thinking before the viva…

…but you also need to rest. Relax. Recharge. Restore yourself.

Do what you can, not only so you’re rested for the viva, but so that you’re helping yourself generally.

Expect another of these posts in four weeks!

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