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Month: August 2021

Nathan

Fault & Responsibility

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Examiners aren’t looking to find fault. They might have tough questions, they might think they see problems. Because of their experience they could have critical comments but these are never aimed at tearing work apart – or trying to tear a candidate apart.

In the viva, if something doesn’t seem right to them, instead of finding fault they could be looking for you to take responsibility. They don’t want to know who is to blame, but rather why something happened that way.

Sometimes mistakes are made. Sometimes, with good intentions, a plan of work doesn’t work out.

Taking responsibility doesn’t mean simply saying “It was me!” but rather exploring and explaining what happened, what you did and why things are the way they are.

You’re not at fault, you’re not to blame, but you have to take responsibility and then see what comes next.

Nathan

Uncommon Expectations

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Some viva candidates are told at the start that they’ve passed. Most aren’t.

Some viva candidates are asked to prepare a presentation to begin their viva. Most aren’t.

I’ve heard of some departments sharing a finishing time for the viva beforehand. Most don’t.

I was stood in front of a chalkboard for all of my viva – I know of no-one else who has had this experience.

 

Viva stories can help shape expectations but it’s always important to ask whether something is common, and thus useful to reflect on and prepare for, or whether it was a rare event – or even unique!

Uncommon experiences can create a false or worrying picture of the viva. To get the truth, find out about recent vivas in your department. Listen to lots of stories and figure out what are common or uncommon expectations.

Remember: your viva will be unique, but that doesn’t mean it has to be a total unknown.

Nathan

A Different Set of Challenges

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Is an online viva “worse” in some way? No, it’s just different.

Is it “harder” in some way? No, it’s just a different set of challenges.

It could be harder to engage. It could be harder to have free-flowing discussion. It could be harder to show your personality over video – a particular concern I’ve heard from many candidates over the last year or so. It’s understandable and there’s no quick fix, but you could act in advance to help get closer to the ideal viva you hold in your mind.

  • Rehearse. Use the platform you will for your actual viva and have a mock. Practise with friends. Get a feel for the delays and restrictions of the platform – and consider if there are opportunities too.
  • Explore your setup. What could you do to make your space better for you? How would you arrange where you will sit or how you will be? What could you have around you to show something of yourself?
  • Dress to impress – yourself! What can you wear to help you feel good? What can you wear to help you feel comfortable and confident? Could this help your personality shine through, even if it’s being directed at a camera rather than across a seminar room table?

Rehearsing is key. It shows the limits but also shows what you need to help you.

You don’t have to play a character for an online viva, but you can make sure the stage is set for success.

Nathan

Over

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When your viva is finished, after the celebrations and congratulations, when you can breathe, take a few minutes to reflect:

  • How did I succeed?
  • What can I build on?
  • What can I do now?

Your PhD might be over, more or less, but there’s still a way for you to go. So reflect, take time to explore how you got where you are, what you can do and what you could do.

When you finish a PhD you are necessarily talented: there’s no other way you could get this far by being lucky.

This chapter of the story is over. What’s next?

Nathan

Examiners Want To Be There

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Why else are these busy academics at your viva?

They have their own research, their own researchers, teaching, marking, admin, responsibilities and a life.

They’re not paid vast sums of money to be an examiner. They’re not simply a friend of your supervisor doing a favour.

It might be expected professionally to take on the role of examiner sometimes; they don’t have to do it for you and your viva.

They don’t have to be there. They get to be there.

They want to be there.

Nathan

STAR For A Star

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Sometimes stars can’t be seen. Over the vastness of space, things get in the way or distort the light. Instead the stellar body has to be inferred, the location and details figured out. It’s there, but unseen, sensed only indirectly.

The talents and confidence of a PhD candidate can be hidden in the same way.

Skill, ability, knowledge and achievement – the roots of confidence – can be masked by worry over a thesis contribution, fears about what examiners might ask or questions of what a viva might be like.

Sometimes there’s just doubt: is it enough? Am I enough?

There’s no quick fix to remove all of these kinds of worries, but you can take steps if you’re feeling them. One step might be to use the storytelling tool STAR. I’ve shared several posts about this valuable idea before.

STAR is a simple way to reflect on a time when you’ve done something well. Each letter prompts the next part of a story and allows someone to honestly realise that they are good:

  • Situation: Find a situation or project that was challenging. How did it stretch you?
  • Task: Detail what exactly you had to accomplish. What were the specifics?
  • Actions: Lay out the sequence of steps you followed. How did you try to solve the problem?
  • Results: Clearly state the outcome. What happened in the end?

Telling yourself stories about your success helps to remind you that you did it. You have talent.

Invest time before your viva looking back over your PhD. Find situations where you made things happen. Tell stories that shine, and show that you are a star.

Nathan

Enough Stuff

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The simplest definition of what you need to pass the viva: enough stuff.

Enough of a thesis. Enough results or findings to write up. Enough data. Enough work.

Enough papers read. Enough knowledge in your brain. Enough talent built up through your work.

Enough confidence to stand up to any nerves. Enough self-belief to know you have enough.

There will always be more you could do, more you could learn, more you could write, more you could do to prepare. But you don’t need more. You just need enough.

If you have any doubts then ask others for help. Ask your supervisor what you need. Learn about viva expectations. Take time to get ready.

When the time comes you will realise that you have enough of everything you need to succeed.

You probably had it for a long time.

Nathan

Part-time Prep

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Generally speaking, a candidate doesn’t need to take time off in order to get ready. If you have any typical responsibilities – a job, family, friends, caring responsibilities or your own needs – then viva prep can fit around everything you need to do.

If you feel pressured because you work full-time and have a life as well, then the only thing you need to do to get ready is plan and possibly start early. You don’t need to cram lots of things in your diary. A little organisation will help.

  • How could you find thirty minutes to an hour most days for viva prep?
  • If you can’t commit to most days, when could you make the time?
  • Would starting a month before the viva give you time to spread out the work you need to do?
  • Would that create a space with as little stress as possible to do what you need?

Prep is part-time. By submission there’s only a small amount of work needed to be done. If you have a full-time life there is still plenty of space for prep. A little planning and organisation helps make it less stressful.

Nathan

Lucky

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There’s no luck with the viva. No trick or superstition to rely on for success. Instead, it’s all on you.

What you did, what you know, what you can do.

None of that is due to luck either. There could be good fortune – when hard work pays off – and you achieve something that was uncertain, but there’s no simple luck.

There’s nothing that just gets you through – and nothing that simply, randomly, unluckily stops you.

You worked for your success. That work continues to help you through the viva.

Nathan

What Would You Change?

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It’s possible that your examiners would ask about changes to your research. Not what you could, would or might do to make things “better”, simply given your experience, what would you change?

It’s not a trick or a trap. The question is another way of exploring “what have you learned from the process of doing research?” They’re asking you to demonstrate how far you’ve come, not to showcase what is wrong with your work.

Reflecting on changes could be helpful in your preparation. It can help to make you more certain of what you did. You can be more confident of what you have learned. And before you meet your examiners in the viva it can help you to realise just how far you have come.

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