Small Step, Big Impact

What viva prep actions would have a great impact on how ready you were for your viva?

I’m thinking about the Pareto principle – in brief, that 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes – and I wonder how it might apply to viva prep and building confidence for the viva.

I don’t have an answer! I do have some thoughts though:

• Having certainty about the viva process increases calm and confidence. Asking supervisors and colleagues, reading regulations and even searching online are all small actions that can have a big impact.
• Reading your thesis again won’t take a very long time but can really help with sharing your research, formulating responses and generally feeling secure for the viva.
• Rehearsing and talking about your thesis is a great preparation step that doesn’t take very long compared with tasks like annotating or reviewing papers.

Some big activities in viva prep can be broken down into little steps that add up. But perhaps some small actions by themselves can give big advantages to being ready.

I’ll have to think more about this! But perhaps you already have ideas of little things that you know will help you to feel ready.