You Are Here

Year: 2024

Nathan

Effort

Daily Post

What did you learn in order to get through the first year of your PhD?

What did you figure out about your research area before you were halfway through your PhD journey?

What challenges did you overcome along the way?

How many pages does your thesis have?

How many chapters?

How many references in your bibliography?

How many days did you show up to do the work of your PhD?

 

Perfection isn’t possible in a PhD. Luck is only a very small factor in success. When you really reflect on the last few years, you only got this far through sheer effort.

And when you reflect on what all that effort means you can see why you’ll succeed at your viva too.

 

PS: I’ll be exploring success and how you achieve it at the viva at Viva Survivor, my upcoming live webinar on Thursday 5th December 2024. Lots more as well: expectations, examiners, viva prep – they all feed into confidence and success. Find out more about the session here.

Nathan

Reset

Daily Post

Viva prep can be an opportunity to reset after the stress needed to get your thesis submitted.

Rather than focus on the work you’ve done you can focus on the work you will do. Rather than focus on how you feel about getting your thesis done you can focus on how you want to feel for your viva. And instead of focussing on worries or stresses about whether you’ve done enough you can focus on the contribution you have necessarily made to get this far.

Viva prep can be a reset. It doesn’t change what you’ve done or what you need to do.

It simply allows you to keep going.

Nathan

Overconfident For Your Viva?

Daily Post

It’s unlikely!

Even the most self-assured individual will probably feel some nerves and disquiet on their viva day. It’s unlikely that anything will go seriously wrong, but fairly probable that you might be asked a question you’ve never considered, face a criticism you don’t like or simply feel awkward at being in there.

So I don’t think you’ll be overconfident for your viva.

 

The one dangerous area that a PhD candidate can stray into is feeling that they need to have the last word. That they’re the only one who can be right. That they’ve considered everything.

Your viva is a discussion. Your examiners are exploring your thesis, your research and your capability. You might be the best-placed person to respond to their questions but you are not the only smart person in the room.

Listen carefully, take your time in responding and don’t forget to pause and think!

Nathan

Swotting Up

Daily Post

Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, Threats – or SWOT, a neat acronym for prompting thoughts about plans, innovation and getting things done.

It’s not enough to simply look at the good points or strengths of an idea: what are the weaknesses? Are there other opportunities to explore? What potential threats can be foreseen?

 

I find that a good acronym is often useful when applied to radically different areas as well. Consider your examiners:

  • What strengths do you have when it comes to discussing your work with them?
  • How can you address any perceived weaknesses in your knowledge or understanding?
  • What opportunities can you find in going through the viva experience with them?
  • Do they pose any real threats to your viva success?

If you worry about your examiners, who they are, what they do and how they might be at your viva, then consider reflecting on the questions above to give yourself a little peace.

Remember your own strengths too because there must be a lot! Remember any weaknesses that you’ve worked past. Remember the opportunities that you’ve managed to fulfil. Remember that whatever threats you’ve faced, you are now close to finishing your PhD journey.

 

PS: I’ll be talking about examiners a lot at Viva Survivor, my live webinar on Thursday 5th December 2024. Check out full details at the link on what else you can expect there!

Nathan

The Best Prep

Daily Post

If we focus on effective viva prep it might be tempting to steer towards questions like:

  • When do you schedule things?
  • What do you start with?
  • How do you focus?
  • How much time do you spend on tasks?

These questions aren’t wrong, but they could lead someone down a difficult path to getting the work done.

When thinking about how to organise your prep, perhaps consider the following questions:

  • What’s the least stressful way for you to get ready?
  • What’s the most enjoyable task you could start with?
  • How can you prepare without rushing?
  • How can you best motivate yourself to do the work?

Effective viva prep flows from creating a good process and a good environment to do the work. It’s less effective to just focus on tasks and timetables.

Nathan

Whatever You Need

Daily Post

Your university will say, rightly, that you need to take a copy of your thesis with you to your viva.

The regulations will say that you need to have two examiners.

Good advice says that you need to invest a little time in viva prep and getting ready.

These are all general needs though. What do you need in order to succeed at your viva?

Make a list. Then consider how you could meet those needs. If you need to ask for help then ask. If you need to do something then do it. When your needs are all met you can feel better for your viva.

Figure out what you need to succeed at your viva – then figure out how to get as much of that as possible.

 

PS: if what you need is a little more help or a little more knowledge then take a look at Viva Survivor, my live webinar on Thursday 5th December 2024. Registration is open now and the fee includes a catch-up recording if you can’t attend the whole session.

Nathan

The Right Fit

Daily Post

Thesis examination regulations are like clothing sizes in different stores: largely the same but with lots of small differences that can add up to a different experience.

If a friend has told you about viva rules, check. If you think you’ve heard it all and it all sounds fine, check. If you checked in your first year and now you’ve submitted your thesis, check!

Viva regulations change from time to time: submission protocols, paperwork requirements, video vivas and more. Particularly over the last few years many, many universities will have either revised or restated their regulations.

Check thesis examination regulations in the same way that you would try on clothes to be sure they were the right fit. You don’t want any unexpected surprises or an experience you’re not prepared for.

Nathan

Rocket Science

Daily Post

I don’t know how common it is these days for someone to say “It’s not rocket science!”

The phrase used to indicate that a topic under discussion wasn’t all that tricky, compared to “rocket science” signifying ultra-difficult knowledge that not many would understand.

 

It occurs to me that someone reading this post might be thinking ahead to their viva and how they explain their topic. They might be thinking, “Actually – it IS rocket science!”

 

Whatever your field, depending on your audience, whenever you talk about your work you have to consider your words carefully. How do you engage someone with your topic? How do you explain the important parts? What do you leave out? Do you always need to share every detail? What do you have to start with? And what is the why of what you do?

These questions are useful when considering talking to a non-expert, but they apply when you talk to anyone about what you do.

They particularly apply at your viva. You might not consciously be considering them with every line of discussion but they’ll be in the background as you choose your words.

Rehearsal for your viva helps, no matter what you research. Whatever your topic, take time in your preparation to practise talking about what you do, responding to questions and finding the words to explore and explain your work.

Nathan

Contribution To Confidence

Daily Post

Contribution and confidence would seem to go hand-in-hand. If you make a contribution to your field of research it would seem natural that you would feel some confidence in yourself and for your viva.

The problem is everything else that gets in the way: long hours, setbacks, the years-long time period for a PhD, redrafting writing, redoing research… Over time, the nature of the PhD can get in the way of appreciating just how far you’ve come.

One way to help yourself might be to consider where you put your focus when you think about your PhD journey.

If you focus on the struggle, the hours and the problem you’ll probably not feel so confident. It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the volume of hard stuff that can be part of a PhD.

If you focus on your contribution, your outputs and how much you’ve grown then you’ll probably find the confidence you need for your viva. Your efforts have produced results – that’s the only way they could exist.

Your research contribution can lead to confidence, provided that you focus on the right things when you get ready for your viva.

 

PS: confidence is a big theme of my upcoming Viva Survivor session! Join me on Thursday 5th December live on Zoom to explore finding confidence, viva expectations, viva prep and more. Full details are over on Eventbrite and I’d love to see you at the webinar.

Nathan

Wind At My Back

Daily Post

I live by the coast. On certain days with a fair breeze it feels like I don’t have to do anything to walk in the direction I’m going. With the wind at my back I feel lighter, freer and able to go further and faster.

When I think about viva prep and viva confidence I wonder what someone could do to find the same feeling. Everyone is different, but the questions that naturally come to my mind include:

  • When will you do the work?
  • What do you need to do the work well?
  • How can you remind yourself of all you’ve done?
  • How can you make the process fun?
  • How can you remind yourself that you’re enough?

Create a good environment to get ready for your viva. I can’t promise the work will be easier – but I do think it will be more valuable, more beneficial and ultimately more rewarding for your viva.

1 2 3 4 5 6 … 35