Critical Thoughts

It’s never unreasonable for a PhD candidate to worry about receiving critical questions or comments about their work. The effort and emotion that someone might invest into doing something on the scale of a PhD fully justifies anxiety at the thought of someone else offering different views or difficult questions.

It’s not unreasonable but can be distracting to worry about. Perhaps consider:

• A critical question about your thesis doesn’t mean that someone is criticising you.
• A critical comment doesn’t mean that something is wrong.
• A critical comment about your thesis might require a correction but that doesn’t necessarily mean a big change.
• A critical question is still an opportunity for you to demonstrate something good about your thesis, the PhD process and your capability.

And in all likelihood you can imagine far more critical questions than your examiners.

PS: want to explore more about receiving or responding to questions at the viva? It’s a key topic at Viva Survivor, my upcoming live webinar on Wednesday 25th June. I’ll talk about this and a lot more – viva prep, viva expectations and confidence – at my 3-hour live webinar, plus you’ll get a catch-up recording and follow-up materials. Do take a look and see if this session might be right for you.