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Author: Nathan

Nathan

Don’t Rush

Daily Post

It’s not a good idea to rush into viva prep.

You don’t need to start the same day that you submit your thesis. You don’t need to start without a plan. You don’t need to over-invest time and effort. Following that path will lead to stress and missing things.

Don’t rush.

Focus on what you’re doing so you can do it quickly and well. A small amount of consideration can set you on the right path to getting the most from your viva preparation. Asking for help, fixing on what you need from the process and regular effort will help you get ready.

Get it done and do it well. As Seth Godin says, “Don’t rush… but hurry.”

Nathan

Surviving Isn’t Easy

Daily Post

Manage to keep going in difficult circumstances.

Manage, not struggle.

Difficult not almost-impossible.

Keep going – implying that you’re already in motion, this isn’t new.

I share this definition of survive in all my work. I want to emphasise to PhD candidates that surviving isn’t about life and death, swerving tragedy or overcoming mythic danger. A successful viva requires capability and results but surviving is really about determination. You show up and push forward and do what you need to with each new challenge.

It’s a hopefully helpful way to explore the viva and what’s involved but I’m not saying it’s easy.

Surviving the PhD might require difficult choices or exceptional effort. Getting ready for the viva could involve more work than you like or even a task you would rather avoid. The viva itself might be tough: challenging questions, longer than you would like and a deeper reflection on something than you want.

For all that you’ll succeed.

There’s work to do and you can do it.

There’s talent required and you have it.

It’s not easy but it’s nowhere near impossible. You can do this.

Keep going.

Nathan

The Next Time

Daily Post

Frame your viva as the next challenge of your PhD.

It might even be the last challenge of your PhD. It’s certainly not the first. You’ve overcome many others to get this far.

Remind yourself of the challenges that you’ve passed. What made them difficult? What did you do to get past them? Exploring a difficult situation might initially remind you of stress but steer yourself to focus on the positives: look for evidence of your talent and effort to help drive a growing confidence.

While your viva could be last challenge of your PhD it won’t be your last challenge ever. As you finish your PhD journey consider what you’re taking with you. What can you apply from your PhD to all of your future challenges? How much better will you be for this process?

 

PS: if you’re looking for help as you get ready for this challenge then check out Viva Survivor, my upcoming live webinar on Wednesday 25th June. I have delivered this session to PhD candidates all around the UK at the request of doctoral colleges, but this is only the third time I’ve opened up registration. Viva Survivor is a 3-hour live webinar, you receive a catch-up recording and follow-up materials all about the viva, viva prep and getting ready. Do take a look and see if it could help you! 

Nathan

Hoping

Daily Post

Hope is a good thing but we typically apply it to situations where our actions have little or no leverage. It’s probably not good to apply it to how we think about viva prep, building confidence or viva success.

Instead:

  • What can you do to prepare? What will you do to get ready?
  • What can you do to feel better? What steps will you take to boost your confidence?
  • What have you done already to show you’ve done something worthwhile? What can you do with the time remaining before your viva to feel sure of success?

You don’t need to hope. You don’t need to wish for good luck.

Recognise you’ve done the work. Recognise that there is still work you can do.

Nathan

Short Thoughts About The Viva

Daily Post

The viva is an exam.

The viva is a conversation.

The viva is a challenge.

The viva is a process.

 

The viva is planned.

The viva is unscripted.

The viva is unknown.

The viva is expected.

 

The viva takes time.

The viva is not trivial.

The viva can be stressful.

The viva is typically passed.

 

Your viva might be different.

And if it is your viva will still engage with the format and what’s expected from the viva.

Do any of the above descriptions resonate with what you’ve been already thinking about your viva? What might that mean?

And what do you then need to do?

 

PS: if you want to hear lots more thoughts about the viva then check out Viva Survivor, my upcoming live webinar on Wednesday 25th June. I’ve delivered this session with PhD candidates all around the UK more than 400 times, but this is only the third time I’ve opened up registration like this. A 3-hour live webinar, catch-up recording and follow-up materials all about the viva, viva prep and getting ready. Do take a look if you’re looking for more help for your viva.

Nathan

The Friction

Daily Post

Reflect on your PhD journey and think about any times that you felt friction in your research. Friction always tells you that there was something interesting:

  • Friction could mean that you had slow progress because you needed to learn more. So what did you learn?
  • Friction could mean that the situation was particularly challenging. Why?
  • Friction could mean that something went wrong. What was it and could you overcome it?

Friction could also show that something just wasn’t working. Perhaps you needed to make a change. Perhaps you needed a different perspective.

Whatever the reason, if you find periods of your PhD where you’ve experienced friction then you’ve probably found something to reflect on ahead of your viva. There’s always something interesting to consider.

 

PS: if you’re looking for something else that’s interesting to consider, then take a look at the new issue of Viva Survivors Select. This is the second publication in my monthly pdf zine sharing a curated collection from the Viva Survivors archive. Take a look at The Uncertainty Issue for advice, practical suggestions and reflections to help with many concerning areas about the viva.

Nathan

Timescales

Daily Post

It might take you seconds to respond to a question in the viva.

It could take you minutes in preparation to review the point of a particular reference.

It will take several hours to engage with a mock viva – and several more to work through your actual viva.

By submission it has taken hundreds and hundreds of days to make something that matters for your thesis.

 

Across thousands of hours you become a more capable researcher. Over the course of months you complete your thesis. In the space of weeks you prepare for your viva. In a matter of hours you convince your examiners that you are enough and have done enough.

All of these are made up of moments – many, many moments – where you put yourself forward and where you do something that makes a difference.

 

PS: in case you missed it yesterday, the second issue of Viva Survivors Select is out now! This is my new monthly pdf zine sharing a curated collection from the Viva Survivors archive. Take a look at The Uncertainty Issue for advice, practical suggestions and reflections to help with the many concerning areas about the viva.

Nathan

Viva Survivors Select 02

Update

It’s really lovely to announce the second issue of Viva Survivors Select!

The Uncertainty Issue is the second curated collection taken from the Viva Survivors daily blog archives. I’m really happy to be working on this new ongoing project. I hope that it might be a great resource for candidates who need some really considered viva support.

Background: a wooden tabletop has a series of dominoes in the shape of a question mark. The dominoes are captured mid-fall. Foreground, two text-boxes, middle and bottom. Middle: "Viva Survivors Select 02, The Uncertainty Issue, May 2025" Bottom: "Nathan Ryder"

In this second issue I wanted to explore where the most frequently asked questions about the viva come from. As someone who has been supporting PhD candidates with their viva for fifteen years now, it’s my belief that a lot of questions and worries stem from the uncertainty about the viva – whether that’s real or only perceived by the candidate.

So The Uncertainty Issue collects twenty posts to help with common concerns: practical advice, encouragement and reflections to support getting ready despite uncertainty.

I like the post on the page below, which was originally published on the blog in January 2019. People often ask about what to wear out of a desire to fit in I think, but really it’s an opportunity to boost one’s confidence.

Page 7 of Viva Survivors Select 02; top half of the page has the text of a blog post entitled "What To Wear". Lower half has a black and white line drawing of a figure in armour.

Plus I really like that piece of art I found on the public domain image site Pixabay! You’ll find nineteen more posts, more fun public domain art and two new pages of original writing in Viva Survivors Select 02.

If you like the blog, want more help and want to support what I do then please take a look and consider buying The Uncertainty Issue – you might also want to take a look at last month’s issue too!

Thank you for reading, do pass this on to anyone who you think will find Viva Survivors Select 02 helpful – and look out for news about Viva Survivors Select 03, coming in mid-June! I’m already hard at work and there’s a sneak peek on the back cover of this month’s issue.

Nathan

Unique?

Daily Post

Every viva is unique – because every candidate, research project and thesis are unique.

Every viva follows expectations – because there are regulations, academic processes and culture that inform the behaviour, actions and responses of examiners and candidates.

It’s possible to hold on to both of these ideas and embrace the tension that exists between them both.

Your viva will be unique and you won’t know some of what will happen until it does AND your viva will follow the pattern of many others that have come before.

Nathan

Notice Of Submission

Daily Post

The notice of submission is more than a form with some dates on it. You’re saying I’m almost done.

Whatever work is still needed, now you really have a deadline. Now might be the time to start thinking about viva preparation and what you need from other people. If the selection of your examiners has not been decided then now is the time to talk to your supervisors and see what they are thinking.

And now is definitely the time, if you haven’t done so already, to read the regulations for your institution. Don’t assume you have a good handle on things because your friends and colleagues have told you bits and pieces: read the regulations, be sure for yourself and identify someone you can contact if you have any questions or if any problems occur between submission and the viva.

Start making lists when you hand in your notice of submission. What do you need? Who do you need it from? When do you need it?

And what’s your next step?

 

PS: one possible next step would be to check out the details for Viva Survivor, my upcoming live webinar on Wednesday 25th June. I’m regularly invited to deliver this session with PhD candidates all around the UK, but this is only the third time I’ve opened up registration like this. A 3-hour live webinar, catch-up recording and follow-up materials all about the viva, viva prep and getting ready. Do take a look and see if it might help you!

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