Mind Your Manners
It may seem like an odd thing to post about, but I’ve been asked about the topic many times before by PhD candidates! “Is there anything I mustn’t say or do in the viva???” I don’t think there’s a real...
Daily viva help for PhDs
It may seem like an odd thing to post about, but I’ve been asked about the topic many times before by PhD candidates! “Is there anything I mustn’t say or do in the viva???” I don’t think there’s a real...
The work of Tim Ferriss has helped me a lot over the last decade. I’ve enjoyed all of his books, but one of his must-read posts that I keep returning to is “Testing The Impossible: 17 Questions That Changed My...
For anything you were stuck on during your PhD, reflect: What was the problem? Why was it a problem and why was it worth solving? What were you stuck on? What caused the issue? What was the stickiest point? How...
It has to be a top ten rather than the top ten, because there are so many useful things that one could do to get ready for the viva! Sketch a post-submission timeline. Stick a Post-it Note at the start of each...
Seth Godin writes recently of “the magic of trade-offs” – an idea that resonated with my own memories of doing a PhD. I remember writing only a few paragraphs about an application for one of my results, because I knew...
With the move to video vivas in the UK, I’ve not heard of any terrible stories, but I can well imagine that for some candidates the viva doesn’t feel that important. Or if it does, there’s a shadow of it...
Ostriches, despite popular legend, don’t put their head in the sand to hide. It’s a common comparison to make for people avoiding problems though, I’ve used it here on the blog at least once before. In that post I encouraged...
There are many reasons for silence in the viva: A moment while a broadband router buffers in the background. Time while a page is consulted or a note made. Processing time while someone thinks through the implications of a comment....
Acceptable is a funny word. It means that things are fine, but it sort-of sounds like they’re only just alright. Like if you think about it more you might decide that actually you’ve changed your mind. I’ve been asked a lot...
If you tell yourself you’re lucky, you might come to think that you don’t deserve to pass your viva. If you tell yourself there were things you could have done better, you might come to believe that your research isn’t...