Category: Daily Post

In the viva, no candidate wants to say the wrong thing. No-one wants to misremember a detail or misquote a paper. No-one wants to go blank and say the first thing, the silly thing, the wrong thing.

No-one wants to say the wrong thing, but remember there might not be a right thing.

Not every question has an answer. Not every question is probing for truth. A question could be exploratory. A question could be to clarify a point. A question could be seeking an opinion if there is one.

In the viva you could definitely say the wrong thing; depending on the question you might not be able to offer a right thing. You can always take your time and offer your best. Listen to the question, pause, think and respond.

We can look at all of the numbers for the viva – pass rates, lengths, percentages of candidates told they’ve passed at the start, correlation of questions and disciplines – and see lots of little details about the general expectations.

We can listen to the stories of candidates – what they did, what happened, how they felt and what that meant for them – and we’ll build a real sense of the viva experience.

The numbers help but certainty of what to expect and what to do is only going to be found by asking people about their experiences. Ask the right people the right questions and you’ll know what you need to do and what you can expect for your viva.

Statistics about the viva help, but stories about the viva help more.

Every PhD candidate in their viva is, at some point and in some way, going to need to talk about their contribution. Examiners will raise the topic and the candidate will need to talk about why their research is significant and original. No small thing, and so it’s no wonder that it might feel tough to do.

When it’s your turn to get ready, think about the difference your work makes. A research contribution makes a difference. Sharing new ideas or a new perspective; discovering something or making something clearer. Helping someone or maybe helping lots of people. Showing that something is true or proving that something is false. Updating old ideas or revealing something for the first time.

Your research contributions must make a difference in some way. If you’re stuck trying to find the words to express your contribution, consider starting with the difference your work makes.

I love Arnold Schwarzenegger’s rejection of being described as a “self-made” man. He’s responded to that thought in many interviews and talks but writes emphatically about it in the foreword to Tim Ferriss’s book, Tools of Titans:

I am not a self-made man.

Every time I give a speech at a business conference, or speak to college students, or do a Reddit AMA, someone says it.

“Governor/Governator/Arnold/Arnie/Schwarzie/Schnitzel (depending on where I am), as a self-made man, what’s your blueprint for success?”

They’re always shocked when I thank them for the compliment but say, “I am not a self-made man. I got a lot of help.”

He goes on to describe the practical help and support he got from others, the inspiration that motivated his journey and keeps him going. It’s worth reading the whole piece. I like that recognition: working hard, but knowing that he couldn’t have got that far without the help of others.

It resonates with what I think about the journey of a postgraduate researcher. A PhD demands a lot of work from a candidate and the result is a huge success for them – but it wouldn’t be right to say they were self-made. Every candidate has supervisors supporting them; every candidate has friends and family who want them to succeed. Every candidate has influences and inspirations that have prompted their journey or helped keep them on track.

In preparation for the viva it could be helpful to reflect on these two elements: the work you’ve done and the support you’ve received. For the work, recognise that you couldn’t have got as far as you have without your efforts; you did that work, you built your knowledge and talent.

For the support, thank those who have helped you get to where you are. Reflect on the things that got you started, the ideas and inspirations. If appropriate, ask for help one more time as you prepare.

To be more specific, provided you do the work it’s hard to not be prepared. Viva prep doesn’t need to take a lot of time, maybe twenty or thirty hours in total, and the type of work that helps is really clear.

Read your thesis, make some notes, check some papers, rehearse for the viva.

Do the work and you’ll be ready.

The only sense of “wrong” prep comes from the environment you might make. There’s no law that says when you have to start getting ready for the viva. You could start your prep a few days before – but that might be a very pressured situation! You could do an hour a day for the two months leading up – but that might spread things out a little too much, or mean that you invest more time than you need.

It’s hard to get prep wrong, but you have to think about the way you do the work to get it right for you.