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Tag: how do you feel?

Nathan

My Two Questions

Daily Post

In the opening minutes of any viva session I ask two simple questions of the cohort:

When is your viva?

&

How do you feel?

Both of these questions, and their responses, are really helpful to me. I start to think about adapting the session I’ll present. I have a plan of course, but if I know that everyone has submitted their thesis then I know parts I don’t need to emphasise as much. If lots of people say they feel uncertain about their viva then I’ll find a few moments to talk about expectations.

My two questions help outside of viva prep sessions. Consider:

  • When is your viva? Whenever it is, you have time. If you have days then you have time to work towards being ready. If you have weeks you can invest that time in slow and steady preparation if you want to. If you have months before submission then you can carefully build your confidence.
  • How do you feel? Whatever you feel is not fixed. If you feel great then let’s cement that. If you feel uncertain then let’s help you with some information. If you feel unprepared you have time to work on that. If you feel nervous you’re not alone! Most candidates do and that’s OK.

Consider the time you have left and what you can use it for.

Consider how you feel and how you want to feel – and then decide what you will do as a result.

 

PS: One thing you could do is go to Kickstarter and back my campaign to print 101 Steps To A Great Viva! The campaign hit the target over the weekend so now I’ll definitely be producing the print run next month. If you want to make sure you get a copy – and possibly pick up some extra rewards for supporting the campaign – then please go and check it out.

Nathan

Viva Feelings

Daily Post

You can feel happy about your viva or sad.

You might feel ready to get started or nervous about what your examiners might ask.

You might feel certain of what you’ve done or unsure about work from several years ago.

There’s many things you might feel about your viva. How you feel could change with each day. The viva isn’t the most important thing you will ever do but it does matter.

As you get closer to your viva, if you find yourself feeling a strong emotion – good or bad – take a moment to ask yourself why. Take a moment to reflect on what it means. Take a moment to think about what you could do as a result.

Your feelings about the viva aren’t static, but you can’t simply change them. You can steer how you feel though.

How do you feel? What do you need to do?

Nathan

Nervous & Excited

Daily Post

If you feel nervous about your viva then you’re reacting to the importance of the event. In anticipation you feel that you want everything to go well and that’s the nerves you feel.

If you feel excited about your viva then you’re also reacting to the importance of the event. You feel more certainty than a nervous person perhaps, and can’t wait for the viva to go well.

Feeling nervous isn’t wrong. Feeling excited isn’t wrong. Neither are end states. They change and can be made to change. Feelings can help to prompt your action.

Feeling nervous for the viva? What do you need to do to help (as nerves aren’t always comfortable)?

Feeling excited for the viva? What do you need to do to maintain your good feelings (as they might still need encouragement)?

How do you feel? So what do you need to do?

Nathan

It’s Personal

Daily Post

How do you feel? Happy, sad, excited, nervous, elated, terrified – that mix of emotions could be all in one hour.

I ask PhD candidates how they feel, but their response is a snapshot, that moment or how they’ve felt recently.

In all aspects of the viva there are expectations: generally they last this long, generally candidates get these corrections and so on.

But there are always unique features. Your thesis is unique. You are unique. Your viva isn’t “just another viva” – it’s yours! No-one else feels the way you do.

And there’s nothing wrong with how you feel. You can’t cut yourself off from how you feel about your viva and nor should you.

Your examiners will have questions for you. Some of them could be critical. They might not agree with you. They might not like something in your thesis.

I find candidates worry about this possibility too. How would you feel? After everything you’ve invested in getting this far, if an examiner doesn’t like something, how do you respond? What’s the right way?

Candidates ask, “How do I not take it personally?”

How can you not take it personally? It is personal. You can say it’s just about the work: the work is a reflection of you. That’s the output of your time, effort and talents. The viva is personal, examiners’ questions will feel personal, even the “good” ones.

So don’t deny it. Use it.

Think back over everything you’ve done. Think about what you’ve done to get this far. Think about what you know, what you can do, what you believe. All of this helps. Whatever question comes your way, however it connects with you emotionally, you are the best person in the world to answer it.

The viva is personal, it has to be. It’s YOUR viva.

Nathan

How Do You Feel?

Daily Post

I start every workshop by asking the room how they feel about their viva. I get a range of answers. Most are centred around nervous, anxious, stress. One or two fears or terrors. A few people will say they don’t know what to feel because the viva is such an unknown. Some people just want it over and done with.

Occasionally one or two candidates will be excited: they see the viva as a chance to talk about their work with experts, or they’re looking beyond the PhD at what comes next.

There’s no right or wrong to any of these, of course. In every case you can say, “OK, so what do I do now?” If you’re stressed, find ways to prepare and lower your stress. If you’re afraid, figure out the root cause. If the viva is an unknown to you then find out more. And so on.

So how do you feel? And what do you need to do?