Gasp!
If a question or comment in your viva makes you freeze then just stop. Breathe again. Think again. Try to understand the question. Think some more. Breathe again. And if the question or comment still makes you freeze then reflect,...
Daily viva help for PhDs
If a question or comment in your viva makes you freeze then just stop. Breathe again. Think again. Try to understand the question. Think some more. Breathe again. And if the question or comment still makes you freeze then reflect,...
A simple and effective way to tackle a tricky question in the viva is to look for the meaning behind it. If your examiner challenges a method, look for why they might be doing that. If you go blank or...
There’s lots of blanks that could occur around the viva. Key information you don’t know. Something you can’t remember. Before and during the viva, the feeling of suddenly knowing that you don’t know something can be uncomfortable, even stressful. In...
Are you prepared to say “I don’t know” in your viva? There’s only so much information, knowledge and talent you can build up before your viva. You’ll have enough, but you might not have everything. Perfection isn’t required: but do...
I’ve thought a lot about what candidates have told me for the last ten years. I’ve been in a fortunate position to meet many thousands of postgraduate researchers, and to help them get through various stages of their PhD. And...
There are lots of things I don’t know about the viva. I don’t know if there’s any great differences between the vivas of part-time and full-time PhDs. I don’t know how well vivas over Skype work compared to vivas in...
I don’t know could be your answer to a question in the viva, but it doesn’t have to be all of your answer. Say why. It can be as simple as “I didn’t do that” or “I didn’t read this.”...
You might not want to say it. You might be able to think and discuss to get somewhere. Or you might engage with a question and say something but realise you can’t say everything. Perhaps there is something you don’t...
“I don’t know” is not the end of the viva. It’s not a stain against your name. It doesn’t mean that you automatically lose. It means you didn’t know something. If you don’t have information, what do you have? I...