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Tag: panic

Nathan

A Moment’s Panic

Daily Post

Last month I was finishing my setup for a webinar when something unexpected happened.

I was using Zoom, as I have for four years, and when I shared my screen it looked very different: I was in my slides! I was overlaid on my introduction, confined to the bottom left like a TV news presenter.

I panicked.

For five seconds I looked at the options, the images, the words, the clock in the corner ticking to when I had to start talking. For five seconds I panicked and frozen whilst also doing 101 things.

And then I remembered a key idea from my session: pause, think, respond.

  • I closed my eyes and took a breath. For five more seconds I just stopped.
  • I opened my eyes and looked at the screen and thought. What mattered here?
  • I responded and stopped the screen share. I still had time. I was no longer looking at the wrong thing. With no active problem in front of me, could I find the right thing?

Five seconds later I did and everything was fine.

It was a simple update to Zoom’s interface. An extra option and a change to the default. Something unexpected, leading to a very stressful thirty seconds.

After years of doing things one way – whether it’s Zoom or your research – it could be surprising or even panicking to be faced with something different.

In your viva, you might encounter questions you’ve not considered. You might hear an opinion that is counter to your own. You might need to think about options you’ve not thought through before. Any of these might cause a moment’s panic, but if that happened it’s OK.

Pause. Think. Respond.

Take your time. Get past the panic. Work past the worry. Respond as best you can.

Nathan

When The Light Doesn’t Come On

Daily Post

About a week ago, first thing in the morning, I opened the fridge to get the milk to make the first cup of tea of the day.

The light in the fridge didn’t come on.

My brain performed a complicated dance of thoughts and feelings:

  • “Oh no, we have so much in the fridge and freezer that will be ruined!”
  • “We’ve had it for over seven years, so of course it’s out of warranty…”
  • “Wait, it’s the weekend! Where are we going to get a new one from?”
  • “Can we save any of the food? Will my mum have room in her freezer? Can we give some to neighbours?”
  • “A new one? What am I thinking jumping to that, can we afford to just buy a fridge-freezer?!”
  • “Ugh, I’ve not even had a cup of tea!!!”

And then a quiet part of my brain whispered… Check the button.

There’s a little button that is held in place by the fridge door when it’s closed. When it’s opened it pops out and the light comes on. I touched it and it popped out and the light came on. The fridge was fine.

The button had just stuck in place for a second. That’s all. No problem. No solution needed. No cause for panic.

 

“Problems” sometimes aren’t really problems, but our first instinct encountering a potentially difficult situation is to panic.

In the viva, an examiner asking a tricky question might not intend it to be hard. If they say they have a different opinion, they are not trying to ruin you. If you don’t know what to say to a question, or haven’t spotted a typo previously, or just go blank, there’s no need to panic. These are all situations that you can respond to in the viva, but they might not be problems at all.

If you’re asked a question in the viva and the light doesn’t come on, stop and check: is this a problem?

Nathan

Red Alert!

Daily Post

I love Star Trek. I love the visions of the future, the philosophical explorations and wonder of seeking out new worlds.

I also love it when someone shouts, “Red Alert!” Two words that signify danger and excitement, but not panic: they’re an instruction to the crew to focus. There are procedures to follow. It’s not an everyday occurrence, but they’re hyper-competent. Bad things may be happening, but if they can pull together they’ll get through it.

“Red Alert!” could be a good mental picture to paint for tough questions in the viva. Maybe not danger exactly: a call to focus, but no cause for panic. There are procedures you can follow. You’re good at answering questions, and something tough just requires more attention. Most questions will not be too hard, but like the crew of the Enterprise you are hyper-competent – you’re an experienced researcher! It could be tricky, but if you follow your talents and think you’ll get through it.