The Pauses
There are no bad reasons for taking a pause during your viva. A pause to check you’ve heard your examiners correctly. A pause to get your thoughts in order is helpful. Checking a detail from your thesis is a useful...
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One, Two, Three
A short pause between hearing your examiner’s question and responding. A little break to check you understand and think things through. A simple beat to get things right in the viva. Your examiners don’t expect you to rapid-fire responses to...
Pause, Don’t Stop
Pause in the viva to think about what you’ve heard. Pause to gather yourself if you lose your train of thoughts. Pause to check something in your thesis. Pause to make a note. Pause to take a sip of water....
Take A Day
It’s a Bank Holiday in the UK, which is always a good reminder to take time off. It might not be today for you: it may be that your situation means you have to work, research or do something that...
Pause, Think, Respond
The three words to keep in mind when you are in your viva. Pause: take a moment to check you understand the question. Think: invest a little time into organising your thoughts. Respond: start talking, being clear to yourself and...
A Little Pause, Here And There
A few seconds to make sure you’ve heard and understood something. A few seconds to make a note. A few seconds to check a detail. A few seconds to be sure your examiner has stopped talking. A few seconds that...
Time To Think
You had lots of time to think during your PhD. You had plenty during your prep. You have enough in the viva. Your examiners want you to consider, ponder, debate, reflect, examine, muse, propose – to think! – and then...
Comfortable Silence
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....
Off The Topic
It’s not impossible that a question or comment could seem irrelevant to you. It’s not impossible you could start responding to a question but go off topic from the discussion. However it happens, if you experience any confusion because you...
Blank, During and Before
Going blank in the viva isn’t a big problem. The potential for it might feel worrying, but typically it doesn’t happen that much. If it does happen there are things you could do. You can take your time, you can...