Breathing Room
Give yourself space to breathe before, during and after your viva. Take time off before and after to rest; take time to think while you’re in discussion with your examiners. Rest is an essential part of being able to work...
pause
Quiet Time
It’s probably better for many candidates to have quiet while they do practical viva preparation tasks like reading their thesis, checking notes, adding annotations and so on. To get that quiet you might need to talk to friends and family...
It Takes Time
The PhD, the viva, your prep, the discussion, the decision, coming to terms with what it means to have achieved after you pass… ”It takes time” is a phrase that can be applied to every aspect of everything to do...
Time Out
There are lots of necessary breaks before, during and after your viva. When you submit it’s good to pause from looking at your thesis and thinking about your PhD research. You might have other research work to do but at...
Silence In The Viva
Like nervousness, silence might not feel comfortable sometimes but it doesn’t necessarily mean something negative. In your viva a moment of quiet could be while you or an examiner checks a detail or finds the right place in your thesis....
Three to Five Seconds
Or a standard viva pause. Just long enough to check you’ve understood a question, begin to consider what it means and get some thoughts in order for what you might say. Three to five seconds is a pause – but...
Pause To…
…think in the viva. …reflect on what you’re about to say to your examiners. …decide how you will get ready when you’ve submitted your thesis. …compose a response to a difficult question in practice or in your viva. …realise that...
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...
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....