Slide Deck Prep
You might need slides for your viva if your examiners ask you to prepare a presentation. It’s not a common experience, but it does happen. If you need a presentation then prepare carefully: think about what your examiners need to...
Daily viva help for PhDs
You might need slides for your viva if your examiners ask you to prepare a presentation. It’s not a common experience, but it does happen. If you need a presentation then prepare carefully: think about what your examiners need to...
It was five years ago yesterday that I first published 7776 Mini-Vivas. Since starting this blog in 2017 it remains one of my favourite resources I’ve created. Since then I’ve shared it with over five thousand PhD candidates in workshops and...
What would you change about your viva prep if you could go back and do it over? I was asked this at a recent webinar. I knew immediately what I would change: I would have a mock viva. I definitely...
Rehearsal for the viva is essential because it simulates some of the aspects of being there. If you’re nervous about how you will respond, what will come up or what it will feel like to be there then you can’t...
Your viva prep does not need to be confined to book work and solitude. While a mock viva is the most notable prep activity that involves others, it’s not the only task that you could involve others in. Sit down...
I learned the same lesson several times during my PhD: when a certain approach isn’t working, it’s a good idea to try something else. This was a hard lesson for me. I knew how to use the tools and concepts...
A key step of viva preparation is investing a little time to practise. A mock viva could be a great rehearsal for the real thing, but it’s not the only option. Simply talk. Sit down over coffee, over video if...
We don’t own a toaster. The rest of our family think we’re really weird. They can’t wrap their heads around why we choose not to have a toaster and prefer to use our grill. We still toast things! We just...
You don’t need a mock viva. You need practice for the viva, a rehearsal space to think and respond like you might do in the viva. You don’t need a mock viva, it’s just one of the ways that you...
Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide… A few weeks ago I was half-humming, half-singing Bohemian Rhapsody as I was tidying up. “What’s that?!” asked my seven-year-old daughter. I started singing the song properly. I...