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Tag: viva rehearsal

Nathan

Rocket Science

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I don’t know how common it is these days for someone to say “It’s not rocket science!”

The phrase used to indicate that a topic under discussion wasn’t all that tricky, compared to “rocket science” signifying ultra-difficult knowledge that not many would understand.

 

It occurs to me that someone reading this post might be thinking ahead to their viva and how they explain their topic. They might be thinking, “Actually – it IS rocket science!”

 

Whatever your field, depending on your audience, whenever you talk about your work you have to consider your words carefully. How do you engage someone with your topic? How do you explain the important parts? What do you leave out? Do you always need to share every detail? What do you have to start with? And what is the why of what you do?

These questions are useful when considering talking to a non-expert, but they apply when you talk to anyone about what you do.

They particularly apply at your viva. You might not consciously be considering them with every line of discussion but they’ll be in the background as you choose your words.

Rehearsal for your viva helps, no matter what you research. Whatever your topic, take time in your preparation to practise talking about what you do, responding to questions and finding the words to explore and explain your work.

Nathan

Over The Top!

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The viva is big, important and can feel a bit scary. You need to be prepared but that doesn’t mean you have to make heroic efforts to get ready.

  • Reading your thesis once is probably enough!
  • A mock viva and a few conversations is probably enough practice!
  • Reading a few papers and making a few summaries is all you need!

A little reading, a little thinking, a little practice… You don’t need to be over the top with your preparations to be ready for your viva.

If your viva feels big and important that’s because it is.

So are you and so is your work.

Nathan

The Sixth Activity

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There are six main types of activity that make up viva preparation.

Five of them are, in a strange way, quite similar. Candidates can prepare for their viva by:

  • Reading their thesis;
  • Annotating their thesis;
  • Creating summaries;
  • Reading recent publications;
  • Checking recent papers by their examiners.

These are quite different at first glance. They are all essential, helpful activities for viva prep – and also completely unlike what a candidate will do in the viva. That’s the strange similarity: they are essential for viva preparation but practically unlike what someone will do when they meet their examiners.

The sixth essential activity is finding opportunities to rehearse. Mock vivas, seminars, conversations with friend and more. Work that is much, much closer to the work you will do when you meet your examiners. Deliberate practice that helps you to be more comfortable for viva day.

The other five activities make a difference. They are essential, but they are not the same kind of actions that you will take in your viva.

Find opportunities to rehearse.

Nathan

Hold On

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If you feel confident in the days leading up to your viva then do what you can to hold on to that feeling. Remind yourself of what you’ve done to come so far. Remind yourself of the difference your work makes.

If you feel certain of what to expect from your viva then hold on to that certainty. Make notes for yourself of what others have told you. Write down what seems most relevant from the regulations.

If you feel ready to talk in your viva then hold on as much as possible. Rehearse for your viva. Read your thesis and write summaries. Keep going with your preparations to keep that feeling alive for yourself.

Hold on. There’s not long to go and not much to do before you finish your PhD.

Nathan

Friendly Questions

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Around submission time reach out to your friends and colleagues in your department.

For the particular friends who might know a little about your research, ask for time: can they listen to you talk about your work? Would they have an hour in their schedule to get coffee and give you a mini-viva? Or perhaps get a group together and listen to a seminar?

For friends and colleagues who have had their viva, ask for information: what was their viva like? What happened? How did they feel? Consider what you might need to know about to help you get a good sense of what vivas are like or to put your mind at ease. Ask for details.

Who do you know who could help you?

Nathan

Talking Comfortably

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I think a huge part of viva confidence for a candidate is based on feeling comfortable when talking about their research.

Examiners need to ask the candidate questions, they need to share opinions and they need the candidate to respond so that they can have a discussion and examine. Candidates have to do their part and want to do their part, but too often worry that they won’t be able to in the moment.

  • “What if I forget something?”
  • “What if there’s a long pause?”
  • “What if I don’t know something?”
  • “What if it’s a bit awkward or I’m hesitant?”

The short answer for all of these questions and worries is that the viva will still happen. It’ll continue however you feel, but will feel better for you if you’re able to talk with some confidence about your research and all the related things your examiners want to discuss.

How do you get to talk comfortably? You prepare. You read your thesis and think and make notes. More important than anything you take time to rehearse for being in the viva through opportunities like a mock viva.

You can’t be ready with pre-loaded responses to every conceivable question or comment.

You can be ready to engage with whatever question your examiners ask by taking time before the viva to rehearse.

Have a mock viva. Talk with friends. Talk with your supervisor. Make opportunities to be in situations where you’ll talk about your work and respond to questions. Make sure you have real experience before the viva so that you feel more comfortable talking about your PhD research.

Nathan

Slide Deck Prep

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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 know, what they might need to see and how you can best summarise what you have to get across to them. Your supervisors and possibly your friends and colleagues can be valuable in helping you to know what you have to include and what you have to do.

If you need a presentation then you would have to practise. Don’t simply copy and paste old slides together and rely on old memories. Rehearse your presentation if you’re asked to prepare one for your viva.

And if you’re not asked then you don’t need one! Simple as that.

 

Although, if you’re not asked for a presentation for your viva, putting together a slide deck could still be a helpful way to bring your thoughts together.

A few bullet points on each topic. A few images that help you remember. A logical sequence of information to organise your thinking. Something simple to scroll through and refresh your memory on the days leading up to your viva.

If you’re not asked for a presentation then you don’t need one – but you might still get help from making a slide deck. Simple as that.

Nathan

What Matters To You?

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Your examiners have to ask you about the significant, original contribution that you put forward in your thesis. They have to do this. They have to ask questions about what it adds to your field, how it’s different and why it’s valuable.

In effect they are asking you, “Why does this matter?” – although they probably won’t say it as simply as this.

Every thesis has a logic to it; you have reasons that bring your ideas together. To start exploring yours just ask yourself why your work matters to you.

What is it about your work that made you want to do it? What did you find and what carried you through long hours and hard work?

It’s a starting point – there are more questions to reflect on that will help you find words to explain what you’ve done to your examiners – but as a starting point it gives you a powerful motivation to say more and explore more.

Nathan

Traffic Lights

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Traffic intersections use simple colour-coding to indicate what actions should be taken. They’re used to prompt very specific behaviour and action. Perhaps we can borrow the terminology to consider the kinds of questions that might come up at a viva…

Green light questions are anticipated; you are entirely comfortable with them. Whether it’s about something in your thesis, your research or your general field, if you were to hear a green light question you would be happy to just go (and start talking)!

Yellow light questions force you to slow down. You might have to change pace. There’s no problem but you need to think and focus more. There’s nothing wrong with doing that. You’re not expected to know everything or remember everything in your viva; pausing for a moment to get your thoughts together is good.

Red light questions make you stop. A question could be unexpected. It could be something you struggle with. And it might make you feel uncomfortable.

 

In the real world, red lights make people stop – but then they go again, and that’s also like the viva.

If a question is hard, unfamiliar or unexpected at the viva you still need to respond to it. You still have to engage in order to meet the expectations of the viva.

If you know of a red light topic for you, what could you do to improve how you feel about it? If it’s a yellow can you make it a green?

Nathan

Another Way

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If you can’t have a mock viva or don’t want one, there will be another way for you to rehearse talking about your research. Give a seminar, go for coffee with a friend or just chat with people about what you’ve done. These actions are not the same as a mock, but they help in the way that a mock does.

If you don’t want to read your thesis in preparation for your viva in the way that your colleague did, then think about how you could do it. They did a chapter a day? Maybe break it down into sections instead. Or maybe take an afternoon off to read it all. There will be a way for you to do the work.

A lot of really helpful viva prep advice gets swallowed in the specifics of how someone else did it. Find your way to do things like read your thesis, make notes and summaries, rehearse and so on. If your friend’s way won’t work or you can’t follow the advice of the person on the internet then find another way to do it that will work for you.

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