You Are Here

Tag: words matter

Nathan

Phrases That Don’t Help

Daily Post

You’ll hear them all the time around the viva.

  1. Don’t worry! – Stop it! All better now.
  2. Good luck – because the viva is all about luck, apparently…
  3. You’ll be fine! – see point 1!
  4. Just read your thesis – all you need to do before the viva, apparently…
  5. They always go well… – so don’t worry! And we’re back to point 1. Again.

I’m being very harsh. Anyone who says these to you is well-intentioned. They want their friend to succeed. They really do want you to be fine, they want your viva to go well and they want to reassure you that you’re talented.

The five phrases above are kind, but superficial. Far better to give a little more time, a little more detail. When it’s your turn, be a good friend with what you offer others:

  1. How are you feeling? How can I help?
  2. You’ve worked hard for this! Remember when…
  3. If you’re feeling nervous, why not…?
  4. Is there anything you need help with for your viva prep?
  5. Here’s what I’ve heard… Here’s why that sounds alright to me…

Check in with your friend. Don’t give shallow stock phrases but deep encouragements. They don’t need you to solve all their problems. They might need a few friendly nudges to help their confidence.

Nathan

New And Improved

Daily Post

How would you advertise your research?

Do you have an exciting and original take on classic ideas?

Do you have a new and improved way of looking at things?

Is your work wholly original, never-before-seen concepts?

Advertising works. When we use different phrases to communicate a value, different parts of our brain focus. We listen more for details or we are channelled to look for certain information.

Soundbites won’t win the viva, but if you take the time to explore the words you use to frame your research, you’ll hopefully find helpful phrases to lead your thinking and others’ attention.

Nathan

We Need To Talk About The Viva

Daily Post

We don’t talk about it enough.

One day in every UK PhD’s life that is shoved aside, joked about, under-analysed, glossed over and swept under the rug. Don’t think about it too much because you’ll worry or stress. Don’t ask about it because you might hear a story you don’t like the sound of. Don’t explore what happens in case you feel you’re not up to the task. Don’t tell anyone afterwards because it’s over and done with now.

We need to talk about the viva – and I mean “we” because I can’t do it by myself!

We need graduates to talk about how they were feeling: what their expectations were, what happened and what they think that means.

We need academics to talk about their role in the process: what do supervisors do to help and what do examiners do to examine?

We need candidates to talk about how they’re feeling about their viva: what they know, what they don’t and what kind of support they need.

In general we need to talk about the viva more than we’re doing so that we can do a better job of helping candidates realise that it is a manageable challenge in their future. Difficult but do-able, especially given what they’ve already accomplished.

Nathan

Difficult Circumstances

Daily Post

“Viva Survivor” is catchy, but it can also sound a little negative to some ears. I checked the definition of survive a while back and was heartened to see a definition that matched my intent on using the phrase so widely: manage to keep going in difficult circumstances.

Most vivas are positive, engaging discussions that end well, but that doesn’t mean even the best viva doesn’t have difficult circumstances. Candidates are being examined on original work. For most candidates, this is the first time they have ever written a work of that length.

There are realistic expectations for the viva, but even so there is no predicting what will happen. It’s difficult to know what questions will be asked, what conclusions examiners might have, or even for a candidate to know how they might feel about the process as it happens.

The viva could be difficult, but that doesn’t mean it is an all-or-nothing challenge, or that a candidate should have doubts about whether or not they are up to the task.

If your viva is coming up, reflect: how many difficult circumstances have you faced and overcome during your PhD?

You can manage one more time.

1 2 3