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Year: 2025

Nathan

Navigating Prep

Daily Post

I always assume that anyone who has to get ready for their viva has a busy life.

After submission I expect that any PhD candidate will have some combination of work they have to do, work they are looking for, odds and ends of research that need to be tidied up, a social life, personal responsibilities, caring necessities and family life – all essential things that reduce the available time for viva prep.

Which is OK! Viva prep is typically twenty to thirty hours for most candidates. The submission period typically ranges from one to three months. There is time but it’s probably a good idea to plan what you will do and when you will do it.

Navigating all of the other commitments you have – plus new and necessary ones that emerge as you work towards the viva – is much easier with a plan. When you sit down to start getting ready ask yourself:

  • What do you need to do?
  • What do you need to help you do what you need to do?
  • What commitments do you know about?
  • What commitments might come along as you’re doing your prep?
  • And how can you reduce stress and pressure on yourself?

Remember that generally you have more power than you might think to work in a way that works well for you.

Nathan

Everything But That

Daily Post

“I don’t want to talk about my methods chapter.”

“I’m ready for any questions except something about my bibliography!”

“Please, please don’t let them ask about my interpretation of that paper…”

“I will be OK so long as……”

 

Sound familiar? If any resonate with how you feel about your viva and talking with your examiners then you are most definitely not alone.

You’re perfectly rational: the process and pressures of the viva could easily make anyone nervous about needing to talk about a particular something. It might even make them stressed.

What do you do? If a possible question makes you feel nervous or stressed before the viva, what are you going to do?

You could review part of your thesis, talk with a friend, make some notes, read a paper or ask your supervisor to bring it up in a mock viva.

If there’s something that troubles you then there’s something you could do.

Consider your options and make a choice. Don’t stop at feeling nervous or stressed.

Nathan

Viva Survivor, June 25th 2025

Event, Update

Every day I share helpful thoughts through the Viva Survivors blog.

There’s a lot of help in the archives but it could take a long time to put together a full picture of what to expect and what to do by reading the last 2900 posts!

If you want a good idea of what to expect, what to do, how to get ready and how to build confidence then take a look at my upcoming Viva Survivor session on Wednesday 25th June 2025. For three hours I’ll be sharing what vivas are really like, what effective viva preparation can look like and how someone can engage well with their examiners.

For three hours on Zoom you’ll get direct help from me through a live session that I have shared with over 8000 PhD candidates. I have a full plan, plenty of time to take questions from attendees, great follow-up resources and a catch-up recording in case anyone can’t stay for the whole time. I love sharing this session – so much so that I’ve delivered it over 400 times for universities and doctoral training groups all over the UK!

“The session last week was so, so helpful. I really appreciated the practical guidance, which made so much sense and feels do-able and will help my confidence going into the viva. It helped that your manner in the training was calm, clear, concise, and full of empathy and understanding.” – UCLAN PhD Candidate, December 2024

I hope that you’ll take a look at the registration page if you are looking for viva help. There are more details there of what to expect from the session. If you have any questions please get in touch – and do please pass on information of the session to anyone who might be looking for viva help.

One last time: Viva Survivor session on Wednesday 25th June 2025!

Thanks for reading 🙂

Nathan

Lots Of Reasons

Daily Post

There are lots of reasons why a PhD candidate might not get to submission.

When I did my PhD I knew someone who didn’t get on with their supervisor and he left, thankfully to do his PhD elsewhere. Sometimes a person’s funding isn’t secure and they aren’t able to continue. Sometimes people start a PhD and it’s only through doing the work that they realise it’s not what they want to do, so they stop.

For these and many more reasons, some people who start a PhD journey don’t work through to submission and the viva.

 

There are also lots of reasons why PhD candidates who get to submission go on to succeed at the viva.

They did the work. They have made a contribution to knowledge. They are knowledgeable. They are a capable researcher in their discipline. They learn what to expect from the viva process. They do the necessary work to get ready for their viva.

For these and many, many more reasons, PhD candidates who work to submission then go on to pass their viva.

Nathan

The Little Lights

Daily Post

I recently bought a desk lamp to illuminate my work space. It’s sleek and energy efficient and rather curiously doesn’t use a single bulb.

Instead it has a thin strip of LEDs. One of these little LEDs alone wouldn’t be very much light to see by, but together they make everything bright. Each light plays a part. Together they work to create the desired effect.

This is helpful to remember for viva prep and the viva.

Every page in your thesis needs to do something good, but you can’t pass your viva based on a single page. It’s what they are together that matters. You might have a big result in your thesis but that result wasn’t achieved in isolation.

Look for the little lights in your research, your thesis and your preparations. Together they create a bright way forward for your viva.

Nathan

Another Day Off

Daily Post

I know, I know, it was a public holiday in the UK just a few weeks ago!

And it may be that today is or isn’t a day off for you.

Maybe it’s hard to find a whole day where you can say “this is just for me” but at the very least if your viva is in the near future please make sure you have some time to rest.

Make time for prep and make time for rest. You need it.

Nathan

Getting The Platinum

Daily Post

A little over a month back I got my 40th platinum trophy on my PlayStation account.

(please keep reading, I promise this is really related to the viva and getting ready!)

PlayStation games typically have trophies of various kinds: bronze, silver and gold. These might be awarded in parallel to progress through games for simple things like finishing a level or reaching a certain stage. Some, typically gold or silver, are awarded for doing difficult or time-consuming things in games.

A platinum trophy is then awarded for successfully obtaining all of the other trophies possible for the game. It’s common for a trophy list to include a variety of achievements: some linked to simple progress and others to more difficult or time-consuming aspects. Some involve incredible demonstrations of skill and dedication.

Typically you don’t need to collect the platinum to complete the game.

You don’t need the platinum to have enjoyed the game. The platinum is just another layer of self-imposed challenge. You don’t need to have done everything to succeed.

 

Which is how we get to vivas, viva prep and PhDs.

The thought of getting everything right, collecting all the results, reading all the papers, answering every question, getting no corrections and being finished in under 90 minutes can be really attractive to some candidates! This is the platinum trophy equivalent: I’ve got it all!

But you don’t need that. You don’t need that to succeed. You don’t need to focus that way to be ready.

You can do that if you want to but it’s most likely a distraction from being able to prepare well and engage well.

Nathan

Quiet Prep

Daily Post

Reading your thesis, making notes, writing summaries, checking papers… It’s quiet time. It’s you time, alone, getting the work done.

The exception is rehearsal. Rehearsal needs talking, questions and people. You need more than you, your thesis and your thoughts.

Are you ready for the quiet time? Are you happy in the quiet? And if not, what can you do for yourself?

Nathan

My Reminder

Daily Post

In an effort to speak clearly at webinars and cover what I need to say without too many words I have a small background pop-up on my desktop when I’m presenting that simply says “DON’T WAFFLE!”

It works quite well.

I don’t have a script for any session but I do have talking points. I can dig into most of them to much greater depth than I might typically. In the moment I might go on and on because I’m excited and then I notice the time and realise I have to now say less about the next topic and wonder, flustered in the moment what I could cut and so-

DON’T WAFFLE! has served me quite well as a little reminder.

 

A less direct and less exclamatory way that I might interpret this is say less, communicate more.

It’s a reminder to pause. To breathe. To think about the next words: I might know the point I want to make but the particular words matter. When I’m asked a question I can take my time to think if I pause.

All of these are reminders for me, but they largely apply to any kind of presenting or responding to questions – even the viva.

What reminders do you need to help you engage well in the viva?

Nathan

Generous Questions

Daily Post

I often thank people in webinars for “generous questions” that they ask.

Typically these are questions that cover a sensitive topic or difficult area for them. It might be something they would struggle to talk about in another context or if it was outside the private space of the webinar chat.

I often call these generous questions because they allow me to talk about difficult things. Without exception and despite the specifics for that person, the questions are always related to broader topics that concern others.

  • The specific question about a regulation worry can be addressed for that person and for others who will be worried.
  • The question about what to do about a mock viva with a challenging supervisor can be explored and we can look at other options for everyone.
  • Not knowing how to respond to particular criticism or disagreement can be widened out for all present.

Another thing that’s quite common in webinars but which happens in real life as well is people apologising for “silly questions” or “questions that might not matter much” or “questions that are difficult”.

Of course, these apologies aren’t necessary – in fact the questions themselves are necessary because they can help the person asking to find some peace or next actions to take, assuming that they’re asking the right person.

If you have a question, ask it. And if the response can be applied more broadly than your particular circumstances then please pass it on.

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