A VIVA Conversation

If you’re a long-term Viva Survivors reader then you might remember my acronym VIVA:

• Valuable (to others): what might someone else find useful in your work?
• Interesting (to you): what do you find fascinating about your work?
• Vague (or unclear): what do you find difficult to talk about or explain?
• Ask (your examiners): given the chance, what would you ask your examiners at the viva?

I often suggest that someone uses this tool to write a summary of a chapter or their thesis: four prompts to help think about their work in different ways.

It struck me recently that these prompts might be a useful way of framing a conversation with a friend or colleague ahead of the viva.

• First, take a little time to make notes about what is Valuable and Interesting in your work. Think about how you explain it and what you want to emphasise. You’re outlining your contribution and how you came to it – something you’ll have to do for your viva.
• Next find a good opportunity to share this with a friend or colleague. Give yourself a good time and space to do this, don’t rush and don’t overload them.
• When you’ve shared this with your friend, first ask them what was Vague: what did they not quite get? What could have been clearer? Their response will be a helpful check for you to see how you organise your thinking and explanations.
• After that small piece of feedback then see what they would like to Ask: what do they want to know more about? What do they think of your topic? Be open to whatever questions they ask.

A mock viva is probably the gold standard for viva rehearsal and a mini-viva with a friend could also allow for something closer to real viva practice – but a VIVA-inspired conversation could be a nice way to get you thinking about how you explain what you did and how you did it!