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Author: Nathan

Nathan

When-Where-Who

Daily Post

I use Why-How-What a lot to help candidates think about the significant, original contribution that they’ve made through their research.

Perhaps When-Where-Who, the other three basic questions are useful for unpicking viva prep:

  • When will you start your prep?
  • Where will you complete many of the tasks?
  • Who do you need to support you?

It’s useful to sketch out the timeline for doing the work. Prep is not a lot of work but it still needs planning so it doesn’t overwhelm. Finding a good space to work in is useful for having a productive environment. Knowing who you need to help you get ready is vital.

Nathan

Journaling Prep

Daily Post

Keep a tiny journal for your prep. Every time you do something, add it to a growing list of what you’ve done in pursuit of being ready.

Lots of viva prep tasks don’t have a visible output: when you have read your thesis or a paper you only have a memory. When you talk with a friend there’s nothing physical to point so you can say, “I did it.”

So keep a little journal. It doesn’t have to be more complicated than recording what you did, when you did it, why you did it and how it helped.

Build the proof for yourself that you are getting ready for your viva.

Nathan

Fireworks

Daily Post

For a change I want to write about fireworks today.

 

To begin with, a lot of hubbub and excitement beforehand, anticipation at what’s about to happen. Will it be like last time? Someone shares their thoughts based on what they heard from someone else. There’s a certain level of expectations and anticipation.

Right or wrong, fair or unfair, people have strong feelings about whether they like them or not.

When it begins there’s a lot of concentration! Everyone involved at the time offers something, sharing what they think as the event unfolds. There are pauses, lulls, and sometimes things are a little unexpected. It has to be, I suppose, because every time the factors involved are different. Different people, different materials, different day.

And for nearly everyone involved on any given day, it’s over much sooner than expected. The time just flies by.

 

I wanted to write about fireworks, but found myself writing about the viva as usual. Sorry!

Nathan

In Case You’ve Forgotten

Daily Post

If you’re working towards your viva now you are so close to being finished. And to get this far you’ve already successfully completed many major milestones. Some you will share with other candidates, they’re part of the general PhD journey; some will be your own, and no-one else will have had to rise to the challenges that you have.

If you’re nervous, concerned or afraid then at least remember that you are good. You can do this. Don’t forget how far you have come. Don’t forget how you have succeeded despite living through strange and challenging times. You’re so close. You can do this. Keep going.

Nathan

Set In My Ways

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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 I had. Learning something else took time and was difficult. But I had to learn and change and see that there were better methods – or in some cases, methods that actually worked.

I learned another lesson too: when I found a method that worked there was bound to be another method used by other people. Maybe it didn’t give exactly the same result or have the same benefits, but it was still useful.

Remembering and reflecting on this leads me to several questions that might help you on the way to your viva:

  • Have you become set in your ways or are you still open to other ideas and methods?
  • Is yours the only method that could lead to the research outcomes you’ve found?
  • Are you aware of your examiners’ work and know what methods they use or favour?

The ways you’ve found to get things done have probably served you well through your PhD. Make sure you’re at least aware of the alternatives so that you can talk confidently in the viva about why yours work or what the differences are between different approaches.

Nathan

7 Tiny Prep Steps

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Viva prep is several big tasks and lots of little things. All together they can help a candidate move closer to feeling ready.

Here are some tiny things you could do to help yourself:

  1. Bookmark the start of each chapter.
  2. Google your external examiner.
  3. Check the regulations.
  4. Ask a friend to listen.
  5. Underline your typos (then leave them alone).
  6. Take a moment to outline your prep time.
  7. Write an encouraging note for yourself.

Lots of little steps move you towards where you need to be.

Nathan

A Little Extra Is Enough

Daily Post

Another way to think about viva prep: it’s the extra time you get to do a little bit more.

Not a lot of time. Not a lot of work.

The work you’ve already done – research, writing and development – is what gets you through the viva. You’ve written a good enough thesis to share your research. You’ve grown enough in your talent and knowledge to be a capable researcher in your field.

Prep is that little extra to help convince yourself that you’re good enough.

Nathan

Boo!

Daily Post

Whether it’s Halloween or any other day of the year, your viva is not a scary story in your future.

No-one is going to jump out at you in your viva.

Nothing startling. Nothing horrific.

No terror. No torture.

Your viva is unknown but not unknowable. You can’t know exact questions but you can know what they will be related to. The viva isn’t a spooky mystery with shadowy figures lurking in the background: your examiners are right there in front of you, and you know who you are.

There might be surprises, but even then, if someone asks a questions that’s unexpected you can still take your time to think it through. You don’t have to respond to some immediate terror confronting you.

However you might feel now, once you’re done you’ll realise that your viva was not so scary after all.

Nathan

Be Brave

Daily Post

I would hope you don’t need to be brave for your viva. I would hope that whatever worries or concerns you have, they don’t overwhelm so much that you need to find courage. Given everything you’ve done before, your viva should not be such a great challenge.

But if you do find yourself more anxious than confident, if you do feel fear and you need to be brave, remember:

  • You are not alone. There are many people who can and will support you. Ask for help. Ask early, ask often.
  • The viva is not a mystery. You don’t have to fear the unknown. Check the regulations, learn about expectations and listen to viva stories.
  • You have already come a long way. You’re not beginning an epic journey, you’re near the end. You don’t have far to go.

You don’t need to find a lot of courage or do a lot of work to be ready. Be brave if you need to be. Ask for help if you need it. Keep going.

Nathan

“Not The Word I’d Use…”

Daily Post

I’ve asked over six thousand candidates in workshops, seminars and webinars, “How do you feel about your viva?”

Less than 1% have said they felt excited.

There’s probably some selection bias there; if you’re attending a session about getting ready for the viva then perhaps you’re less likely to feel excited.

Candidates often feel nervous, which is a similar flavour of emotion; nervous and excited are both a reaction to how you anticipate something, but nervous has a much more negative sense to it. Candidates often express concern or worry: rather than being simply nervous about the viva, they have a particular aspect that they’re focussed on, a problem that needs a solution.

Many candidates feel unprepared. Thankfully that’s a temporary state; work moves you from unprepared to prepared. Work also helps with worry, you have to do something to change how you feel. Preparation won’t help nerves directly but it can help to build confidence. Confidence helps a candidate feel capable – they know what they know, they’re sure of what they’ve done, they can do what they need to – even if they then feel nervous they can put that into perspective.

And, on occasion, preparation and learning more about the viva could help someone to feel excited. As they know more of what to expect they could come to see that perhaps this is an event that’s not a final hurdle to jump or an encounter they need to win. It’s an opportunity to enjoy.

It’s not likely though. On most occasions when a candidate tells me they are excited they hastily clarify, “Er, excited to be done!”

 

You feel how you feel. It’s not good or bad to feel one thing or another, but understand that some states are more or less helpful for you. How you feel cannot simply be changed, but you can work towards a different state. So: how do you feel? How do you want to feel? What could you do to try to change how you feel?

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