Daily viva help for PhDs
How did you get this far in your PhD journey?
There’s a great series of steps, actions, ideas, questions, papers, successes, failures, setbacks, breakthroughs, meetings and long hours.
All of which boils down to: you did it.
The talent, skill and knowledge are yours. The actions were yours.
You did it. Remember that as you get ready for your viva.
I do a lot of the cooking in our house. Most of what I make regularly is the result of recipes I carry in my head but I sometimes look in cookbooks to check my instincts around cooking times, temperatures and good ingredient pairings.
It also helps me to figure out alternatives too. Will this dish still work if I change the seasoning? Probably. Can I swap tomatoes for carrots? Maybe not. And what do I do if I need to make a big change from the process described?
Viva prep feels a lot like this too. There are a lot of good ideas for how to get ready but you have to find something that feels right for you and tweak it from there.
A mock viva is often held around two weeks before the viva date but a week before your viva or a month before could work too with a few adjustments.
It’s common to start viva prep by reading your thesis but journalling or making other notes is equally helpful and valid.
Ask around to find out what others did. Read blog posts for good ideas. Then assemble your own recipe for viva prep success.
PS: I released the latest edition of Viva Survivors Select this week. As with today’s post The Confidence Issue has lots of practical ideas from the Viva Survivors archive for building confidence for the viva!
Some PhD candidates have unusual expectations for their vivas.
I’m not a mind-reader, but I know this must be true because of the questions that some candidates ask. I have met candidates who have expected the following:
These are all quite extreme! More benign and unusual expectations include candidates believing that they can’t take a break or that they can’t consult their thesis.
It’s not just that these expectations are wrong and don’t match reality: they are really negative. To hold them can only harm someone’s confidence as they get ready.
It’s not wrong to feel nervous ahead of your viva, but if you find yourself worried by an expectation or belief about the viva then find a way to check if your expectation is reasonable. If it’s unusual then you can maybe stop worrying.
And if you find that it isn’t unusual then there will still be something you can do towards feeling more prepared and more ready.
PS: I released the latest edition of Viva Survivors Select yesterday! The Confidence Issue contains twenty posts from the Viva Survivors archive exploring confidence for the viva including how to respond well to questions in the viva – something which definitely helps with having good expectations.
It was a few years after my PhD before I started to feel confident. It took me time to find a way to build it up for myself. I didn’t find it during my PhD or ahead of my viva: I thought my thesis was pretty good but didn’t think I was a good candidate. I knew something was missing on my viva day but didn’t know what it was.
After my PhD I started to listen to podcasts, read blog posts and found books that helped me assemble a jigsaw of confidence from myself, borrowing ideas from many different places and finding what worked for me.
I’ve had the good fortune to spend my post-PhD life exploring confidence for myself and how to help other people find it for themselves. I’m glad to have the chance to share some help, encouragement and ideas in this month’s issue of Viva Survivors Select.
The Confidence Issue contains twenty posts from the Viva Survivors archive exploring confidence in the PhD, helpful practices to try during viva prep and how to respond to questions in the viva. This is a topic I’ve explored a lot over the last fifteen years and it’s great to share a curated resource like this zine.
Every issue of Viva Survivors Select also contains new help too. This month I share my thoughts on making a playlist to help promote confidence. I love using music to prompt a shift of feelings and know I’m not alone in thinking it’s a useful nudge – and nudging confidence is the theme of my other new piece, a short game to help people getting ready for their viva.
Viva Survivors Select 07 is out now for £3 and joins six other issues in this ongoing series. If you like the blog, want more help and want to support what I do then please take a look at and consider buying The Confidence Issue.
The final issue of this volume, The Survival Issue, will be released on Wednesday 12th November. I’m also considering releasing a bundle of all eight issues of Volume 1 for a special price. Let me know if you think that’s a good idea!
Please do pass on details of this issue and Viva Survivors Select to anyone you know who is looking for viva help.
Thanks for reading!
Nathan
Thesis examination regulations underpin viva expectations. They set out how examiners should generally approach the viva and how they should behave. Coupled with practice and culture this gives rise to expectations and patterns. Things tend to happen in certain ways.
This doesn’t mean that viva expectations are the only way they can proceed. In particular, if you need something that doesn’t follow past patterns then you should ask for it. If you need more breaks, a specific room setup or have other particular requirements then your examiners need to know.
Vivas follow regulations but those regulations are there to help ensure that vivas are fair for all candidates. If you need something make sure you make a request. Don’t hope. Don’t expect that people will somehow know.
Check and follow the regulations. Make requests for what you need for your viva.
Your viva is a conversation.
It will have a rhythm and a flow.
The direction is lead to some extent by your examiners with their questions and comments, but you set the pace with your responses.
Pause to think, to breathe, to check and to be sure.
Take a moment to break up what you’re saying.
The viva is a conversation and you want it to flow well – but the viva is an important conversation that needs time. You need time to think well and respond well.
A moment here or there will not increase your viva length dramatically or negatively. Taking a pause to respond well can only help your viva and your performance.
There was a two-month period in my maths PhD where I tried and tried to make something work. Here’s my layperson’s description of the problem:
I tried a lot of different things. I found some results in the process but I didn’t reach an answer.
I tried and I failed.
I thought for a split-second-that-felt-like-forever at my viva that this was going to be a problem.
In Chapter 7 you detail your failure at a problem. That’s interesting.
I can still remember the way my internal examiner said it seventeen years later!
It was an odd way to express a point. It knocked me for a few seconds but really he just wanted to explore the situation:
These were all good questions. I had a lot to say because there was a lot to talk about.
If any of this seems resonant – although hopefully not the knotted balls of wool! – then prepare for your viva with your problems in mind. If you tried and failed at something then be sure you know why. Be sure you can explain why.
And be sure you realise that while it might have been a problem while you were doing your research it doesn’t have to be a problem at your viva.
I bought a leather cover for my blog post ideas notebook and it completely changed how I use it.
The cover makes the book feel special. The cover protects the paper notebook so I feel better about carrying it around with me. The cover has little pockets for notes too!
And the cover is an extra reminder to me about what the book is for. It’s one more thing to encourage me to do the work.
The leather cover wasn’t that expensive. By itself it doesn’t do the work. It just helps the work get done.
What little things can you do to help your viva prep? What little changes could make you feel more ready for your viva?
By themselves little changes aren’t the work but they help the process along. A small change can be a catalyst for action. It can be an encouragement for or a reminder of what you’re doing or why you’re doing it.
What could you do to help your viva? Make a list of some ideas that might help – then make a choice and take it from there.
PS: one more helpful idea would be to subscribe to the Viva Survivors blog and get a new helpful post emailed to you every day!
Step one could be to breathe after submission and take a short break.
Your first step could be to read the regulations and check there’s nothing unexpected.
Top of the list might be to check in with your supervisor and see what they think.
And if you feel you’ve got a good handle on what you need to do then step one of viva prep could be to make a plan of how you’re going to get it done.
There are lots of really good, sensible things that a candidate might do to prepare for their viva. The starting point and the process is different for everyone: it depends on what you need, how you feel and what your circumstances are like.
Take charge though. Only you can take all the steps needed and only you can take the first step, whatever you need it to be.
PS: If you’re looking for more ideas of steps you can take to be prepared for your viva then check out my Viva Survivor webinar on Wednesday 3rd December 2025. This is my comprehensive live session on getting ready for your viva. There’s full details at the link of what to expect from the webinar and what past participants think of it. Please get in touch if you have any questions!
If you’re getting ready to endure your viva then you’re probably not going to approach it with a good frame of mind. If you are hoping it goes well you’re probably downplaying the force of your other prep and work.
It’s one thing to worry that your viva will be a nightmare – a nasty noun could easily distract you – but the real concern is that you might worry!
Unhelpful verbs while you’re thinking about your viva and viva prep can have a big impact on your confidence. You might not simply be able to choose how you feel or choose the verbs you keep in mind but if you’re aware of negative associations you can make changes. Read the regulations for the viva, ask for support and find out more about what to expect.
How do you want to approach your viva? What do you need to change? What will you do?