Nathan

Sensible Prep

Daily Post

Getting ready for the viva involves big pieces of work and little tasks.

It could feel like there’s lots to do, maybe even too much, especially if you have other responsibilities. Start the process by getting everything out from your brain and onto a space you can track.

Write a list. Jot things down on a whiteboard. Start a new document and type anything that comes to mind.

Once you think you’ve got everything out, try to put some order in place. What comes first? What goes last? How could you fit this jigsaw of jobs together?

It’s possible to get ready for the viva by simply doing something productive for an hour per day for enough days.

It’s sensible to get ready for the viva by thinking a little, planning a little and then getting to work.

Nathan

Where Are You?

Daily Post

I like asking this question at the start of a webinar. It’s fun to see whether people are in their university’s city or nearby, perhaps in another country or – in some cases – half the world away. It’s a gentle starter question before I ask about research or feelings, expectations and fears.

When you are trying to help a friend, you could start with the same question even if you have a different intent:

  • Where are you? As in, where on your PhD journey?
  • Where are you? As in, how far along are your preparations?
  • Where are you? As in, where’s your head at?

If you want to help, be gentle with your questions. Your friends might need help but not know how to ask or know what they need exactly. “Where are you?” starts a conversation and gives room for someone to respond.

If you think your friend might need help, ask where they are and then go join them.

Nathan

Reach Out

Daily Post

If your viva is coming up, ask your friends, your colleagues and your supervisor for help. Think about what you need, think about when might be the right time to ask, be specific – but ask. They would want to help.

If you know someone with a viva coming up, get in touch with them. Are they OK? Instead of asking them what they need, offer what you can do. Be clear about how free you are and what you feel able to do.

Every candidate has to pass the viva with their own talent and thesis – but every candidate can also get ready with a helpful band of allies to get them there. Reach out and ask for help, or reach out and offer it.

Nathan

Fault & Responsibility

Daily Post

Examiners aren’t looking to find fault. They might have tough questions, they might think they see problems. Because of their experience they could have critical comments but these are never aimed at tearing work apart – or trying to tear a candidate apart.

In the viva, if something doesn’t seem right to them, instead of finding fault they could be looking for you to take responsibility. They don’t want to know who is to blame, but rather why something happened that way.

Sometimes mistakes are made. Sometimes, with good intentions, a plan of work doesn’t work out.

Taking responsibility doesn’t mean simply saying “It was me!” but rather exploring and explaining what happened, what you did and why things are the way they are.

You’re not at fault, you’re not to blame, but you have to take responsibility and then see what comes next.

Nathan

Uncommon Expectations

Daily Post

Some viva candidates are told at the start that they’ve passed. Most aren’t.

Some viva candidates are asked to prepare a presentation to begin their viva. Most aren’t.

I’ve heard of some departments sharing a finishing time for the viva beforehand. Most don’t.

I was stood in front of a chalkboard for all of my viva – I know of no-one else who has had this experience.

 

Viva stories can help shape expectations but it’s always important to ask whether something is common, and thus useful to reflect on and prepare for, or whether it was a rare event – or even unique!

Uncommon experiences can create a false or worrying picture of the viva. To get the truth, find out about recent vivas in your department. Listen to lots of stories and figure out what are common or uncommon expectations.

Remember: your viva will be unique, but that doesn’t mean it has to be a total unknown.

Nathan

A Different Set of Challenges

Daily Post

Is an online viva “worse” in some way? No, it’s just different.

Is it “harder” in some way? No, it’s just a different set of challenges.

It could be harder to engage. It could be harder to have free-flowing discussion. It could be harder to show your personality over video – a particular concern I’ve heard from many candidates over the last year or so. It’s understandable and there’s no quick fix, but you could act in advance to help get closer to the ideal viva you hold in your mind.

  • Rehearse. Use the platform you will for your actual viva and have a mock. Practise with friends. Get a feel for the delays and restrictions of the platform – and consider if there are opportunities too.
  • Explore your setup. What could you do to make your space better for you? How would you arrange where you will sit or how you will be? What could you have around you to show something of yourself?
  • Dress to impress – yourself! What can you wear to help you feel good? What can you wear to help you feel comfortable and confident? Could this help your personality shine through, even if it’s being directed at a camera rather than across a seminar room table?

Rehearsing is key. It shows the limits but also shows what you need to help you.

You don’t have to play a character for an online viva, but you can make sure the stage is set for success.

Nathan

Over

Daily Post

When your viva is finished, after the celebrations and congratulations, when you can breathe, take a few minutes to reflect:

  • How did I succeed?
  • What can I build on?
  • What can I do now?

Your PhD might be over, more or less, but there’s still a way for you to go. So reflect, take time to explore how you got where you are, what you can do and what you could do.

When you finish a PhD you are necessarily talented: there’s no other way you could get this far by being lucky.

This chapter of the story is over. What’s next?

Nathan

Examiners Want To Be There

Daily Post

Why else are these busy academics at your viva?

They have their own research, their own researchers, teaching, marking, admin, responsibilities and a life.

They’re not paid vast sums of money to be an examiner. They’re not simply a friend of your supervisor doing a favour.

It might be expected professionally to take on the role of examiner sometimes; they don’t have to do it for you and your viva.

They don’t have to be there. They get to be there.

They want to be there.

Nathan

STAR For A Star

Daily Post

Sometimes stars can’t be seen. Over the vastness of space, things get in the way or distort the light. Instead the stellar body has to be inferred, the location and details figured out. It’s there, but unseen, sensed only indirectly.

The talents and confidence of a PhD candidate can be hidden in the same way.

Skill, ability, knowledge and achievement – the roots of confidence – can be masked by worry over a thesis contribution, fears about what examiners might ask or questions of what a viva might be like.

Sometimes there’s just doubt: is it enough? Am I enough?

There’s no quick fix to remove all of these kinds of worries, but you can take steps if you’re feeling them. One step might be to use the storytelling tool STAR. I’ve shared several posts about this valuable idea before.

STAR is a simple way to reflect on a time when you’ve done something well. Each letter prompts the next part of a story and allows someone to honestly realise that they are good:

  • Situation: Find a situation or project that was challenging. How did it stretch you?
  • Task: Detail what exactly you had to accomplish. What were the specifics?
  • Actions: Lay out the sequence of steps you followed. How did you try to solve the problem?
  • Results: Clearly state the outcome. What happened in the end?

Telling yourself stories about your success helps to remind you that you did it. You have talent.

Invest time before your viva looking back over your PhD. Find situations where you made things happen. Tell stories that shine, and show that you are a star.

Nathan

Enough Stuff

Daily Post

The simplest definition of what you need to pass the viva: enough stuff.

Enough of a thesis. Enough results or findings to write up. Enough data. Enough work.

Enough papers read. Enough knowledge in your brain. Enough talent built up through your work.

Enough confidence to stand up to any nerves. Enough self-belief to know you have enough.

There will always be more you could do, more you could learn, more you could write, more you could do to prepare. But you don’t need more. You just need enough.

If you have any doubts then ask others for help. Ask your supervisor what you need. Learn about viva expectations. Take time to get ready.

When the time comes you will realise that you have enough of everything you need to succeed.

You probably had it for a long time.

1 … 149 150 151 152 153 … 319