Nathan

Failing In Advance

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My hero Seth Godin describes anxiety as “failing in advance”.

In seminars I would estimate at least a third of candidates I ask describe themselves as nervous, anxious or worried about their chances of viva success – with anxiety being very common – even though the vast majority of vivas result in the candidate passing.

If you had anxiety about your viva, what could you do to help yourself?

  • Find out more about the process: having more certainty could help you to see you have what you need to succeed.
  • Remember that you don’t have to have a viva, you get to have a viva: it’s at the end of a process that you have continued through for a long time.
  • Invest a little time in getting ready: perfection isn’t needed but you can be prepared.

A little work can help lessen or remove anxiety. A little work is also what will help you to feel ready for success at the viva.

Nathan

The Viva Speedrun

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Over the last year I’ve introduced my daughter to more and more video games. While we have different tastes and skill levels, we both love exploring, creating things within games and the simply joy of playing.

What neither of us has is much taste for is the desire that some gamers have for speedrunning – trying to complete games as fast as possible. Sometimes a game will have a certain bonus or prize for finishing in a certain time; sometimes people like to brag on YouTube that they are the fastest in the world. It definitely takes skill to do, but it’s just not for us.

 

Which brings me to remind anyone who needs to hear it that there’s no trophy for finishing your viva in a certain time limit. There’s no prize or even bragging rights if you were faster than a friend.

A long viva might not always be comfortable, but there’s not a lot you can do about it. You show up, ready to engage, and discuss whatever you need to until it’s done. Speed doesn’t matter. Long vivas don’t necessarily lead to more corrections.

Passing is already a great achievement. You don’t need to set any records to show that you’ve done something amazing.

Nathan

Sooner Than You Think

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Your viva prep won’t take all that long. A pause on the day won’t be more than a few seconds. Whatever length you anticipate for your viva it will be completed very quickly – especially if you compare it to the rest of your PhD.

All of it will be finished much sooner than you think; prepare for it all carefully and you can enjoy it in the brief moments you’re engaged with the viva process.

Nathan

What Will You Say?

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I enjoy seeing viva success shared on Twitter. It’s fun to see people tagging posts #PhinisheD or #PhDone. I like seeing people celebrate their hard work, and others joining in to acknowledge the dedication and effort that goes into a PhD.

I smile sadly though when I see someone say that they “got lucky”. They “got past their examiners”. They scraped corrections or owe all their PhD success to things “just working out”.

There are parts of a PhD that can be attributed to good fortune – when a candidates works hard and that work pays off. But they’re not lucky. They’ve not scraped by. They’ve worked. They’ve stayed determined and developed themselves. Especially considering the times we’re living through, if you finish your PhD you’re not lucky: you earned it.

Consider the words you use to describe your success. The words you use to describe all the stages of your PhD journey have an impact. If you consider yourself simply lucky then you take something away from the talent, work and time you’ve invested – and ultimately you can take something away from the self-confidence you could build from all of that.

Nathan

The Basics

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The viva is an oral exam at the end of the PhD. You submit a written thesis based on your research in advance. Typically two examiners, one internal and one external, will read your thesis carefully. In the viva they facilitate a discussion with you.

The viva is different for every candidate but there are common expectations. Most candidates pass. Most candidates are asked to make amendments to their thesis.

Nervousness is common, but only a symptom of how important the viva is. Candidates can prepare and rightly feel confident of their success given their experience, work, talent and knowledge.

 

I am sometimes asked very simple questions about what the viva is and what happens. I make assumptions sometimes about what someone might know, and get puzzled looks about certain details. The three paragraphs above are my attempt to share “the basics” in 100 words. What do you think?

Nathan

Consider It Now

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An examiner could gently challenge you on why you didn’t use a certain method. Or they might wonder what would happen if you did X instead of Y. What if you had tested for this instead of that, and so on.

It’s reasonable to expect that kind of a question in the viva. It’s not unreasonable to say, “I’ve not considered that before,” or perhaps, “I don’t know, I’ve not thought about that…”

…but it’s better to say, “Let me think about that now,” and then consider and give the best response that you can.

It might not be the full picture. It might not be an answer. It could be that you can’t say everything you might want to. But for any question or line of discussion that you’ve not considered before, you can consider it now.

Take the time. Show what you know, show what you can do. If an examiner has asked you a question, it’s not to trick you or trap you: they’re giving you an opportunity to demonstrate something.

Not considered it before? Consider it now, then talk.

Nathan

The Essentials

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Five years ago today I ran my first ever independent workshop.

I was so excited!

It was a big step: to go from being invited by universities to meet PhD candidates, now instead I was inviting them to meet me. I’ve done that a lot in the last year over Eventbrite and Zoom, but to hire a venue, to advertise, to think about everything that I would want or need if I were a participant – this was a really big stretch for me then.

It was a lot of work, but also a lot of fun.

One of the things I was most delighted about, aside from the great venue that I found and the four people who took a chance to come to the event, was making goody bags. I wanted to give everyone who came a bag packed with everything they would need to help them get ready for the viva – and a few things that they didn’t need, but which would maybe give them a smile.

Goodybag contents

I made a print run of the books I had written, and gave ebook codes too; I designed and published a new guide to getting ready for the viva; I supplied stationery that would help, notebooks – plus a big bar of dark chocolate and a tote bag to carry it all in.

I loved putting all of this together – most of the contents were a surprise to the participants on the day, and the looks of delight at the goody bags I gave were some of my highlights of 2016.

Which leads me to ask three questions, two for you and one for me.

  • First, if your viva was coming up: what would you need in an essential goody bag to support you? What would you want? What would be nice? What would help you just that little bit more?
  • Second, if you have a friend with a viva soon: what could you do to give them a little boost? What practical things could help them get ready? What else could you do to make them smile?
  • And for me: what can I do with my Zoom sessions to bring a little of that surprise and delight that I loved so much in my very first independent seminar?
Nathan

Get Comfy

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Your viva could feel a bit uncomfortable in some ways. It could be there’s parts of your research you would rather not talk about. Or you’re nervous about unexpected questions. The fear of going blank and forgetting something could make you a little anxious.

Not all of these things are within your control, either the possible event or your response, but there is plenty you can do to help make your viva a more comfortable experience.

  • Take time to get ready. What will help you feel prepared?
  • Consider the setting for your viva. If you’ll be at home, what could you do to make your space more encouraging?
  • Remind yourself: you can’t know everything but you must know a lot to have reached this stage of your PhD journey.
  • Decide on what you will wear for your viva. Something that is physically comfortable but also helps you to feel good could be ideal.

You can’t control all of your feelings about your viva, but you can do a lot to help how comfortable you feel.

Nathan

Halfway To Ready

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Viva prep is needed to help a candidate be ready for the viva. We could say that if you start your prep three weeks before your viva, then after ten days or so you’re halfway to being ready.

But when you think about it, you might do more work in the week immediately preceding your viva. So then being half-ready skews more to the days just before your viva, when you’re working more intently.

Or maybe it’s most useful to consider: viva prep is spread over several weeks at most, whereas the real work of the PhD takes several years.

Viva prep is a focussed period with one goal, making sure that you are ready for the viva – but by the time you start that prep, you are definitely more than halfway to your goal.

Nathan

5 Posts I’ll Never Write (Probably)

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I keep idea books to help manage my creative process for the blog. I’ve worked through five volumes of these small books over the last couple of years, and every time I fill one I transfer unused ideas across.

There are ideas that I’ve had now for a long time and I don’t know what to do with them:

  1. A post written in the style of Dr. Seuss – a bit of a stretch from the haiku I sometimes wrote
  2. Seven Deadly Viva Sins – I like the title but don’t know what to do with it!
  3. Creating a crossword puzzle with viva-related answers…
  4. A post without our common fifth symbol of communication – a blog post all about the viva that does not contain the letter “e”
  5. 101 Short Thoughts About The Viva – a long list of tips, advice and reflections to consider…

Some of these ideas really amuse me – I just don’t know what to do with them. Others are ideas that I keep returning to but know they still need more work. I have hope but am slowly coming to the conclusion that I might never write the great viva-related crossword puzzle!

Despite not using these ideas, good and bad, I’ve written a lot for this blog. And despite not using all of your ideas, you will have done a lot for your research and thesis. You can’t do everything. Your examiners don’t expect you to do everything.

Coming to the end of your PhD, to submission, the viva or completion – at some point it helps to sit back and consider what you have not done. And as you do so remember that you have accomplished a lot. Accept that you might not ever achieve some of your research goals, that some projects’ potential might go unrealised.

You will still have done enough. You will still have proved yourself.

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