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Tag: confidence

Nathan

Good Luck Charms

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If it helps, why wouldn’t you have something lucky with you in the viva?

My good day socks were a story I told myself for years – “wear these socks and it will be a good day” – my viva, difficult meetings, the first time I ran workshops. There were so many situations where it made me feel better. I know people who wore a particular outfit to the viva because it was like armour to them, or a superhero costume. It added that extra something that helps them to feel better.

If you tell yourself the story that these clothes, this teddy, this piece of jewellery or whatever will help then you make sure to have them.

But it’s only a story – and there’s another one nearly reaching a conclusion.

You showed up. And kept showing up. You did the work and you did it well. You’ve written a thesis, and know your stuff. It’s not make-believe.

A few years ago I stopped telling myself the story of my good day socks, because I didn’t need it any more. If you do, that’s fine: good luck charms can help and help is good.

But don’t forget the other story: you did the work and you did it well. You can do well in the viva too.

Nathan

The Sum

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Σ

One of the neatest pieces of shorthand I learned in my many mathematical years.

“The Sum of” and then an expression or a concept. In simple terms, add up everything that looks like this.

You might have some lower or upper bounds, you might have very specific things you want to add. If you’re lucky there could be a formula that represents what that sum is (I used to love working out those). I use Σ when trying to decide whether or not a crazy idea is viable financially.

A PhD candidate is the sum of their experiences. “Σ everything you’ve done” – there are lots of little formulas we could create…

  • Your talent is perhaps Σ your experiences.
  • Your knowledge is Σ your results + Σ your reading + Σ your failures!
  • Your thesis is Σ the hours you’ve spent.

There’s around 6000 of those hours. The viva is not a one-off event, it’s the next one that you’re going to succeed at. Add up all of the days that you’ve spent getting to the viva. All of the good things you’ve done. All of the less good stuff that helped you learn.

Σ all these things equals someone meant to be at the viva.

Nathan

A Lack Of Silver Bullets

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I was halfway through a short workshop on project planning. I was sharing a process researchers could use to outline their projects. At the coffee break a young researcher came to me and politely explained he was going to leave before we started the second half. “This is all very interesting,” he said, “But I just want a silver bullet. I don’t want a process, I want something that solves it all for me.”

I thanked him for coming, told him of course he should go if he felt that way – but also shared that in my experience there was no such thing as a silver bullet for project planning, no magic thing that just sorted it out.

Convenience is nice, but there aren’t a lot of silver bullets lying around. Sometimes you can lean on advice or experience, but more often than not you just have to follow a process.

There’s a real lack of silver bullets when it comes to the viva.

There’s no silver bullet for prep. Nothing you can load up that answers every question. No silver bullet for confidence as you walk in.

But then there were no silver bullets to get you from the start of your PhD to submission and you did that. You don’t need them anyway. You needed time and effort and ideas and talent to get your thesis done and you did. You have all of those things when you prepare for the viva, and in the viva too.

You don’t need a silver bullet now.

You just need you.

Nathan

20 Small Steps To A Better Viva

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Your viva can’t be the best, but there are many steps you could take to make yours better.

  1. Proofread your thesis before submission.
  2. Read your institution’s thesis examination regulations.
  3. Take a break after submission.
  4. Put Post-it Notes in your thesis to mark the start of chapters.
  5. Do a little research on your examiners
  6. Plan how you will get to the viva on the day.
  7. Have a mock viva.
  8. Talk to PhD graduates about their viva experiences.
  9. Talk to your supervisors about the choice of examiners.
  10. Annotate your thesis.
  11. Read your thesis carefully at least once between submission and the viva.
  12. Take steps to boost and maintain your confidence.
  13. Reflect on your research contribution.
  14. Explore your bibliography a little.
  15. Re-read any sections of your thesis that are conceptually difficult or tricky to explain.
  16. Figure out why you’re stressed (if you are).
  17. Help your friends and family to understand what the viva is all about.
  18. Take a bottle of water to the viva.
  19. Remember how much work you’ve done to get this far.
  20. Plan how you will celebrate passing your viva.

How you feel in your viva is not down to luck. Do everything you can to make your viva better.

Little things add up.

Nathan

Fired Up

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What could get you enthusiastic for your viva? Not just “not stressed” or “prepared” but ready.

Would a piece of music do it?

Exercising in the morning?

A motivational talk from someone who believes in you?

I meet very few candidates who are excited about their viva or even looking forward to it. I think sharing expectations and viva stories can help change perceptions – but, on reflection, that won’t make many people fired up that their viva is coming. They’ll be prepared, not scared, but not excited either.

What might do it for you? Even if you can’t get super-excited, what steps are you going to take to get you further away from worry, closer to happy?

Nathan

The Best Viva

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Not just a good viva: the best.

Make a list of all of the conditions of the best possible viva for you. However long it is, now make another list of the things you could do to help it turn out that way.

You can’t control everything, so try to stop worrying about the things you can do nothing about. There are plenty of things you can do to help yours be the best viva for you.

Make your lists and get to work.

Nathan

Three Wishes

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If you could have three wishes for your viva, what would they be?

I can imagine some possibilities…

  • …I wish that it wasn’t too long…
  • …I wish that my examiners would treat me fairly…
  • …I wish I could answer all of their questions…
  • …I wish I felt confident…
  • …I wish it was over!

Wishes don’t just manifest. Some parts of the viva you could have hope for, some things you can expect, and some things you can work towards making a reality. Rather than making wishes, find out realistic expectations for your viva – by asking people about theirs or talking to your university’s graduate school – and work on building up your confidence if you need to.

(unless you find a magic lamp, in which case wish away!)

Nathan

Memory Box

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My daughter’s just finished nursery and starts “Big School” in September. It seems only like yesterday that she was starting, but it was nearly two years. Time flies…

We’re helping her make a memory box of her time at nursery. Pictures and projects, toys and books, the keepsakes and mementoes that she wants to have, and it’s got me thinking about what I would put in my PhD memory box. It’s ten years since I finished my PhD and I have fond memories but I know there are lots I will have forgotten now. I wish I had kept more of a diary or memory box, but I was too busy thinking “I’m done, what do I do next???”

For the end of the PhD I think it’s important to reinforce the idea that you haven’t just arrived at a destination as a passenger: you’ve worked to get there. What have you collected in your memory box along the way? What has helped? What helped you realise something new? What helped you get better? What do you just want to remember?

Time flies… Your story so far can help the story that’s coming, whether that’s your viva, your next job or whatever life has to throw at you. Find memories that help you and make them part of the story you remember.

Nathan

Are You Sitting Comfortably?

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There’s a connection between how comfortable you are in the viva and how confident you are. I’ve written a lot before on getting comfortable with the thought of the kinds of questions you might get, but that’s not the full extent of what you can do to explore comfort and confidence for the viva. Instead of thinking in the abstract about process and possible questions, get really practical:

  • What is the room like? What’s the layout? What does it have in there that could be useful (whiteboard, flipchart etc)?
  • Where will the room’s windows be in relation to the sun during your viva?
  • What do you know about your examiners? How comfortable are you with your awareness of them and their work?
  • What are you wearing for the viva? How comfortable are you in that outfit?
  • What can you take with you or do on the day of the viva to make you more comfortable?

Answers are about comfort, but also lead in the direction of confidence. Your clothes can make you more confident; being sure about the viva room can make you more confident; being aware of your examiners can make you more confident.

Nathan

Weak Spots

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Why didn’t Achilles wear a boot?

If you know there’s a problem, wouldn’t you try to address it? If you know you have a weak spot, wouldn’t you at least try something?

For example, I knew my background knowledge on one of my thesis chapters was a bit shaky. I just hoped my examiners would focus on the results instead. I could explain how I’d tackled it. I could explain the results. I just crossed my fingers they wouldn’t ask me to explain what a certain kind of manifold looked like and why it was relevant.

Hoping it won’t come up is not a solution: actions help.

If you have a gap in your knowledge, take action. If you have trouble remembering a reference or an idea, take action. If you want to boost your confidence, take action.

Weak spots in your thesis or research probably aren’t as devastating as Achilles’ heel, but if you’re aware of something that could be a problem it’s up to you to do something about it.

Don’t just worry and hope it won’t come up. Do something.

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