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Nathan

The Original

Daily Post

What makes your work new?

What makes your conclusions different?

How have you developed what’s been done before?

Why wasn’t your research done before now?

How do you demonstrate originality in your thesis?

How else could you or someone else do something different with your work?

 

Some of the questions above might not be relevant to you and your viva depending on your research field, your particular topic and your thesis. It might be that only a few questions resonate – or perhaps one reminds you of a more targeted question you need to consider.

Your examiners will have specific questions too; it might be impossible to predict the exact wording but within the meaning they will be giving you an opportunity to respond: what makes your work new?

 

PS: If you’re looking for more help on how to engage with questions at the viva then check out Viva Survivors Select 15, The Questions Issue, which came out yesterday.  If you like the blog, want more help and want to support what I do then please take a look. There’s twenty curated posts from the blog plus original content to help you get ready for the viva’s questions – and some nice art by me too!

Nathan

Finding Problems

Daily Post

I found problems in my thesis after submission.

They weren’t so terrible.

I found typos and underlined them in red. They were mistakes, maybe a better proofread could have got them, but they would be easy to fix.

I found sentences that were clunky and could be improved. I made a note in my margins and made sure I could see them clearly and explain them well if they came up in the viva.

 

My examiners found problems in my thesis and asked about them at the viva.

That was more uncomfortable than the typos and bad sentences I found.

They showed me places I had made but not explained assumptions. They tested me on the ideas I had dropped in without exploring why they were needed.

It wasn’t awful but if I’d looked at my thesis differently (as I was writing and preparing) I might have thought more about how to explain things, rather than have to think on my feet at my viva.

 

The problems my examiners found were a little uncomfortable at my viva but they gave me space and time to respond. They didn’t make me feel bad. They didn’t make me feel small. They offered me the opportunity to explore what it was about.

I and my examiners found problems with my thesis before my viva but the problems weren’t an issue.

How will you respond to problems that you find? And what can you do to be ready for the unknown problems your examiners might ask about at your viva?

Nathan

The Prep Before Prep

Daily Post

Viva prep starts after submission. The focus for your work before then has to be on finishing your research, your thesis and thinking ahead for life after the PhD. The weeks between submission and your viva date are enough to get ready for the particular challenge of your viva.

However, while your focus has to rest elsewhere, there are several key actions you can take to make sure that you’re ready to work when it’s viva prep time. Before you get to submission:

  • Make sure you have checked the current regulations for vivas at your university. Don’t rely on tips or advice from friends when it comes to the rules.
  • Make sure you have talked with your supervisors about your potential examiners. They might ask for your suggestions or simply tell you who they’re thinking about and why.
  • Take time to think about the period between submission and the viva. You don’t need a plan at this stage but you need to be ready to plan, aware of any important dates or situations that you need to account for.

There’s a little prep before your viva prep. It is a small amount of work that helps the rest of it come together well.

Nathan

Crunch

Daily Post

I don’t like work crunch. I avoid it if I can help it. Planning helps me:

  • I have a work diary.
  • I have a handwritten page in my notebook that shows me three months ahead.
  • And I make weekly task sheets that show me what I’m doing when.
  • And I have a spreadsheet on my computer.

And we have a big flipchart-sized calendar on our living room wall to help me keep track!

I’m not forgetful per se – this all helps me to remember. It helps me to see ahead and avoid periods when I have to do more than I’m comfortable with.

I don’t like work stress. I don’t like crunch periods.

But sometimes it comes anyway. It could be the forgotten task. The advanced deadline. The family thing I need to do that dominoes into a time I thought I could write.

Then crunch crunch crunch…

 

It’s possible that my general viva advice about sketching out a plan (or two) for viva prep comes from some of my biases about avoiding crunch and stress!

I don’t think that makes it bad advice though.

When you’re planning your viva prep it is a good idea to do what you can to avoid stress while you work. There will be enough viva feelings floating about that it’s good to keep stress out of the mix. It’s good to make a plan so that when other things come along – and they will! – you can do what you can to minimise feeling that you have to crunch through your viva prep.

How can you organise yourself to make sure you are on top of all of your viva prep tasks?

How will you make a plan that keeps you on track but is flexible enough to adapt to changing circumstances?

And, maybe the first question to think about, how do you deal with crunch periods when they come?

Nathan

One Task Per Day

Daily Post

Working at this scale could be enough to get ready for your viva.

I don’t mean “one small thing per day”! A task could be reading your thesis for an hour. A task could be making notes on three or four important papers. A mock viva is a task!

But if you did one thing every day after submission then you would be in good shape for your viva. If you show up as you’ve done for the rest of your PhD, on good days and bad, still determined to get things done then you’d be working well.

You need to rest too. I’m not advocating working for hours on end every day. But if you made a choice to show up and do a little work each day think about how ready you could be by your viva date.

Nathan

Number Problems

Daily Post

Your PhD success is not directly measured by big numbers.

It’s not in the thousands of words in your thesis. It doesn’t correlate with the number of papers you’ve read or the number you’ve cited. You don’t need a heroic number of hours invested into mastering a skill. You don’t need to do more than the last person.

The numbers that really help may sound similar but they help in different ways.

  • The number of papers you’ve read helps you know what you need to know.
  • Take confidence from knowing you have written 200 good pages not for simply having 200 pages.
  • You’ve invested thousands of hours to show your determination and express your ability – you’ve not simply done a lot.

Bigger alone isn’t better. Recognise the value of the numbers that matter to your PhD.

Nathan

Intro & Outro

Daily Post

Whenever I deliver a viva help session I spend a lot of time thinking about the beginning and the end.

For the Intro I think about what expectations need to be set. What is critical for me to get across? What’s the logical sequence of information that people need to hear? And what’s my backup plan in case something isn’t right?

I think ahead about the Outro too: what points will I need to close off before I’m done? What parts of the session do I want to call back to? And how do I handle the sudden influx of final questions that participants might have?

To be clear, I think about everything in the middle too! But the Intro and Outro need some special attention of their own.

 

The same is true for your viva. In preparation you need the general flow of review and rehearsal to help for most of the viva – but I’d make sure you give a little extra thought to be ready for the beginning and end.

  • What do you need to know about the viva to feel ready for when it starts?
  • Do your examiners need to know anything about you and your situation to make reasonable adjustments?
  • What can you do to feel alright with any nervousness at the start?
  • How can you prepare for the end of the viva and final questions there?

Intro and Outro. Beginning and End. They’re small parts of your viva but important to think about and prepare for.

 

PS: I’m thinking a lot about the intro and outro for this Wednesday’s 1-hour 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva webinar! I love sharing this session and have delivered it over 100 times now. Registration for this Wednesday includes attendance, one of my pdf publications and a catch-up recording if you can’t attend live. I’m sharing two more sessions in November and December if this is too short notice but do take a look if you or someone you know is looking for viva help. Thanks for reading!

Nathan

Final Checks For The Viva

Daily Post

Check that you’ve read the regulations.

Check you have done all the prep you meant to.

Check you know the logistics for your viva day.

Check you’ve got your thesis and anything else you need ready.

And check in with yourself: remember you did all of that over the course of years so you can do this too.

 

PS: If you’re still checking what the viva is all about then also check out my 1-hour 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva webinar next Wednesday 7th October 2026. Registration includes attendance, one of my pdf publications and a catch-up recording if you can’t attend live. There are also two more sessions before Christmas if November or December might be better!

Nathan

Negative About The Viva

Daily Post

An old friend of mine would often remind me of a saying that he attributed to Abraham Lincoln:

“I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better.”

The internet says that there’s no direct evidence that Lincoln ever said or wrote this but it’s still a nice sentiment. I think it helps with the viva too.

I meet a lot of postgraduate researchers who are negative about their viva before they’ve had it. They’re stressed. They’re unsure. In some cases they’re really annoyed! And in every situation I think, “You need to get to know the situation better.”

Stress and uncertainty can both be reduced by knowing more. Read the regulations. Talk to your supervisors and friends. Look for stories about experiences to get a sense of what to expect.

When you know more you can do more to help yourself. If you don’t like the viva then start to get to know it better. Find out more and take steps to help yourself feel better.

 

PS: If you want to feel better about the viva by finding out more about it then my 1-hour 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva webinar next Wednesday 7th October 2026 will be a big help. I’ll be exploring what the viva is all about and why that helps you to succeed. Registration includes one of my pdf publications and a catch-up recording if you can’t attend live. Hope to see you there!

Nathan

The Small Help Of Prep

Daily Post

I have a pocket multitool that fits in my wallet. It’s a solid rectangle of metal with a sharp edge, a ruler, various marks and divots, several holes and a screwdriver point.

I probably use it once a week to help with small tasks. I can probably use it to do a lot more than I’ve realised. I’m glad I have this small help.

My multitool makes me think of viva prep.

Viva prep is a small thing but the general process helps a lot. Viva prep is a solid approach but can be adapted to meet the needs of particular situations. And the steps that help someone get ready are also more widely applicable.

The overall help of viva prep is a small, limited thing. It doesn’t take much to make a big difference in feeling ready for the viva.

 

PS: If you want to know more about viva prep – what to do, when to start and how much to do – then check out my 1-hour 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva webinar next Wednesday 7th October 2026. Viva prep is a big component of the session and the follow-up materials – and there’s a catch-up recording if you can’t attend live. Hope to see you there!

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