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Nathan

7 Reasons, 7th October 2026

Event, Update

In Brief: I’m sharing my 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva webinar live next Wednesday 7th October 2026. Booking is open, there’s one of my pdf resources and a catch-up recording included. I’m looking forward to sharing it with everyone who comes – and maybe that’s you?!

(I also have two more dates before Christmas if you’re busy on 7th October!)

 

A Few More Details: When I announced my autumn 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva sessions earlier this month I shared a lovely email from a PhD candidate who attended one this summer. Since then I’ve had another lovely email!

“I wanted to say a huge thank you to you for your viva materials and the session I attended. I passed my viva today with minor corrections. Your magazines, daily newsletter and the session were all brilliant resources. I read the magazines last night and they were what I needed to keep me calm and to believe in myself. “ – University of Huddersfield PhD graduate

The magazines mentioned are the Viva Survivor Select pdf zines I’ve been creating (more on those here!). I’m really glad the summer sessions were so helpful. I really love sharing 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva and it’s now starting to edge out my Viva Survivor session in terms of how often it’s requested.

I think of 7 Reasons as a 1-hour confidence boost for the viva. In the space of an hour I cover key reasons why people succeed at the viva. There’s space for everyone to ask questions, a copy of my 101 Steps To A Great Viva pdf and a catch-up recording of the session too. I have a total of three dates coming up before Christmas:

These are the only independent sign-up sessions I’m running between now and Christmas.

I am also invited by universities to work directly with PGRs – so check your researcher-development programme first – but if I’ve not been invited to help your PGR community then please take a look at the details for these upcoming events. Registration is open now for all three and if you’re looking for viva help then please take a look.

Thanks for reading – if you think it will help a friend then please pass on the news.

All the best,

Nathan

Nathan

Review The Recent

Daily Post

As you prepare for your viva make sure you review your most recent work. Refresh your memory on how it adds to the contribution of your postgraduate research. You’ll need to talk about this at your viva.

As you get ready take a little time to review recent publications. As you’ve been writing up there’s a chance there are interesting or relevant papers you’ve missed. Taking a few hours to check will help your feeling of capability as a researcher.

You have to read your finished thesis to be well prepared. Reviewing the details and the most recent expression of them will help your confidence for the viva.

There’s a lot of history you have to review for your viva: old notes, past papers and so on. Take a look at the most recent material as well to be ready for your viva.

Nathan

Beyond Burnt Out

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Remember: you can’t prepare well for your viva if you’re burnt out.

You can’t read, review and rehearse if you’re already exhausted. As important as the viva is and as urgent as it might feel to do something for it you can’t do what you need to do if you’ve got nothing left.

When you submit your thesis sketch out a plan or two for your prep. Make rest a central part of your prep period: there’s work to do and you probably have other commitments but if you don’t get enough rest you can’t do everything else that you need to do.

You can’t prepare well for your viva if you’re burnt out.

Nathan

Don’t Worry*

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Don’t worry about what might happen at your viva – take steps to learn more about what to expect.

Don’t worry about the variety of questions you might be asked – find spaces to rehearse responding to questions and build up your confidence.

Don’t worry about remembering everything – work through your prep to help your memory as best you can for the things that matter most.

Don’t worry about the outcome of your viva – find ways to remind yourself of what you’ve done and what that means.

 

* Or rather, don’t only worry. Feel the feeling and then take steps to help change the feeling.

Nathan

Make Prep Fun

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Viva prep is important. It’s the work that helps you get ready for your viva.

It matters. You have to do it and you have to do it well so that you can do well at your viva!

It’s serious stuff but you’ll probably do it better and get more from it if you have some fun here and there:

  • What can you do to reward yourself for completing tasks?
  • How can you make your work aesthetically pleasing?
  • Can you set a fun tone for yourself by working in an interesting place or listening to nice music?
  • And who can you invite to work with you to help get the work done?

Viva prep matters. What can you do to make it fun too?

 

PS: You can definitely make rehearsing for your viva fun by asking friends to help, giving a seminar or going for nice chat over coffee. Rehearsal is also the topic of the latest Viva Survivors Select collection. If you like the blog, want more help and want to support what I do then please check it out: twenty posts from the archive and new help to help you get ready!

Nathan

Three Days

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On submission day sketch out a couple of plans for getting your viva prep done. It’s unlikely that you’ll start immediately but think about how you would break up the work you need to do. Sketch out one plan giving yourself a month and one where you have only two weeks. Which seems most sensible given your circumstances? Or do you need a better third plan?

On the day you start your viva prep check that you have what you need. Download any papers you were thinking of checking, gather your resources and message any friends or colleagues who you were going to ask for help in the coming weeks. Remove friction from the work you’ll do in the near future.

On the day before your viva take ten minutes to write some notes about what you’ve done. Convince yourself that you’ve done everything you need to be ready for your viva. Reflect on all that you’ve done to get this far.

It takes more than three days to be ready for your viva. The right task at the right time can make a big difference.

 

PS: One activity that really helps with viva prep is rehearsal and it just so happens that Viva Survivors Select 14, The Rehearsal Issue is out now. If you like the blog, want more help and want to support what I do then please check it out. It’s the latest issue in my series of curated collections of viva help: twenty posts from the blog’s archive and new help to help you get ready!

Nathan

The Meaning Of “Pass”

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It means you did enough. You don’t need perfection to pass your viva and your PhD.

Do your best.

You’ll likely find typos in your thesis after submission. That’s OK.

You’ll likely find questions at the viva that you find challenging. That might be uncomfortable but it’s OK too.

Good is enough.

Minor corrections means “you’ve passed so long as you make these changes.”

“Pass” means you did it – but like the rest of your PhD journey you have to figure out what that really means for you.

 

PS: Rehearsing for your viva helps you feel more like you’re going to pass. If you’re looking for helpful thoughts on rehearsal then Viva Survivors Select 14, The Rehearsal Issue, is out now. If you like the blog, want more help and want to support what I do then please check it out. It’s the latest issue in my series of curated collections of viva help: twenty posts from the blog’s archive and new help to help you get ready!

Nathan

Can’t & Can

Daily Post

You can’t memorise every paper you’ve read for your research but you can be sure of the ones that matter.

You can’t know every question you’ll be asked at your viva but you can be ready to respond to any question you’re asked at your viva.

You probably can’t remove all trace of nervousness but you can build your confidence for the viva.

You can’t be perfect but you can be enough.

Nathan

The Scale Of Prep

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A full-time PhD might involve five or six thousand hours of work.

A viva will most likely be done in three or four hours at most.

Between these vastly different scales sits viva prep: twenty to thirty hours of work for most candidates.

Viva prep is much bigger than your viva and much, much smaller than the rest of your PhD.

Viva prep can feel like a lot when you have to do it but try to get the scale right in your mind. It’s particular work to help you prepare for the particular challenge of your viva.

 

PS: if you’re looking for more viva prep help then I have two suggestions for you. First, take a look at my Payhip store where I have a range of small publications to help with any viva worries you might have. Second, take a look at my 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva webinar I have coming up on Wednesday 7th October (and more sessions in November and December).

PPS: Third suggestion! I have a new Viva Survivors Select zine coming out this Wednesday! Look out for the announcement.

Nathan

Feeling Lost

Daily Post

If you find yourself getting lost in the detail of your research – or perhaps lost on the surface of your work because the detail feels too dense to probe – then you need to write a summary.

Write summaries as part of your viva prep to help you explore, unpack and explain your work. Help yourself to think ahead in preparation for your viva.

Maybe you could think clearer if you break a chapter down into five key points. You could capture the ten most important papers that support your work to help you think through the context of your contribution. You could keep it simple and use a simple page to summarise your key contributions.

If you’re feeling lost then writing a good summary can help you find your way.

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