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Nathan

Make A Good Space

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A few weeks ago I shared four pointers that help when preparing for a video viva:

  • Read the regulations because then you know what your institution expects.
  • Talk to friends so you can find out about their recent experiences.
  • Practise! to rehearse for responding to questions.
  • Make a good space for yourself and that way you will have a good environment for doing what you need to do.

It struck me today that all of these apply for preparing for in-person vivas as well.

There are differences; the good space you need for an in-person viva is the space you’ll prepare in rather than the space for your viva. Even then you can do things to help yourself. Ahead of an in-person viva you can check the room out, be certain it has what you need and make arrangements for anything else that you require.

In-person or over-video, the viva is still the same event. There are differences because of the format, but they are not that great.

Neither are the differences in preparation.

Nathan

Good Day Socks Work!

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I wore a pair of my good day socks to the viva – socks that I always wore when I wanted the day to be a good day – and I passed!

After my viva I continued to wear the socks on days I thought would be challenging: a day I was doing a seminar for the first time or travelling and had to make a series of connections. The socks helped me to feel better.

Were they lucky socks? No! They just helped me to navigate challenging days more easily. I felt better wearing them – and realised eventually that I could have every day be a good day if I had enough pairs!

I also have particular shirts, a picture that my daughter drew for me and a special paperweight that help me. All of them help me to feel better when I have something difficult to do.

Do my good day socks or other comforts have anything to do with the particulars of my work? No, they’re just part of the story I tell myself that leads me to feel confident.

Good day socks work for me, but they might not work for you. Before your viva, take time to find something that will help. Look for the little things that can help lead you to the confidence that helps you feel ready.

Nathan

Prep Is Personal

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The purpose of viva prep is universal among PhD candidates: it’s part of the work that someone does to help them get ready for the particular challenge they’ll find in the viva.

The principles of viva prep are sound for any postgraduate researcher: read your thesis, annotate it, write summaries of things you need to think about and rehearse for meeting your examiners.

The doing of viva prep is individual for every PhD candidate.

No two candidates have the same prep because no two candidates are the same. Every thesis is unique and every set of circumstances is different. There are similarities and generalisations that can be made, but when it comes to doing the work every candidate has to pause, plan and then do the work in a way that suits them.

Plan the work in advance. Fit it around your other responsibilities. Get the support you need.

Prep is personal.

 

PS: Looking for more ideas of what you can do to be ready for your viva or how to get the work done? Check out the Viva Help Bundle: three great resources for a special price of £6 until November 30th 2023. The bundle has an edited book of 150+ Viva Survivors posts, my successfully Kickstarted 101 Steps To A Great Viva and an original reflective writing game on the PhD journey. Please do take a look!

Nathan

The Highlights

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Highlighter pens can be a useful part of a viva prep toolkit.

You can use one colour to show key references and another to make essential information stand out. You could add a colourful edge to specific pages or mark the start of chapters. It may not be common, but if it meets your needs you could even keep track of typos and future edits with a careful colour selection.

Highlighters are a simple way to show something important but also a clever reminder that you have work in your thesis that matters. You draw attention to what needs to be seen or shared.

As well as edits, references and information, consider using highlighters for the highlights: what do you need to be able to see at a glance to share with your examiners?

Nathan

Simple Doesn’t Mean Easy

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The viva isn’t hard to understand. You do the research over years, write your thesis probably over months and then talk with your examiners for a few hours.

In the viva itself you’re discussing what you’ve done, what it means, what you can do and how you think. You’re showing that your skills and knowledge are enough and that the work you’ve done makes a difference.

 

This is all simple to understand.

That doesn’t mean it is easy to do.

 

All that work and effort is hard. The viva is a difficult challenge despite being so simple to grasp.

Partly this is due to the level that you’re working at. Partly it’s the unknown aspect of the viva. And partly it is because you will probably be nervous at your viva.

Your viva will most likely be a difficult challenge for you – but only difficult. You’ve come so far by becoming good at what you do. After all, that’s the only way you could have written and submitted a thesis.

It’s quite simple really.

 

PS: If you’re looking for simple, easy-to-follow advice about the viva and viva prep then check out the Viva Help Bundle of ebooks. A collection of three helpful resources, on sale for £6 until Thursday 30th November 2023. Do check it out!

Nathan

Preparing For A Video Viva

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Since 2020 video vivas have become much more common, first as a necessity and then later as an accepted part of practice. If you have one soon or are wondering whether it might be a good option for you, consider the following as a list of things you might do in preparation:

  • Read the regulations. Check which software you are expected to use and whether there are special requests to make in order to have a video viva.
  • Talk to friends. Find people from your department who have recently had a video viva and ask them what the experience was like. Find out if they have any particular advice.
  • Practise! Take time to get a feel for the software if your Zoom or Teams knowledge is a little rusty. Use the software to remind yourself of the rhythms of video chats.
  • Make a good space for yourself. If you will be at home then consider how you could make your environment a helpful one. Make sure you have enough space to work well. Consider your needs and how you can meet them.

Finally, remind yourself that a video viva is not a secondary or lesser option for the viva. It’s a proven process and just a little different from talking in person.

There can be difficulties with signal delays or adjusting to the constraints of a video chat, but also many opportunities that might make it the best option for you.

Nathan

Together

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That’s how a viva happens: you need to have your examiners there. You can’t do it alone.

Before your viva:

  • Be sure you know who your examiners are and what they have done. Checking their recent papers will be enough.
  • Rehearse for being in the viva with some kind of practice like a mock viva.
  • Check your institution’s regulations and learn about viva expectations to get a sense of the roles of your examiners, their responsibilities and your responsibilities.

You need your examiners in order to have a viva, for the discussion to take place and for your success to be confirmed.

 

PS: One more thing that will help is the Viva Help Bundle – three great resources including a book of the best of Viva Survivors, a guide to 101 actions you can take to have a great viva and a reflective writing game about the PhD journey. The Viva Help Bundle is available at a special price of £6 until November 30th 2023. Please do take a look!

Nathan

Your Questions

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The viva is a discussion but as your work and capability is being assessed most of the questions will flow from your examiners. Their questions will prompt response and the discussion that follows.

You have the opportunity to ask questions though: if there are things you want to discuss, opinions you want to check or ideas you want to explore then take the time to ask.

In preparation for the viva take some time to think about what you might ask. What opinions would you really value? What aspects of your work do you want to talk about? And as this is a limited opportunity, which questions would you prioritise asking?

Nathan

Quiet Time

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It’s probably better for many candidates to have quiet while they do practical viva preparation tasks like reading their thesis, checking notes, adding annotations and so on.

To get that quiet you might need to talk to friends and family beforehand to ensure they understand your needs. You might have to schedule specific times depending on your circumstances.

A moment of quiet can help in rehearsal as well: mock vivas and conversations could have pauses, lulls and breaks to allow you to think or check your thesis. A little quiet can go a long way.

There’ll be quiet before the viva, quiet after the viva while you’re waiting for the result – and a lot of talking in-between!

 

PS: Quiet time before the viva could be usefully spent looking through the contents of the Viva Help Bundle – available for £6 until Thursday 30th November 2023! (a saving of over 50%)

Nathan

A Lot To Do

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That’s how it can feel with viva prep and getting ready for the viva.

Things to read, things to check, people to find out about, regulations and expectations to unpick, a mock viva or conversations to prepare for and have and so much more besides!

There is a lot to do, just like the rest of your PhD – but like the rest of your PhD, viva prep doesn’t have to be done all at once.

Plan your prep, space it out, do it piece by piece.

There is a lot to do to get ready for the viva but it doesn’t have to be done all at once.

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