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Nathan

Peaks & Valleys

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Viva confidence can come from reflecting on the years you’ve invested into your research and thesis. The journey has to show progress, personal growth and development and times that you’ve succeeded in your goals.

Looking back could also show you times when things didn’t work out, or when you faced setbacks. Particularly given the last few years you might remember the impact of the pandemic, both personally and professionally.

When you reflect it’s good to consider both the high points and the low. Use specific questions to unpick how a situation had an impact and what it’s lead to now.

  • A High Point: What happened? How did you come to succeed/develop/grow? Why has that contributed to your confidence now?
  • A Low Point: Why was this a difficult moment? How did you get through this? What have you done to learn from this time?

Highs and lows, peaks and valleys, whatever we call them, every journey of growth and progress has them. No plan goes unchallenged, there are always obstacles to overcome. But if you’re looking back on your PhD and getting ready for your viva, remember that you have overcome your challenges. You have done enough.

Don’t dig too deep into anything painful, but also remember that you have made it through your low points of your PhD. Keep going now and you will succeed at your viva.

Nathan

3 Kinds Of Viva Prep

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Rushed: done in a hurry in the days leading up to the viva.

Worried: done while wondering whether or not the right things are being done.

Overinvested: a LOT done, far more than needed, either through concern something will be missed or perfectionism.

Thankfully, these kinds of viva prep aren’t the only options!

You can do the combined opposite of all of these to get ready. Plan ahead so there’s no rush. Find out what you really need to do so you have no worries and use your time well. Let’s define this fourth kind of prep as…

Relaxed: done over a suitable timescale for the candidate, with clear activities and goals that lead to being ready.

Nathan

Tweaks & Nudges

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It can take a candidate some time to read their whole thesis. A mock viva is hours of prep and then the event itself. Sitting with your thesis to add notes to the margins and other annotations can also take a while.

These kinds of work are necessary. There’s no substitute for them but you can also improve your preparation – and how ready you feel – by doing little things too.

  • Write down one thing every day that you are proud of in your research.
  • Check one list or short summary that you have recorded previously.
  • Re-read a single page of your thesis that is really good.
  • Listen to one song or piece of music that helps you feel confident.

There’s a lot more you could do. Little things add up. There are big tasks you have to complete to be ready for the viva, but lots of small tasks that help too.

Nathan

Definite

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Expectations for a viva fall within ranges.

There are common lengths, probable questions and likely areas of interest. It’s not as simple as rattling off a bullet point list of what will happen. There are ranges of aspects to consider and knowing about them helps. Generally, it’s clear to see what’s involved with a viva.

It also helps to remember what is definite about your viva.

You did the work. You wrote your thesis. You developed and became a better researcher. You know who your examiners are. You can prepare for your viva.

There are ranges of expectations for a viva but a lot you can know for sure about yours. Explore and remember all you can about both areas as you get ready to meet your examiners.

Nathan

Summary & Memory

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Writing a summary of some aspect of your thesis or research before the viva can do a lot of things to help you. It forces you to focus on something, to highlight the best parts or the most difficult sections and can really support you as you fine-tune your thinking.

It’s important to also recognise that creating a summary can help your memory too. It helps embed ideas. You don’t need to memorise your thesis, or a list or a page of notes, or anything like that. Your examiners want to talk to a person and hear their research, their story and what that means. They don’t need you to recite your work to them.

The focus of writing a summary can help boost what you remember for the viva. You know enough and have done enough or you wouldn’t be working towards finishing your PhD. A little more work can help you remember what you need for meeting your examiners.

Nathan

Swallow The Frog

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What part of viva prep are you not looking forward to? What task do you wish you didn’t have to do?

An old piece of productivity advice centres on a sort-of analogy: “If your to-do list for a day included swallowing a live frog, wouldn’t you do that first to just get it out of the way?”

I.e., if swallowing a frog was the worst task you had in a day – and you had to do it – then doing it first would mean that everything else would seem easy by comparison.

When it’s time to prepare for your viva, what’s the frog in your situation? What do you have to do but not look forward to doing?

Do that part first. Get it out of the way or, if you really can’t, do something towards moving that task closer to completion. Don’t be simply frustrated. Don’t look away.

Get the frog task done and the rest of your viva prep is just work.

Nathan

Halfway

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Think back, if you need to: how far had you come when you were halfway through your PhD?

How much work had you done when you were halfway through the journey?

What did you still have to do? And what had you already learned that helped?

What have you done since then? And what are the highlights of all of these stages of your PhD?

It’s important to look back over your PhD as you prepare for your viva. Practically, it can help you to unpick the story of your research. You can check the details, when you did things, how they happened and what it means.

You can unpick the story of your confidence too.

A story of certainty in your ability, your knowledge and your results. It helps to have more than a vague awareness that you have done things. Really know your story and you’ll have a confidence that can help with any nervousness you might experience in the viva or the days before.

Nathan

The Last Review

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What will you look for when it’s the last time to look over your thesis before your viva?

  • The sections and sentences you’ve highlighted?
  • The red pen that shows the typos and changes you want to make?
  • The paragraphs that make you feel proud of what you’ve done?
  • The margins of notes you think you need?
  • Or the final pages that bring your research to a conclusion?

Or something else entirely? You have to decide where you need to give your attention. It’s probably best to steer towards the good stuff rather than remind yourself of typos. They’re there, you’ve acknowledged them, you know what you need to do.

Save your attention for what really matters.

Nathan

A Gamble

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Simply hoping you will succeed at the viva is leaving what happens up to luck. It’s not wrong to want to succeed, but you mustn’t believe that passing is only due to whether or not things just happen to work out.

Luck and hope isn’t enough. You have to act.

Do the best work you can. Write the best thesis you’re capable of. Prepare when you need to and build yourself up ready for the viva.

You’re not gambling when you take these actions. You’re not leaving things up to chance. You’re readying yourself for success.

You’re taking steps to get closer to what you want and the odds are good that you will succeed!

Nathan

Use Everything

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Do everything you can to improve your feeling of confidence for your viva. Look back at the story of your PhD and take apart all the key moments and stages to show how you have become a capable, talented researcher.

Examine your successes. Unpick the work you did, what happened as a result and what that has meant for your research and for you.

Explore your setbacks and failures. Why did things go wrong? What did you do to change your approach as a result? What did you learn from those experiences?

Estimate the amount of work you invested. How many days did you show up? How many hours? Realise that you stayed committed to your work, even when it was a challenge.

What other numbers could help you to see the scale of what you’ve done? The number of words written? Papers read? Meetings attended and talks given?

Find ways to remind yourself. Statistics help, but stories help more. Do things that help you to feel confident. Wear clothes that help you feel good. Your confidence is not only rooted in the pages of your thesis and what you did to write them.

Use every opportunity you can find to build up your confidence for the viva. There are many, many reasons to feel certain of your success. Do what you can to remind yourself of them as you get ready.

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