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Tag: responding to questions

Nathan

Range of Responses

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At the viva you’re expected to engage with the discussion that your examiners facilitate. This means giving responses to their questions and comments, where responses are:

  • Answers, which have a degree of certainty;
  • Opinions, which have a degree of uncertainty;
  • Ideas that you might only be unpicking for the first time;
  • Feelings and hunches which can be expressed as such;
  • Questions that ask for more information;
  • Qualified “I don’t know” statements where you explain why you don’t know.

You don’t need to have an answer for everything. You don’t need to know everything. You do need to be prepared to engage with the discussion.

Make sure you take time to rehearse for your viva and be ready for the range of responses you might give.

Nathan

Clarify & Respond

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Could you repeat that please?

Can I just check…?

Before I respond, can I confirm that you…?

At the viva you need to make sure you’re comfortable with the question you’re trying to respond to.

Clarifying isn’t evasion: you’re not trying to dodge a question but be sure.

You’re not using up time as there’s no time limit: you have as long as you need to respond as well as you can.

Clarify the questions you need to so that you can give the best responses to your examiners.

Nathan

Proto-Questions

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Some PhD candidates think that the way to be ready for the viva is to consider as many questions as possible: list them, think about them, maybe make some notes. But there are just so many questions that someone could be asked. Too many to consider all of the reasonable questions that might occur!

  • Why…? How…? What…?
  • When…? Where…? Who…?
  • And let’s throw in “Which…?” for good measure.
  • And “Why did you…?” and “How did you…?”

These nine little phrases are the beginnings of many questions. Each one could connect with your general research area and your particular PhD research topics in countless ways.

 

Rather than make notes for 1001 specific questions – or even keywords to help with the proto-questions above – simply make the time to find opportunities to rehearse for your viva.

Don’t focus on the mass of possibilities you could face at the viva. Face up to any concerns by practising responding to relevant questions and build your confidence at doing well in the discussion your examiners will prompt.

 

PS: Find more viva help in the latest collection of Viva Survivors Select, The Contribution Issue, newly released this week. Don’t make notes for 1001 questions but do consider how you would explain what your contribution means to your examiners.

Nathan

Listening Back

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“Is it a good idea to record my mock viva?”

I’ve been asked this a lot. I’m not sure it is a good idea.

Rather than simply say no, I always ask a question in response: “What would a recording give you that you really need?”

The experience of a mock viva and maybe a chat with your supervisor afterwards will probably be enough. A mock isn’t about perfecting answers but building confidence in how you respond.

Would listening back to a recording help with that?

I’m not sure it would, but if it sounds good to you then go for it.

Like a lot of viva prep, ask for advice and think for yourself. Make sure you meet your needs.

Nathan

Known & Unknown Questions

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It’s likely that you’re very aware of many questions you’ve been asked in the past:

  • Questions about why you’ve done the research you’ve done;
  • Questions about how you’ve done your research;
  • Questions asked because people don’t know what you know;
  • Questions asked for greater clarity from you;
  • Questions that help unpick what you’ve done;
  • Questions that show the limits or problems of your research.

And, I’m sure, a lot more besides.

It’ll help you to think about these past questions as you prepare for your viva. If any of these questions have been asked several times during your PhD it’s worth thinking about why that is. Perhaps you’ve addressed the question now in your thesis but it’s still worth thinking through. Perhaps some questions are natural consequences of what you’ve done before.

You can be aware of the many questions you’ve been asked in the past. You don’t have to have an answer for all of them though – and you don’t need to worry about the many possible unknown questions you could be asked at your viva.

Or rather, you might worry but you can do more than that.

For example, you can:

  • Read your thesis in preparation;
  • Consider your past questions and think again about how you’ve responded before;
  • Create summaries that help you to focus on what matters in your research;
  • Rehearse for the viva to give you opportunities to think and respond in the moment;
  • Make opportunities to tell others about what you’ve done;
  • Find out more to know the general expectations for viva questions.

You can’t prepare to answer every possible question at the viva by having a big list and thinking about them all – but you can be ready to respond to any possible question that comes up even if it is an unknown.

Nathan

Problems Are Opportunities

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Problems are only opportunities in work clothes.

I first came across this assertion many years ago when I first learned about creative thinking approaches. It’s fairly natural to be repelled by problems and think they’re only obstacles. Another perspective is to consider a problem as something to be worked at; it’s a more positive way of looking at things.

Any hint of a problem in your research, particularly around viva time, can be intimidating. There’s already enough in the viva situation to make a person nervous. A problem could go further and lead to stress – but if you shift your focus a little maybe there’s a better way to look at things.

A problem in your research or thesis could be an opportunity to make progress. It could be an opportunity to show what you know and what you can do. A difficult question at the viva might feel like a big problem, but it’s also a big opportunity to work and demonstrate the same knowledge, capability and determination you’ve shown in the past.

Research problems and viva problems can be opportunities for you to do more good work.

Nathan

120 Words

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I was going through my files in the last few months and found the speech I gave at my sister’s wedding. When I gave the speech I was nervous but I also had a fair amount of experience with speaking in public so it wasn’t too bad. I got some laughs, I encouraged a few heartfelt tears and I didn’t take too long.

To help with the latter I researched a typical speaking speed: the low end estimate is 120 words per minute. If I didn’t want to speak for more than five minutes, I had to say everything I needed in 600 words, give or take. That was my guideline as I drafted and redrafted.

Now, at the viva you’re not required to give a response within a time or word limit, but thinking a little about them in preparation can help you shape your responses:

  • If you write a short 120 word summary over a handful of sentences then you know that’s about a minute of speech.
  • If you write ten keywords then that can help jog some thoughts.
  • If you write a full page you know that’s a lot to say.

You don’t want to take notes and prompts to the viva – although you might want to consider annotating your thesis to mark things out usefully – but you can make a variety of summaries and prompts in advance to help you think through how you talk about things generally.

Adding this to rehearsal can give you a lot of practice at shaping and sharing your thoughts. You’re not limited to 120 words – but maybe considering a range of options can help you find what feels right for you.

Nathan

Pause Or Stop?

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Pause after submission.

Take a small break from your thesis, your research and the daily work of your PhD – but don’t stop believing that you are on track, you are capable and you have made a difference through your contribution to knowledge.

 

Pause in the viva when you’re asked a question.

You don’t need to speak immediately: pause and think before you respond – but don’t stop doing your absolute best to share what you did, what you can do and what you know.

Nathan

All The Questions

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Simple questions aren’t necessarily easy to respond to at the viva. They can be simple because you understand them with no trouble, because they’re short or because they’re expected. You might still have a lot to say.

Complex questions might not be hard. A question with lots of points could be straightforward because of how much experience you have with that topic.

An easy question is just easy. A small question. A clarification. A detail.

A hard question is hard. Opinions. First thoughts. Unknown or unexpected. Not impossible though; asked because it needs to be asked for some reason, never to haze, harass or harm.

Difficult questions are common at the viva. Consider the level you work at. Consider the standard of your significant and original contribution to research. Consider the nerves you might feel and the outcome you’re working towards.

Difficult questions account for a lot of questions at the viva – but you have a lot of experience with difficult work.

 

All the questions you’ll get at your viva are unconfirmed until you hear them. You can have expectations and good guesses but you won’t know until you’re there.

Rather than worry, do the work: rehearse and find a way to engage with any question you’re asked. Don’t just hope you get easy or simple questions. Acknowledge the reality of all the questions you’ll be receiving on your viva day.

Nathan

Excuses & Reasons

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When you explain why something didn’t work out in your research are you making excuses or sharing reasons?

They’re more or less the same in the context of justifying why or how you did (or didn’t do) something. The difference is what those words mean for you.

They make a difference at the viva too in terms of how your examiners hear your explanations.

Listing excuses will not help you. Finding reasons will help convince.

You’ll convince yourself first of all that you did the work and did it well enough. That will help you find the words to convince your examiners.

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