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Tag: responding to questions

Nathan

Three Simple Words

Daily Post, Sabbatical

Are you prepared to say “I don’t know” in your viva?

There’s only so much information, knowledge and talent you can build up before your viva. You’ll have enough, but you might not have everything. Perfection isn’t required: but do you feel comfortable enough saying “I don’t know” so that you aren’t worried if you do need to say it?

To help build that comfort, and the confidence that goes with it:

  • Make opportunities where you can be asked real, relevant questions for your research, thesis and competence. You can’t predict in advance what questions you will be asked in the viva, or what questions will prompt a response of “I don’t know”. The more times you practise being in a similar situation to the viva, the more experience you will have and the better you will feel.
  • Review your work to convince yourself of how much you do know. You don’t know everything, but you know a lot. It would be impossible to write an exhaustive list of everything you don’t know, but you can reassure yourself that you have a good knowledge base.
  • Learn about viva expectations. Examiners could ask questions to which you can only respond “I don’t know” but they don’t do it out of malice or some attempt to belittle you or your work. They don’t ask unreasonable questions.

I don’t know what you might have to say “I don’t know” to. You can’t know that in advance either. But you can know that it is OK.

These three simple words don’t have to define you, your viva performance or how you feel going into the viva.

 

Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: I’m taking July, August and September off from new writing to concentrate on other creative projects, so will be sharing a post from the archives every day throughout those months. Today’s post was originally published on September 21st 2020.

Nathan

Doing Better

Daily Post, Sabbatical

If an examiner asks, “How would you improve your research?” they’re not trying to trick you. There’s no trap in a question like, “What would you change?”

These are honest, simple questions to get you exploring the topic of what you’ve learned through your PhD journey. They might seem like questions that could only lead to more work, but they’re looking for evidence of your commitment to learning and developing, rather than a commitment to doing more for your PhD and your thesis.

You did a lot. Now you can do better.

 

Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: I’m taking July, August and September off from new writing to concentrate on other creative projects, so will be sharing a post from the archives every day throughout those months. Today’s post was originally published on June 7th 2021.

Nathan

Good Answers

Daily Post, Sabbatical

Good answers don’t just appear on the day.

Good answers to your examiners’ questions happen because you’ve done the work.

Good answers happen because you know things.

Good answers happen because you’re talented.

I think great answers in the viva come when you give yourself a few extra seconds to think…

…what else do I know?

…is that the best thing to start with?

…what did I say in my thesis?

…what did I do like this in my research?

A few seconds can make good into great, but don’t stress.

Good is enough.

 

Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: I’m taking July, August and September off from new writing to concentrate on other creative projects, so will be sharing a post from the archives every day throughout those months. Today’s post was originally published on July 14th 2018.

Nathan

The Questions You Want

Daily Post, Sabbatical

Take ten minutes to write down any questions you really want your examiners to ask.

Take twenty minutes to write down keywords for each question to capture ideas of what you might say in response.

Take thirty minutes to sit, think and maybe write about what this is telling you.

 

It’s common for PhD candidates to have a sense of questions they don’t want to be asked in the viva.

Flip that feeling. What do you want to be asked?

Or, perhaps when you reflect, what do you want to share with your examiners? What would you say? And what does that mean?

 

Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: I’m taking July, August and September off from new writing to concentrate on other creative projects, so will be sharing a post from the archives every day throughout those months. Today’s post was originally published on September 24th 2023.

Nathan

I Don’t Know

Daily Post, Sabbatical

“I don’t know” is not the end of the viva. It’s not a stain against your name. It doesn’t mean that you automatically lose.

It means you didn’t know something.

If you don’t have information, what do you have? I can think of a few possibilities:

  • Probably a question for yourself: you don’t know a definite answer, but what possibilities are there?
  • Probably a question or two for your examiners: can you tell me more?
  • Definitely a brain, and experience: given the question, given everything you do know, what does that lead you to think?

I don’t know is not the end of the viva. It could be the end of a strand of conversation. Or it could be an opportunity to show how you can think, and engage, discuss and decide. You can give an opinion. YOU can reason things out. I’ll say it again: You’re not here by accident.

 

Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: I’m taking July, August and September off from new writing to concentrate on other creative projects, so will be sharing a post from the archives every day throughout those months. Today’s post was originally published on May 19th 2017.

Nathan

How To Answer Difficult Questions

Daily Post, Sabbatical

In some cases, you won’t be able to.

The viva is not a question and answer session or a quiz. Some questions won’t have memorisable facts that you can serve up to your examiners; instead, you will have to offer another contribution, a response – a detail, an opinion, an argument, a feeling, a hunch, a question – in order to keep the discussion moving forward.

Your response may not be the entirety of everything you want to say. It may be that you have to pause and reflect first, make notes, stand up and draw something, or ask for clarification.

You may not be able to answer a question, but after a little thought you will always be able to respond.

If the question is difficult, then you owe it to yourself to think a little more, pause a little longer, take a little more care, even ask for a little more, so that you can respond as best as you possibly can. That response could be an answer (truth, or an argument with a lot of evidence), but it could be something else that is just as much what your examiners could be looking for.

Every question, not just the difficult ones, deserves a little time, a little space, a little thought in order for you to give your best response.

 

Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: I’m taking July, August and September off from new writing to concentrate on other creative projects, so will be sharing a post from the archives every day throughout those months. Today’s post was originally published on January 5th 2021.

Nathan

A Non-Trivial Pursuit

Daily Post, Sabbatical

Viva candidates pretty much have all the answers. That’s not because the viva is easy or the questions are predictable or because candidates can somehow prepare for every possibility. The viva’s not a quiz game.

Some questions in the viva might be trivial in the sense that they are easy for you to answer. The fact that something seems easy to you doesn’t diminish it in any way.

The viva generally is non-trivial. It’s not a game. Any ease you might feel with questions is down to your hard-earned talent.

 

Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: I’m taking July, August and September off from new writing to concentrate on other creative projects, so will be sharing a post from the archives every day throughout those months. Today’s post was originally published on July 2nd 2018.

Nathan

Say More

Daily Post

Two words to keep in mind for your viva.

If your examiners want more from you in response to one of their questions then they will ask for it.

If you want to say more about a topic because it’s interesting or fun or difficult then you can offer it.

You don’t need to talk for the sake of it though. Any question or comment in your viva is inviting the best response you can give in that moment. Not the longest. Not the wordiest. Just the best you can do.

Say more or say less. Give your best.

 

PS: the Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical starts on Monday! A daily post from the archives all through the summer while I take a creative break after seven years of Viva Survivors 🙂

Nathan

Connect The Dots

Daily Post

If everything is in your thesis then what are your examiners asking about?

Questions in the viva are asked for a range of reasons.

Sometimes it’s to dig deeper into a topic. Sometimes examiners need to understand something that isn’t clear to them. A question might not be about the thesis at all, instead looking to explore a candidate’s skillset, knowledge base or way of thinking.

And sometimes a question is a means to explore and get the candidate to explore. Can they connect the dots between ideas? Can they show what they think would happen? Can they combine their ideas with something new?

Whatever the question in your viva: pause, think and respond. Be clear. Take your time. Connect the dots so that your examiners can be confident in awarding you your PhD.

 

PS: the Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical starts on Monday! A daily post from the archives all through the summer while I take a creative break after seven years of Viva Survivors 🙂

Nathan

In The Frame

Daily Post

Pause, think, respond.

That’s how you engage with a question or comment in the viva. You pause in order to think and you think in order to respond well.

Pause and Think: Are your examiners clear with their question? Do you know what they are asking or needing you to speak about?

Think and Respond: Be calm and clear as you respond. Are you responding to their question or comment directly? If not, how are you reframing that?

If you can’t respond directly to a question then you need to think about how you can still engage with it. “I don’t know” and exploring why you don’t know is a good response. Trying to steer away and talk about something different is a bad response.

Pause and think to fully understand how a question or comment is framed. Think then frame your response well so your examiners can clearly understand you.

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