You Are Here

Tag: valuable interesting vague ask

Nathan

A VIVA Conversation

Daily Post

If you’re a long-term Viva Survivors reader then you might remember my acronym VIVA:

  • Valuable (to others): what might someone else find useful in your work?
  • Interesting (to you): what do you find fascinating about your work?
  • Vague (or unclear): what do you find difficult to talk about or explain?
  • Ask (your examiners): given the chance, what would you ask your examiners at the viva?

I often suggest that someone uses this tool to write a summary of a chapter or their thesis: four prompts to help think about their work in different ways.

 

It struck me recently that these prompts might be a useful way of framing a conversation with a friend or colleague ahead of the viva.

  • First, take a little time to make notes about what is Valuable and Interesting in your work. Think about how you explain it and what you want to emphasise. You’re outlining your contribution and how you came to it – something you’ll have to do for your viva.
  • Next find a good opportunity to share this with a friend or colleague. Give yourself a good time and space to do this, don’t rush and don’t overload them.
  • When you’ve shared this with your friend, first ask them what was Vague: what did they not quite get? What could have been clearer? Their response will be a helpful check for you to see how you organise your thinking and explanations.
  • After that small piece of feedback then see what they would like to Ask: what do they want to know more about? What do they think of your topic? Be open to whatever questions they ask.

A mock viva is probably the gold standard for viva rehearsal and a mini-viva with a friend could also allow for something closer to real viva practice – but a VIVA-inspired conversation could be a nice way to get you thinking about how you explain what you did and how you did it!

Nathan

Best of Viva Survivors 2021: Viva Prep

Daily Post

It’s an established tradition at Viva Survivors that I finish each year by sharing a selection of posts before the New Year. Over the coming days I’ll share long posts, short posts and posts on confidence; today we start with the important topic of viva prep. In many ways viva prep isn’t complicated, but there are lots of ways someone could get ready for their viva. Here are some ideas:

Getting ready for the viva involves doing the work – but it doesn’t have to be a burden. Sketch a plan before prep time comes, spend time with your thesis, spend time on practice and you’ll be ready.

Tomorrow: a selection of some of my favourite long posts from this year!

Nathan

Valuable, Interesting, Vague, Ask

Daily Post

Around 2013 I invented a series of prompts to help a candidate reflect on their thesis.

Through not-so-subtle phrasing I got these keywords to spell out VIVA. The tool is used to explore the contents of a thesis chapter. All of these reflections combined then create a useful summary of the thesis.

The four prompts (and associated questions) are:

  • Valuable (to others): what would someone else find valuable in this chapter?
  • Interesting (to you): what interests you about your work?
  • Vague (or unclear): what doesn’t seem clear when you read it?
  • Ask (your examiners): what questions would you like to ask in the viva given the opportunity?

I shared VIVA for years in seminars. Switching to webinars I couldn’t find the right way to share this tool in a session. I’ve felt sad about this for a year now. There are other tools, but this one really speaks to me. I’ve done some reflecting on why this is the case:

  • Valuable: as a set of prompts I think it intuitively allows a candidate to find the key ideas that are going to be useful to them, both in the prep and in the viva.
  • Interesting: for me, it was always fun to present and not mention the acronym at the start, only drawing attention to it at the end. Acronyms are fun!
  • Vague: or “unclear” – I had to add this word because vague was a little too vague at times, not as known a word as I thought.
  • Ask: I like that the tool invites and prompts questions. It is a little open-ended and allows a candidate to dig deeper and engage with the thesis and research – just like a candidate would have to do in the viva.

I would encourage every candidate to spend a little time in advance of their viva using VIVA to reflect on and analyse their thesis.

Every chapter of your thesis has something valuable in it. Everything you’ve done springs from something you found interesting. Find what’s vague so you can make it clearer in your thoughts for the viva. Consider what you might ask your examiners – and thus how you’ll play your part in the viva.

And find more thoughts on VIVA at this link!