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Tag: viva confidence

Nathan

Not Knowing

Daily Post

The more I do, the more I find I don’t know!

This sentiment was shared by a generous participant at a recent viva help webinar I ran. Before I had a chance to respond the chat was filled with thumbs up emojis, hearts and five people writing “Same!” and “Me too!”

 

A thesis takes years of work. A candidate learns and grows and develops – and discovers that there is still more they don’t know. Despite all the work. More papers. More books. More ideas. More questions and more answers to explore.

Not knowing something might feel pretty bad depending on the day or the situation. The viva is perhaps a singularly uncomfortable environment to realise you don’t know something. The weeks and months leading up to then could be pretty hard too. Knowing you have done so much and knowing that there is so much you still don’t know.

(and knowing, in some cases, that there are things you almost certainly will never know)

 

The more I do, the more I find I don’t know!

If this sounds familiar, focus on the first clause: you’re doing something. You know things. You are making something. You are finding things.

Before you focus on what you don’t know, take a long time to examine, explore and record what you know – and remember that this will be enough for your viva.

Nathan

Better Questions

Daily Post

It’s not uncommon or irrational for a PhD candidate to ask:

  • How long will my viva be?
  • What do I do if I go blank?
  • How do I get out of tricky questions?
  • Is it better to have a morning or afternoon viva?
  • How much time is given for minor corrections?

These are natural questions to have in mind. A supervisor or a friend might be able to offer advice or even a definitive answer for some of them.

These are natural questions for a candidate to ask of others, but it’s better to reflect on questions like:

  • What am I doing to get ready?
  • What makes my thesis contribution valuable?
  • What do the exam regulations say?
  • Who can help me be prepared?
  • What makes me a capable researcher?

Worry, concern and not knowing lead to questions about the viva and preparation.

There are often better questions to consider than the ones which first come to mind.

Nathan

What Comes Next

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“Good luck for your viva next week! Don’t worry, it’s not the end of the world!”

It’s not the end of the world – it’s the end of your PhD.

Perhaps, after so long spent researching and working on something, and even with the happy prospect of future plans and new horizons, a little of the worry and nervousness for the viva and the end of the PhD comes from just being worried for what comes next.

So make plans. Write lists. Draw out what you’ve done and what matters. Find some comfort at the thought of finishing something good. Reflect on what you’re carrying with you into the next stage of you.

Nerves and worry are normal as you finish anything. Nerves and worry are normal as you come to finish your PhD. It’s not the end of the world but the viva is a big part of the end of your PhD.

Nathan

Demonstrating Capability

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Assuming that you pass your viva it’s you who are the PhD, not your thesis. Your thesis is part of the mechanism for your success. Your examiners need to explore the contribution you’ve made and also examine your capability as a researcher in your field.

It might help before your viva to reflect a little on the last few years:

  • What have you learned?
  • What skills have you developed?
  • What research processes can you do now that you couldn’t when you started?
  • What makes you a good researcher?

The last question is simple to ask. The details should all be there when you look at the last few years, but it might be hard to put them into words. Take time to think about how you can demonstrate that you are a capable researcher.

What makes you good at what you do? What makes you good enough?

Nathan

Deep Down

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Nervous. Anxious. Concerned. Worried. Afraid.

If any of these words describe how you feel about your viva then you need to ask why.

They don’t all mean the same thing. Be sure of which best describes the situation, then dig into why. Why are you worried? What’s the reason for your concern? Do you know why you’re feeling this way?

Deep down there is a reason. If you feel negative about your viva, try to unpick the cause.

It’s not wrong to feel any of these things. The viva is important and important events have a way of making us feel nervous and more. If the feeling isn’t helping you to get ready then ask why, reflect and see what the reason might be.

Do you need to know something about the process?

Are you worried about something you’ve heard about vivas and aren’t sure if it’s true or not?

Do you feel concerned about your thesis or prep?

Whatever the reason, uncovering it gives you the means to start resolving that situation. Don’t just sit with the feeling. Find something you can do to shift that feeling.

Nathan

When You’re Ready

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Viva prep involves practical tasks like reading your thesis, making notes and having a mock viva, as well as building up your self-confidence for meeting your examiners.

There’s no particular checklist that every candidate must do. You figure out what steps you need to take and you do the work.

At some point before your viva – maybe the day before or the week before – you reach a point where you feel you’re ready for meeting your examiners. Whenever it is, make a note for yourself. Write down that you’re ready. Take two minutes to write why you feel that way.

Do it because a day later you might doubt yourself. On the morning of your viva you could wonder if you’re really going to be OK.

If you’ve done the work, if you’ve felt ready once and made a note then you can remind that future-you: “Yes, you’re going to be OK. You did it. You can do this.”

When you feel ready, take time to remind yourself to keep going.

Nathan

Nervous or Anxious?

Daily Post

Some candidates feel nervous because of what they did in their thesis. Is it enough?

Some people feel nervous because of what they haven’t done. Have they missed something?

Some feel nervous because of who there examiners are. Will their experience lead to tougher questions?

Some feel nervous because they don’t know what is going to happen. What if there’s a situation they can’t cope with?

And some candidates will be nervous because the viva is important and important things make people nervous!

We can quibble as to whether some of the above is nervousness or anxiety, but either way, these things won’t disappear by themselves. If you feel nervous or anxious you have to do something.

Read your thesis, review a few papers, ask about your examiners, have a mock viva, talk to friends and colleagues and do anything rather than just sit nervous or anxious. Sitting with a negative feeling like that, whatever we call it, won’t help.

What could you do to help yourself? What will you do? Go do it.

Nathan

Escape The Room

Daily Post

We’ve become a little obsessed with puzzles and escape rooms in our house. It’s odd because we’ve not actually visited a real-life one yet!

My family has been enjoying mystery and challenge programmes that involve escape rooms, as well as video games and board games that have layers of puzzles. We can’t get enough. A visit to a real world escape room is somewhere in our plans for this year.

 

I was reflecting on this yesterday and it made me think of the viva and some questions I’ve been asked in the past:

  • How can I make my viva shorter?
  • What can I do to answer questions quickly?
  • How can I steer my examiners away from topics?
  • If I write a shorter thesis does that put a limit on the length of my viva?
  • Seriously, what can I do to make my viva only an hour?!

In all of the many themes for escape rooms I wonder if anyone has done a viva-themed one?

There are lots of verbs I would associate with the viva, but escape isn’t one of them. You can’t make your viva shorter; you can make it better. You can take your time to respond well. You don’t need to give quick answers: you need to give good responses.

Your examiners can’t be steered. They have things they need to explore with you and that’s that. Work towards giving good responses. And of course, there’s no data that suggests a shorter thesis leads to a shorter viva!

Engage with your viva rather than try to escape from it. Worries about doing well are valid, but try to invest your energy in being great instead of getting away.

Nathan

Worry & Questions

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Lots of viva worries are centred around responding to questions.

  • Viva Worry 1: I’ll freeze.
  • Viva Worry 2: My examiners will ask me something difficult.
  • Viva Worry 3: I’ll get a question I can’t answer.

A deeper worry is that some combination of these will all happen at the same time.

 

These are real and human worries, particularly for a PhD candidate. Being nervous for an exam is understandable. Being worried is understandable.

You can learn to sit with nerves – they’re a recognition that something is important – but worry is something that has to be dealt with proactively.

You can work past the three viva worries above – and others – by taking action.

If you’re worried you’ll freeze then find opportunities to rehearse. Mock vivas and conversations can help you to get a rhythm for responding to questions and comments.

If you’re worried that your examiners will ask something difficult then ask your supervisor to practise with you by asking difficult questions. Take time to think and respond.

If you’re worried about questions you can’t answer then you have to  explore what the viva is really like. You might get questions you can’t answer but not every question needs an answer. You might be asked for an opinion or a theory or just your first impressions.

 

Worry doesn’t just go away. You have to work your way past it.

Nathan

Good, Not Perfect

Daily Post

Good is the standard you need to meet for your thesis and your viva.

  • You don’t need to have thought every thought.
  • You don’t need to have followed every idea.
  • You don’t need to have an answer for every question.
  • You need to write a good thesis but it could have typos despite your best efforts.
  • You need to be ready to engage with every question but that could still mean saying “I don’t know” sometimes.
  • You need to get ready for your viva but you don’t need to be perfect.

How did you get this far? By being good.

Keep doing that.

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