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Tag: viva confidence

Nathan

Preparing For The Unknown

Daily Post

Your examiners will have a plan for what they want to talk about at your viva.

This isn’t a script. They’re not asking a set list of questions like a questionnaire. They’re using pre-prepared questions and points to prompt the discussion.

You might have some expectations. Based on past experiences of talking about your work or because of your research you might think, “I’ll probably be asked about…” or “I’ll bet they want to talk about…”

It’s reasonable to have hopes or expectations, but you still won’t know until you get to your viva and it’s happening. There’s lots you can do to be prepared for the unknown though:

  • Talk to friends about their experiences.
  • Talk to your supervisors about viva expectations.
  • Reflect on your contribution to think about what examiners might want to talk about.
  • Read your thesis to remind yourself of what you’ve done.
  • Practise for the viva by talking about your work or having a mock viva.

You won’t know what questions will be asked until you get to your viva, but doing any of the above will help you feel a little more ready for whatever questions your examiners do ask.

Nathan

Hope For Excited

Daily Post

Hope is what we have when we have little leverage on the outcome.

I encourage PhD candidates to prepare for their viva rather than hope it will just all go well, because preparation leads to a better experience and a better outcome. No candidate needs to hope that they will be ready when they can act to be ready.

You might need to hope you feel excited or enthusiastic for meeting your examiners. It’s rare in my experience that candidates feel that way. I ask candidates how they feel about their viva at the start of every webinar I do and between five and ten percent say they feel excited.

At the end of a session they might say they feel better, but it’s rare that they now feel excited!

 

I know what someone can do to feel ready. I know the kinds of actions someone can take to be prepared. But I only hope that candidates feel excited. Confidence can ward against nervousness, but excitement is another thing entirely.

Maybe that’s something else I can consider in the future: how can you go from confident to excited?

Maybe if more people were excited it would be simpler to build up a positive culture around the viva.

And maybe then the viva would be something that fewer people were worried about.

Nathan

An Extra Day

Daily Post

If you had an extra day to get ready for your viva, what would you do?

Would you spend a chunk of time reading your thesis again, just in case you missed something?

Perhaps you’d feel better if you sat down and talked with your supervisor some more.

Or you could consider gathering stationery and going over your thesis pages one more time just in case you can add something helpful.

 

One more day is a lot of time and you could complete a lot of helpful work – but given everything else you’ve done during your PhD and after submission, maybe you could just take the extra day as a chance to rest?

Nathan

Steering Towards Confidence

Daily Post

To feel confident for your viva you have to do the work: you have to do the research needed, write your thesis, develop yourself and really realise what all of that means.

Confidence isn’t a destination on your PhD journey. It’s a feeling you have to find through the work that you do. Your actions lead you to feeling confident (or not) and so you have to see what works and what doesn’t. Does your confidence grow through simply doing things, like giving talks or publishing papers? Or do you need to reflect more on how you feel afterwards, perhaps carefully unpicking what happened?

Will simple things like considering what you wear and how you explain things help? Will small things like a music playlist or some other helpful placebo steer you towards feeling confident?

Confidence isn’t a destination. It’s a feeling you can find. Keep going, keep doing, keep thinking and you can steer yourself towards feeling good, both for your viva and more generally.

Nathan

Viva Prep & Getting Ready

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Viva prep starts at submission. You can do helpful tasks before then like searching for examination regulations or sketching out a prep plan, but the actual work of viva prep doesn’t start until after your thesis is submitted. Up to that point your focus has to be on finishing your thesis.

Getting ready for your viva, however, starts on day one of your PhD – or even earlier. From day one you are on a path that is helping you grow, nurturing your research and leading you to being a capable, knowledgeable researcher. Talent and expertise grow as you do the work and stay committed, helping you get closer and closer to being ready.

 

There’s prep to do after submission because the viva is a particular challenge.

Remember that you’ve been getting ready for your viva for a much, much longer time than the weeks between submission and your viva.

Nathan

Just One

Daily Post

There’s a lot to consider when you’re preparing for your viva, but getting started is easy. You need just one thing on a list and you can start to work.

Just one paper to read and reflect on.

Just one question to ponder and write about.

Just one chapter – or one page! – to annotate.

Just one hour with your supervisor or a trusted friend to have a chat.

Just one task can start the process of getting ready. There will be more to do, but you can always find a way to get started – or always find something to do that will make a difference to how prepared you are for your viva.

Nathan

Snapshots From The Journey

Daily Post

If you think back on your PhD, all the work and effort, the success and setbacks and so on, you’re not going to remember three or more years of continuous story. You’ll remember moments: events that for matter to you and stand out for some reason.

Given the challenge of research and the difficulties you might face, it’s understandable if the standout moments skew a little negatively.

With a little help you can focus on the really helpful highlights. Consider:

  • When have you noticed getting better at a task?
  • When do you remember learning something for the first time?
  • When do you remember your confidence growing?
  • At what times do you remember feeling proud?
  • When do you remember thinking “I can do this”?

You don’t have to focus on everything as you prepare for your viva. When it comes to building confidence, it will help far more to focus on the snapshots of your progress and growth.

Nathan

Legend

Daily Post

There are several ways we use the word.

Someone is a legend if they’re amazing. They have talent and are someone who has demonstrated that for a long time. For example, a postgraduate researcher when they reach thesis submission…

A legend can also be about someone or something, perhaps a story or collection of stories. Quite often this describes how the person or thing came to be great. For example, consider a PhD journey with all of its ups, downs and ultimate successes…

Less well known is using the word legend to describe the marks on a map. The legend explains the symbols of important features, which isn’t all that dissimilar to when someone looks for the highlights in their story. For example, a postgraduate researcher reflecting on their PhD journey as they prepare for their viva…

Taken together: consider the highpoints of your story so that you can appreciate your capability and how you got here.

Or perhaps: the legend of your legend makes you a legend!

Nathan

On The One Hand…

Daily Post

…your examiners are experienced, they have to ask questions, they have to challenge you and they will be prepared for your viva when they arrive.

But on the other hand, you are experienced, you have experience at responding to questions, you can rise to challenges and you can be prepared for your viva when they arrive.

Everyone at your viva is capable, ready and engaged. The viva can be a difficult challenge and you can be ready for that challenge.

Nathan

Set Prep Goals

Daily Post

It’s not enough to plan your viva prep and write read my thesis: you have to spell out what you’re trying to achieve by doing that.

Don’t just pencil in a date for your mock viva: what do you want from that experience?

And you can’t simply allocate time for checking a few papers written by your external: what do you want to know from reading them?

Plan your prep so you have an idea of how and when you’ll do the work.

Set prep goals so you have a good sense of what you’re achieving and how it will help you.

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