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Tag: viva confidence

Nathan

The Parts of Ready

Daily Post

You need to read your thesis, write some notes, rehearse for the viva and so on. You need to prepare for your viva, but preparation is only a part of getting ready.

You need to build your confidence for the viva; that can be based partly on your practical preparations, but is also done by reflecting on your progress, your success and your talent.

You also need to rest. You need to recharge. You need to relax. Making time to read and reflect can already feel tricky, but you still need a break too. You need time to just be yourself.

Plan your prep. Build your confidence. Rest and recharge.

Nathan

Vision For Your Viva

Daily Post

Recently I was preparing for a talk and reflecting about the idea of “having a vision” for what someone does. My vision for this blog is:

To help all PhD candidates see the viva is a great big manageable challenge!

That’s the purpose, the goal, the reason I keep doing this. After nearly five years I’ve shared a lot – but there’s more to say. I sit down regularly and write because there’s more people to help. That’s why I do what I do. My vision statement helps remind and reinforce the why that I work towards.

Having a vision can help in so many ways. It can help keep you going, help you make decisions, help remind you of why you’re doing what you’re doing.

What’s your vision for your PhD? What’s your vision of your viva like? Reflect on how clear your vision is and think about how it aligns with what you’re doing. Then explore how you can steer yourself more towards your vision. What can you do to make that your reality?

Nathan

Use Your Opportunities

Daily Post

The viva is a discussion driven by questions from your examiners. Every question is an opportunity for you to share your work and show your capability.

Every question is an opportunity for you to demonstrate what you did, what you know or what you can do. Every question is a step closer to finishing and passing.

If any question causes you to stumble, to freeze, to forget, then you’ll be alright. Another opportunity will present itself.

Every question is an opportunity in the viva, but there will be far fewer questions and opportunities than those you’ve already answered, responded to or made the most of on your PhD journey. The viva itself is one more opportunity to learn, grow, develop and show your ability as a researcher.

So make the most of it.

Nathan

There’s No Trick To Viva Prep

Daily Post

Make a little plan for the weeks leading up to your viva. It has to include reading your thesis, annotating it usefully, writing some summaries, reading important papers and rehearsing for talking with your examiners.

Do the work in a way that doesn’t overstretch or over-stress you. Record your progress to confirm for yourself that you’re getting ready.

And that’s it. There’s no trick, just you doing the work.

Or maybe, if there is magic, it’s all you.

Nathan

It’s Not Wrong To Be Nervous

Daily Post

Feeling nervous means you recognise that something is important. Humans feel nervous about all sorts of things, from weddings to wars, because they recognise that what is happening matters. They might be deeply involved or a bystander: if the outcome is important and they’re paying any attention then they might feel nervous.

Your viva is important. You, of course, are deeply involved. The outcome matters. Of course you might feel nervous, and if you do there is nothing wrong.

If you feel uncomfortable as a result then that’s not great, but that’s not the end of the story. You can talk to others to get help and put your feelings in perspective. You can reflect and help yourself to get things sorted out. You can work to build your confidence.

It’s not wrong to be nervous, but it might not be comfortable. If feeling nervous isn’t helping you then consider what else you can do to change how you feel.

Nathan

Not To Plan

Daily Post

Over the last two years of your PhD journey I can imagine that there’s a lot that hasn’t gone according to plan.

That’s always the way with a PhD. You prepare and you think and you plan and then you work. As you work things change, for one reason or another – sometimes even in positive ways – but never quite according to plan.

But in these last two years things might not have gone to plan for some fairly big, world-changing reasons. Your research and the course of your PhD might have shifted a lot because of the pandemic. Access to supervisors, materials, resources and even your department might have been restricted. Day-to-day life might, at times, have been disrupted to the point where you just had to stop your research or change course completely.

While life continues to move ever on, and hopefully in a positive direction, the shadow of the last two years might fall over your thesis and your viva. Missed opportunities. Projects halted. Plans changed. Now you have to present your thesis and defend it.

If at times this worries you then remember: your examiners lived through this time too. They know what has happened. They know what an impact it could have on your work. They will understand.

As you prepare, reflect on the changes to your plans. How have your plans changed? What would you have hoped for from your original plans? What do the changes really mean for your thesis?

Importantly, do what you can to remind yourself that despite all of the changes and problems you still did the work. You have still done something that matters. It’s different to what you had planned but it’s still enough.

Nathan

Viva Feelings

Daily Post

You can feel happy about your viva or sad.

You might feel ready to get started or nervous about what your examiners might ask.

You might feel certain of what you’ve done or unsure about work from several years ago.

There’s many things you might feel about your viva. How you feel could change with each day. The viva isn’t the most important thing you will ever do but it does matter.

As you get closer to your viva, if you find yourself feeling a strong emotion – good or bad – take a moment to ask yourself why. Take a moment to reflect on what it means. Take a moment to think about what you could do as a result.

Your feelings about the viva aren’t static, but you can’t simply change them. You can steer how you feel though.

How do you feel? What do you need to do?

Nathan

Stacked Up

Daily Post

My daughter loves reading but hates tidying.

Consequently our living room builds up towers of books and ad hoc bookcases that lean against table ends. About once a fortnight something collapses, usually when just one more book has been added to an arrangement. Just one more book was just enough for the whole thing to give way.

As parents we encourage simplicity, putting things away, keeping what you need, tidying up what she’s finished with. She’s eight. She’ll get there.

(I hope!)

Viva prep isn’t that different, or at least how I’ve seen a lot of good candidates approach the work. They see “Just so much to do!” and think “How will I stack that up with what I already need to do?!”

It’s really not that much work. Starting with something simple helps.

Start by thinking about what you need to do to get ready. Start by listening to friends and colleagues about what they did. Start by making a little plan. Start by realising that you don’t have to stack all the work up: if you think ahead you can take your time. You can do the work in a way that works for you.

Then neither your viva prep nor your life will come crashing down around you.

Nathan

Use Your Time

Daily Post

You don’t know how much time you’ll have in your viva. However long it is, it’s not worth stressing or obsessing. The best thing you can do is use the time that you have well.

Use your time to listen, pause and collect your thoughts.

Use your time to make notes if that will help.

Use your time to ask questions to clarify an examiner’s line of thinking.

Use your time to take a break.

Use your time to engage with the discussion, respond to questions and share your research.

Don’t focus on how long or short your viva might be. Instead, focus on how you can make the most of the opportunities you have in the viva.

Nathan

Don’t Deny Nerves

Daily Post

If you feel nervous about your viva there is a reason. Don’t try to put it to one side or squash it down, because that feeling is trying to draw your attention to something.

  • If you feel nervous because you don’t feel ready, then take time to prepare for your viva.
  • If you feel nervous because of something that doesn’t seem right in your thesis, then talk to your supervisor and figure things out.
  • If you feel nervous because you don’t know what to expect then find out more!

And if you just feel nervous but can’t put your finger on why then most likely you are recognising that the viva is important. This matters to you. Still, don’t push away your nerves, but instead focus on building your confidence, a counter-feeling that will help bring your nervousness into perspective.

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