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Nathan

Your Thesis

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There are lots of ways you could look at your thesis at your viva.

  • Your thesis is a resource to help you respond to questions. You can annotate it beforehand to be even more useful.
  • Your thesis is a lifeline in case of emergency. If you need it you can take a moment to remind yourself of something that escapes your memory.
  • Your thesis is a contribution. It’s one focus for your examiners’ questions.
  • Your thesis is proof that you did the work. It’s one focus for you and your confidence.

Which of these matters most to you at the viva? And what will your thesis mean to you after the viva?

Nathan

Looking Forward

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I didn’t think my viva would be terrible but I also wasn’t thinking, “I can’t wait!”

Looking back 17 years, I could best describe my feelings in the days leading up as resigned.

I guess I have to do this.

I slept only a few hours the night before. At the time I couldn’t understand that sleeplessness. I had never experienced insomnia in that way. Afterwards I came to believe it was connected with not really knowing what to expect from the viva experience and not feeling like I was a good candidate.

 

It’s only recently that I’ve realised just how connected those two thoughts might be.

How can you feel like you’re a good candidate if you don’t know what to expect?

If you’ve no idea then you can’t know if you’re good enough.

 

If any of this resonates with you I think your next steps are clear.

  • Find out what to expect. There are regulations to check and people who you can ask to learn more about viva experiences.
  • Remind yourself of what you’ve done and what that means. You’ll see that your capability is more than enough to meet the requirements of the viva.

If you know what the viva is and are sure of who you are then the experience can definitely be something to look forward to.

Nathan

By Now…

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… you must be good at what you do or you wouldn’t still be doing it. You are not the person you were when you started your PhD. The things you have learned and done over the past few years put you in a good position for meeting the challenge of your viva.

It might be that you have weeks or months to go until your viva, or maybe even more, but you have time to get ready. The stage you’re at right now is a good foundation to build on. By now must recognise that you’ve made a contribution. There might be more to say or other things to do, but you can’t do everything.

Your examiners are expecting to see a good contribution made by a capable candidate. It’s helpful, to begin with, if that’s what you can see in yourself and your work.

Nathan

Talismans

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I have a paperweight on my desk.

It’s a Father’s Day present I received from my daughter a few years ago: a small white stone with a leaf and branch design on one side and the words “Special Dad” on the other.

It has absolutely nothing to do with my work, the viva or any practical element of me doing what I do.

And yet I can’t deliver a webinar if it’s not on my desk in front of me. I can’t feel comfortable talking to people through the little camera in my monitor if I don’t have it there.

It’s not magic but it is a little charm, a talisman, that helps me focus. It helps me get things done. It adds some element of support for what I need to do. It’s a reminder of what I’ve done in the past and what that means.

 

You’ve done a lot of work by the time you get to your viva. You don’t need magic when you are capable. When you’ve done the work, written your thesis and prepared for your viva you don’t need a talisman or a charm or some other kind of boost.

And yet you’ll probably feel better for having one.

What will yours be? What can you find that will just encourage you, remind you and help you to believe that you are as good as you think and as ready as you can be?

You can’t have my paperweight! So what will help you?

Nathan

Viva Survivor this Wednesday

Event, Update

In brief: Registration closes tomorrow at 5pm for my Viva Survivor session this Wednesday morning, 25th June 2025. Take a look now if you’re looking for help getting ready for your viva!

 

Slightly more details: If you want to know what to expect, what to do, how to get ready and how to build confidence for your viva then take a look at my upcoming Viva Survivor session this Wednesday 25th June 2025.

For three hours on Zoom you’ll get direct help from me in a live session I have shared with over 8000 PhD candidates. We have a packed schedule, plenty of time to take questions and I’ll be sending you great follow-up resources including some of my publications afterwards. All this and access to a catch-up recording for four weeks!

I love sharing Viva Survivor. I’ve spent more time sharing this session than anything else in my work since my PhD. I’ve now delivered it more than 400 times for universities and doctoral training groups all over the UK.

There are lots of free resources on this site that can help you get a sense of what to expect and what to do for your viva. Start there, but if you’re looking for more then please take a look at the registration page for Viva Survivor this Wednesday. If you have any questions about the session please get in touch and do pass this on to anyone who might be looking for viva help.

One last time: Viva Survivor session this Wednesday 25th June 2025! Registration closes tomorrow, Tuesday 24th June, at 5pm.

Thank you for reading 🙂

Nathan

You Can Have It All

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You don’t get to choose or refuse questions. You don’t decide how long your viva will be. You can’t arrange the tables just so. You don’t technically get to choose your examiners.

You can’t dismiss a rule or regulation that sounds unfair. You can’t say no to corrections. You can’t change the scope or the process. You can’t decide when it’s over.

All of the above are true, but what do they matter?

You can succeed like most candidates do.

You can do the work before and during the viva. You can show up ready. You can focus on the expectations that make a difference and leave aside all of the above.

You can have everything that does matter by checking a few things out, asking the right questions and preparing. Do what you need to and you can have it all at the viva.

Nathan

Magic Numbers

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Some magic numbers can help stir up your confidence for meeting your examiners.

  • How many papers and books have you read for your PhD?
  • How many days have you showed up to work even if you didn’t feel like it?
  • How many words have you written? (if your answer is the number in your thesis then remember you’ve edited away many more)
  • How many times have you presented your work?
  • How many deep conversations have you had?

The numbers you might put forward for these aren’t magic in a fantastical sense. They can still do something extraordinary.

The effect they produce is to remind you as you prepare for your viva: you are not at the beginning of your research journey. You are dedicated, capable and successful.

Nathan

Anxious to Action

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Concern, anxiety and worry about the viva won’t resolve themselves. It’s not wrong to feel any of these but it’s not good for you to go to your viva with them if you can help it.

You need to do something.

You could ask for help. You could explore a website with thousands of posts about the viva. You could reflect and think about what’s at the root of the problem.

Ultimately you have to do something. Ask, explore, think and then act.

Action can help you move away from anxiety.

Nathan

Ideas Need Work

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“What a good idea!”

It’s very rare that an idea is enough. It takes work to develop, to implement, to unpick, to understand and for it to have an impact.

You will have had many good ideas throughout your PhD. However they’ve made their way into your thesis, they needed effort to come to life. They needed your work to make an impact.

Whatever is in your thesis, it took work to write, work to edit, work to figure out how to express it.

Your work.

There are great ideas that exist because of the work you did. When you go to your viva there’s a lot to talk about. Remember that the reason it’s there is because you took the time and the effort to do it.

Your thesis is proof of your contribution and evidence of your capability as a researcher.

 

PS: today’s post aims at boosting confidence by reflecting on your PhD and the work you did. If you’re looking for more ways to boost your confidence and get ready for the viva then check out Viva Survivors Select 03, The Preparation Issue, which came out yesterday and is available now at this link!

Nathan

Less Than Perfect…

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…but you don’t need perfect to succeed in your PhD or at the viva.

  • You need to have worked to produce research.
  • You need to be a capable researcher.
  • You need to have written a good thesis (and submitted it!).
  • You need prepare for your viva after submission.
  • You need to engage with your examiners and the discussion at the viva.

None of these are trivial but none of them requires perfection.

You don’t need perfection to pass your viva.

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