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Tag: viva confidence

Nathan

Both

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The viva is a challenge. The majority of candidates pass.

Candidates are talented because of the time and work spent on their PhDs. Candidates need to take time after submission to prepare for the viva.

Most candidates are nervous. Most candidates feel confident.

 

Challenging but passing. Talented but taking the time to get ready. Nervous and confident.

We have to accept these strange dualities; often, with these seemingly contradictory states and feelings about the viva, it’s the case that both are true.

Nathan

Who Did It?

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I often encourage PhD candidates to reflect on Why, How and What:

  • Why did you do this research?
  • How did you do it?
  • What was the result?

These three questions are useful for breaking down the thesis contribution. They could be a good way to build up a summary. They’re a nice reminder that your thesis has something valuable.

But don’t forget Who:

  • Who did it?
  • Who kept going?
  • Who got more capable, more knowledgeable?

Your thesis has a significant original contribution. It’s only there because you did the work. You persisted, despite any pressures or setback – you made it happen. You became more talented along the way.

So: who is going to pass their viva?

Nathan

Candidate or Thesis

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A fairly common question about the viva, asked by someone who has to pass one in their near future, is whether or not it’s an exam of the candidate or their thesis.

“Is it me or my book?” – and the answer is both.

  • The candidate is being examined to see if they are a capable researcher; have they done enough? Do they know enough?
  • The thesis is being examined to see if it has what it needs; does it meet expectations? Does it have everything that a thesis in that field is supposed to have?

The candidate wrote the thesis, but on the day both have to be good.

Both typically are.

Nathan

5 Random Posts

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Last year, with the help of a plugin, I made a little link that diverts to a random post every time it is used: www.viva-survivors.com/randpost/

I use it to find old posts to read. I look for little thoughts I might want to explore more. Occasionally I remind myself, “Oh wow, I wrote that! That’s pretty bad/good/silly/weird…”

Here are five random posts and five thoughts from them that seemed worth sharing:

  1. You Can’t Do Everything: “You can’t do everything [to get ready], but everything you do will help you.”
  2. Riddles: “…if a question in the viva might feel like a riddle or a challenge, remember it might not have a single right answer. In some cases it will have only the best response you can give.”
  3. Blinkered: “Don’t expect your examiners to know more than you, but don’t expect that you know every possible question or idea either.”
  4. “How Can I Help?”: “You don’t need to have had your viva to help someone else with theirs.”
  5. No Rush: “There’s no rush necessary in your viva preparations or in the viva UNLESS you make it that way.”

Each of those posts is more than a one-liner. And there’s 1600 more to find by using the random post link: www.viva-survivors.com/randpost/

Maybe you’ll find just what you’re looking for.

Nathan

Nervous & Excited

Daily Post

If you feel nervous about your viva then you’re reacting to the importance of the event. In anticipation you feel that you want everything to go well and that’s the nerves you feel.

If you feel excited about your viva then you’re also reacting to the importance of the event. You feel more certainty than a nervous person perhaps, and can’t wait for the viva to go well.

Feeling nervous isn’t wrong. Feeling excited isn’t wrong. Neither are end states. They change and can be made to change. Feelings can help to prompt your action.

Feeling nervous for the viva? What do you need to do to help (as nerves aren’t always comfortable)?

Feeling excited for the viva? What do you need to do to maintain your good feelings (as they might still need encouragement)?

How do you feel? So what do you need to do?

Nathan

Whatever Works

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Good day socks.

A playlist that helps you feel happy.

A lucky teddy.

Three cups of coffee.

Dancing around.

A Post-it Note of encouragement.

An outfit that just feels right.

There’s practical must-do tasks that help candidates get ready for the viva – reading, checking, making notes, practising – and then there are the rituals, warm-ups, placebos and boosts that you just need. There’s no right or wrong, it’s not silly, it’s not weird: it’s what you need to feel right.

Whatever works, works. Use whatever you need to help you feel ready.

Nathan

When Are You Ready?

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You can’t be ready for your viva until you’ve at least submitted your thesis.

You need to have spent some time doing various viva prep tasks.

To be ready you have to feel some amount of confidence for the viva.

To be ready you have to have some idea of what to expect.

Ready isn’t an irreversible state: you have to maintain it.

Once you do feel ready, consider: what could you do to hold that feeling? What can you do to keep feeling confident?

Nathan

Opportunities To Practise

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A key step of viva preparation is investing a little time to practise. A mock viva could be a great rehearsal for the real thing, but it’s not the only option.

  • Simply talk. Sit down over coffee, over video if you need to, and just tell someone about your work. Invite their questions. Ask them to prompt you if you’re not being clear.
  • Give a talk. Invite colleagues to listen. Use a few slides but only to help frame your thesis and research. Don’t talk for long; use the time to get into conversations.
  • Have a mini-viva. There are thousands of possible conversations that this resource could prompt. One or two might give you useful practise.

There are reasons why mock vivas are generally valued as a part of viva prep. They’re supposed to help you explore what it would be like to be in the viva. More fundamentally though, you need practise at responding to questions; taking the time to think and feeling comfortable doing so.

So what opportunities will you make for yourself?

Nathan

The Wrong Thing

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I can’t imagine what someone could say in the viva, without going to flippant extremes, that would be so wrong as to lead to a terrible outcome.

Wrong couldn’t be saying too little or too much; your examiners will help steer the conversation.

Wrong couldn’t simply be factual error – your examiners would rather check details than simply let an inaccuracy through.

Wrong couldn’t be the result of nerves: your examiners are human and would understand. They’d give you space to get past nerves.

Wrong couldn’t be simply saying “I don’t know” – that wouldn’t be wrong, that would just be not knowing something.

It would be wrong to be arrogant, it would be wrong to pick a fight, it would be wrong to assume that you know what’s what for everything connected to the viva!

But would you do that?

If you are worried, consider what you could do to lessen those worries. If you’re nervous, explore how to build your confidence.

And if you’re still worried about being wrong, remember that it’s far more likely that you would say the right thing than the wrong in your viva.

Nathan

A Few Thoughts on Survive

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After many years of working in this area I still think survive is the best verb to associate with the viva.

Manage to keep going in difficult circumstances.

Survive doesn’t mean it’s going to be a struggle, but it doesn’t mean it won’t be hard.

Difficult is different for everyone. Manage might be harder or easier. Survive doesn’t come automatically.

The difficulty of the viva might be found in different things for different people.

Survive doesn’t mean you might not thrive in the viva. Survive doesn’t mean you will be scarred by the experience. Survive has a positive aspect for you: whatever the difficulty, whatever you did, you kept going.

Surviving doesn’t automatically mean the circumstances were bad. They were difficult. They were a challenge.

Not so great that you could not keep going.

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