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Tag: viva confidence

Nathan

Two Lists For Viva Prep

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Take a sheet of paper, divide it in two.

Down the left column write down problems for your viva. Anything you can think of that you’re worried about, or tricky questions, sticky situations, little worries and fears. Anything and everything.

Now in the right column, write at least one thing you could do for each problem. Ask a friend for help, read your thesis, learn something, do something. At least one thing – you may not know the solution for a problem, but you will definitely have ideas of where to start.

Cut the sheet in half, you now have a list of problems and a list of things that might help.

Which one do you want to focus on for your viva?

(inspired by this evergreen post of wonderful advice by Seth Godin)

Nathan

Imagine That

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There’s a lot of negative possibilities that candidates imagine for their viva.

They worry they won’t be ready. They fear potential questions. They’re concerned in case something bad happens.

The viva’s important, so it’s natural to have concerns. But passing is way more likely than failing. A good viva is far more probable than a bad on. It’s far more useful to imagine all the good that could happen.

So imagine that you’re prepared. Imagine you get interesting questions. Imagine getting minor corrections. Imagine passing, smiling, breathing a sigh of relief maybe, but being done.

And remember that not everything is out of your control. What will you do to make your imaginings a reality?

Nathan

Slow & Steady

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Don’t rush preparing for your viva.

You’re busy, of course. You’re stressed, at least a little, most probably.

You only have so much time and you want to make sure you’re ready.

Start sooner rather than later. Do what you can. A little each day will help.

A little reading. A little writing. A little thinking. A little talking. A little practice each day.

It all adds up.

For viva prep, slow and steady helps you be ready.

Nathan

A Long Way From Impossible

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There’s lots about life that is difficult at the moment. Some aspects might even be practically impossible, compared to life in 2019, or even a few months ago. Thankfully, the viva isn’t one of those impossible things. There are difficult aspects to vivas, but none are impossible.

  • Knowing what to expect is not impossible. You can ask, you can explore, you can find out.
  • Knowing what to do to prepare is not impossible. It takes time – but not a lot – it could be tricky to manage if you’re social distancing and have limited space, but it can be done.
  • Knowing what to do on the day is not impossible. Ask others how they approached it, find out what’s involved with an online viva, decide how you want to approach the situation.
  • Building confidence for the viva is not impossible. Reflect on what you’ve done previously, see what you can do to remind yourself of all your talent. You must be talented to have got this far.

Some things in life will be beyond your control now. Some things will be impossible for you to do anything practical to change the situation, and that can feel really, really hard in so many ways.

Your viva is not one of those things.

Your viva, in all aspects, is a long way from impossible.

Keep going.

Nathan

Mock Viva Dos and Don’ts

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Do have a mock viva because they’re generally seen as a useful part of viva preparations, but…

  • …don’t have a mock viva if you want to go through a script.
  • …don’t have a mock viva if you’re not prepared.
  • …don’t have a mock viva and expect that your actual viva will mirror what happens in the mock.
  • …don’t have a mock viva at short notice.
  • …don’t have a mock viva without thinking about what you want to get from it.

Do have a mock viva! Rehearse the general situation of your viva – what to expect, how to respond – and most importantly, what it feels like to be in that situation.

Nathan

Certainties

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There are lots of unknowns for the viva. Lots of maybes and probables and expectations-that-should-be-true. This leaves plenty of space for doubts. What if…? Maybe if this happens…? It’s not hard to see why PhD candidates get nervous and worried in anticipation of their vivas.

Thankfully, though, there are also many certainties for your viva:

  • You did the work.
  • You must be talented.
  • You know your research.
  • You wrote your thesis.
  • You know who your examiners are.
  • You can prepare.

And while expectations are only the most likely circumstances, you can get certainty from the overwhelming number of viva stories that describe them as being fine. Not perfect, but a challenge you can rise to – by this stage, that’s certain.

Nathan

Bloopers & Highlights

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How often do you compare yourself to others?

I did this all the time during my PhD.

One office mate was determined to complete his PhD quickly. My friend at the next desk was a superstar, she had real talent. One of my best friends seemed so calm all the time. Compared to my friends, I was terrible.

What was I doing? How could I do a PhD if these people set the standard?

Of course, I only saw one side of their stories, and a distorted view of my own. Comparing “talent” and “progress” is a losing game during a PhD – if there’s even a game to be played! But so many people do it.

Is it any wonder candidates get to their viva and doubt themselves?

I spotted a really helpful YouTube video by one of the former podcast guests, Dr Pooky Knightsmith, and it resonated with me. The video is aimed at teachers comparing themselves to their colleagues, but a lot of the same ideas apply to postgraduate researchers too. Instead of comparing your bloopers – your mistakes – to your friends’ achievements, maybe try talking with them. Instead of dwelling on your slip-ups, focus on your own highlights. Think about how you can make them even higher!

Explore your highlights before your bloopers when it comes to your viva preparation.

Nathan

Day By Day

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Over the course of a full-time PhD in the UK, a candidate will probably show up on seven to eight hundred days. I can well imagine this number goes up for a part-time PhD. A candidate shows up when they come to get something done: work on their research practically, learn something, share something or write something.

They show up when they come to do something that matters.

On most days it might not feel like much. Stuck in the middle of second year, you could feel as if you’re stuck in a loop. Wake up, do work, sleep, wake up, do work, sleep, and so on. But it all helps. It adds up. Over hundreds of days, bit by bit, you build talent. Reflect on them and you can build confidence too.

You won’t have hundreds of days between submission and the viva, but this day by day perspective still helps through preparation time. Do a little every day, and build up how ready you feel. Build up your confidence day by day.

Pay attention to when you show up and confidence will follow.

Nathan

Different Approaches

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When it comes to viva prep there are lots of ways you could try to prepare.

You could read your thesis once and leave it at that.

You could read and re-read your thesis to try to remember everything.

You could obsess and try to make everything perfect.

You could do nothing and shrug your shoulders, saying “What happens, happens!”

You could worry, and hope that nothing too bad happens.

Or…

…you could learn what to expect, reasonably; you could know your thesis is not perfect, and that’s OK; you could do a little prep, making sure you have a good general awareness of your thesis and research and time to rehearse in some way; you could work on building your confidence, so that you go to your viva as sure as you can be that you will succeed.

The last approach is my favourite of course. It’s less simple than the others, but easier to do.

How are you working your way to being prepared?

Nathan

Viva Reminders

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You’re not expected to simply remember everything in your viva. Photographic recall is not a requirement, and there are lots of useful reminders you can use:

  • Use Post-it Notes to mark the start of chapters or important sections.
  • Write a list of important references.
  • Create a cheatsheet of questions you want to ask you examiners.
  • Read your thesis and write short summaries to break down your structure.
  • Make something to help you remember the important things you’ve achieved.
  • Make a jar of awesome to help you remember how good you are!

Of course, there’s a lot more you might need to remember, and a lot more ways you could help yourself remember.

So what do you need? And what will you do?

(A Final Reminder: need in this case could be because it will simply help you to feel better – that’s OK!)

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