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Nathan

The Original

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What makes your work new?

What makes your conclusions different?

How have you developed what’s been done before?

Why wasn’t your research done before now?

How do you demonstrate originality in your thesis?

How else could you or someone else do something different with your work?

 

Some of the questions above might not be relevant to you and your viva depending on your research field, your particular topic and your thesis. It might be that only a few questions resonate – or perhaps one reminds you of a more targeted question you need to consider.

Your examiners will have specific questions too; it might be impossible to predict the exact wording but within the meaning they will be giving you an opportunity to respond: what makes your work new?

 

PS: If you’re looking for more help on how to engage with questions at the viva then check out Viva Survivors Select 15, The Questions Issue, which came out yesterday.  If you like the blog, want more help and want to support what I do then please take a look. There’s twenty curated posts from the blog plus original content to help you get ready for the viva’s questions – and some nice art by me too!

Nathan

Making A Choice

Daily Post

You don’t get to simply choose your examiners. You don’t get to choose what questions they will ask at your viva. You don’t get to choose whether or not you feel nervous on your viva day.

You can choose how you get ready for your viva though. You can choose the attitude that you show up with to your prep and your viva day. You can choose to steer yourself towards confidence.

You can choose the kind of person you want to be at your viva and choose to work towards that.

Of course, it’s not a single choice: it’s a daily, repeated choice to work towards something good.

Like the rest of your PhD journey.

Nathan

Finding Problems

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I found problems in my thesis after submission.

They weren’t so terrible.

I found typos and underlined them in red. They were mistakes, maybe a better proofread could have got them, but they would be easy to fix.

I found sentences that were clunky and could be improved. I made a note in my margins and made sure I could see them clearly and explain them well if they came up in the viva.

 

My examiners found problems in my thesis and asked about them at the viva.

That was more uncomfortable than the typos and bad sentences I found.

They showed me places I had made but not explained assumptions. They tested me on the ideas I had dropped in without exploring why they were needed.

It wasn’t awful but if I’d looked at my thesis differently (as I was writing and preparing) I might have thought more about how to explain things, rather than have to think on my feet at my viva.

 

The problems my examiners found were a little uncomfortable at my viva but they gave me space and time to respond. They didn’t make me feel bad. They didn’t make me feel small. They offered me the opportunity to explore what it was about.

I and my examiners found problems with my thesis before my viva but the problems weren’t an issue.

How will you respond to problems that you find? And what can you do to be ready for the unknown problems your examiners might ask about at your viva?

Nathan

Clear Questions Get Better Responses

Daily Post

This sentiment applies in life, work and the viva!

Clear requests for prep help from friends and supervisors are more likely to get a helpful response.

Clear questions from your examiners (and you) will help drive good discussion at your viva.

Clear follow-up questions will allow you to dig deeper – and questions for clarity from you, if you need to ask, will only make the viva conversation better.

Take your time, choose your words carefully and be as clear as possible at your viva and during prep.

Nathan

Intro & Outro

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Whenever I deliver a viva help session I spend a lot of time thinking about the beginning and the end.

For the Intro I think about what expectations need to be set. What is critical for me to get across? What’s the logical sequence of information that people need to hear? And what’s my backup plan in case something isn’t right?

I think ahead about the Outro too: what points will I need to close off before I’m done? What parts of the session do I want to call back to? And how do I handle the sudden influx of final questions that participants might have?

To be clear, I think about everything in the middle too! But the Intro and Outro need some special attention of their own.

 

The same is true for your viva. In preparation you need the general flow of review and rehearsal to help for most of the viva – but I’d make sure you give a little extra thought to be ready for the beginning and end.

  • What do you need to know about the viva to feel ready for when it starts?
  • Do your examiners need to know anything about you and your situation to make reasonable adjustments?
  • What can you do to feel alright with any nervousness at the start?
  • How can you prepare for the end of the viva and final questions there?

Intro and Outro. Beginning and End. They’re small parts of your viva but important to think about and prepare for.

 

PS: I’m thinking a lot about the intro and outro for this Wednesday’s 1-hour 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva webinar! I love sharing this session and have delivered it over 100 times now. Registration for this Wednesday includes attendance, one of my pdf publications and a catch-up recording if you can’t attend live. I’m sharing two more sessions in November and December if this is too short notice but do take a look if you or someone you know is looking for viva help. Thanks for reading!

Nathan

Negative About The Viva

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An old friend of mine would often remind me of a saying that he attributed to Abraham Lincoln:

“I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better.”

The internet says that there’s no direct evidence that Lincoln ever said or wrote this but it’s still a nice sentiment. I think it helps with the viva too.

I meet a lot of postgraduate researchers who are negative about their viva before they’ve had it. They’re stressed. They’re unsure. In some cases they’re really annoyed! And in every situation I think, “You need to get to know the situation better.”

Stress and uncertainty can both be reduced by knowing more. Read the regulations. Talk to your supervisors and friends. Look for stories about experiences to get a sense of what to expect.

When you know more you can do more to help yourself. If you don’t like the viva then start to get to know it better. Find out more and take steps to help yourself feel better.

 

PS: If you want to feel better about the viva by finding out more about it then my 1-hour 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva webinar next Wednesday 7th October 2026 will be a big help. I’ll be exploring what the viva is all about and why that helps you to succeed. Registration includes one of my pdf publications and a catch-up recording if you can’t attend live. Hope to see you there!

Nathan

Viva Voce

Daily Post

Vivas are met with worry and concern,

Interested scholars fret and fluster.

Void of future’s status, stomach all a-churn;

Arriving to the day nerves all a-bluster.

Vague though details yet may be,

Of course some hints and trends are sure:

Concerns wilt with greater certainty,

Expectations aid prep and peace – and both reassure.

 

A little poem for National Poetry Day. Normal service will resume tomorrow! 🙂

Nathan

It’s Supposed To Be Difficult

Daily Post

Whatever else one might say about the viva – it’s a discussion, it could be really interesting, it most commonly leads to success – it’s very important to remember that it’s supposed to be difficult.

That’s a key expectation.

Given the level you’ve been working at you can expect that the topics up for discussion will be difficult. Given that the event is a challenge you can expect difficulty. Given your probable nerves and the sense of the unknown about what will happen you can expect your viva to be difficult.

The viva is supposed to be difficult – but not impossible, not necessarily stressful and not an overwhelming situation.

You might need to know more before you get there. You might need to focus on a particular area of preparation. You might need your institution to make some adjustments to your viva process to ensure that it is a fair situation for you.

You can expect difficult and also know that you can show yourself and your work in a good way. You can be ready for the difficulty you’ll find at your viva.

 

PS: If you’re looking for more help with the difficulty of the viva then consider signing up for my 1-hour 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva webinar next Wednesday 7th October 2026. Registration includes attendance, follow-up resources and a catch-up recording if you can’t attend live. Hope to see you there!

Nathan

7 Reasons, 7th October 2026

Event, Update

In Brief: I’m sharing my 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva webinar live next Wednesday 7th October 2026. Booking is open, there’s one of my pdf resources and a catch-up recording included. I’m looking forward to sharing it with everyone who comes – and maybe that’s you?!

(I also have two more dates before Christmas if you’re busy on 7th October!)

 

A Few More Details: When I announced my autumn 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva sessions earlier this month I shared a lovely email from a PhD candidate who attended one this summer. Since then I’ve had another lovely email!

“I wanted to say a huge thank you to you for your viva materials and the session I attended. I passed my viva today with minor corrections. Your magazines, daily newsletter and the session were all brilliant resources. I read the magazines last night and they were what I needed to keep me calm and to believe in myself. “ – University of Huddersfield PhD graduate

The magazines mentioned are the Viva Survivor Select pdf zines I’ve been creating (more on those here!). I’m really glad the summer sessions were so helpful. I really love sharing 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva and it’s now starting to edge out my Viva Survivor session in terms of how often it’s requested.

I think of 7 Reasons as a 1-hour confidence boost for the viva. In the space of an hour I cover key reasons why people succeed at the viva. There’s space for everyone to ask questions, a copy of my 101 Steps To A Great Viva pdf and a catch-up recording of the session too. I have a total of three dates coming up before Christmas:

These are the only independent sign-up sessions I’m running between now and Christmas.

I am also invited by universities to work directly with PGRs – so check your researcher-development programme first – but if I’ve not been invited to help your PGR community then please take a look at the details for these upcoming events. Registration is open now for all three and if you’re looking for viva help then please take a look.

Thanks for reading – if you think it will help a friend then please pass on the news.

All the best,

Nathan

Nathan

Your Best Work

Daily Post

Naturally, it is extremely likely that your examiners will want to talk to you about your best work. The headline results and conclusions that are central to your contribution.

  • How do you define your best work?
  • What lead to you working on it?
  • What’s the impact for your thesis and for others?

There’s more to your thesis than a single topic or piece though. It’s likely that there’s more they will want to talk to you about.

  • What other aspects of your work do you think they’ll focus on?
  • How do these other areas connect with your main contribution?
  • Is there anything you don’t think they’ll ask about?

Finally, it’s likely that these two categories are not all that you want to talk about.

  • What else would you like to come up in conversation at your viva?
  • What questions do you want to introduce into the discussion?
  • What do you not want to talk about?

Your best work will feature at the viva along with lots of other topics. Take time as you prepare to reflect on what could come up, how you could engage with it and what you need to do to be ready.

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