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Tag: viva expectations

Nathan

Easy or Hard?

Daily Post

Questions in the viva do not fall neatly into one of two piles.

Easy and hard are relative terms that don’t help to describe the questions that prompt the kind of discussion found in the viva.

An easy question for one candidate could be very hard for another.

An easy-to-ask question could have a very hard-to-formulate response.

A hard question could have been considered many times before by a candidate, while an easy question has no certain response.

Best to get away from labels of easy and hard completely.

Questions in the viva can be challenging or not. In either case, they are there to drive the discussion. They’re asked with an expectation of a response from the candidate. You can’t predict what questions you will be asked before your viva, but you can prepare yourself to respond to whatever question your examiners bring to you.

Nathan

Examiner Maybes

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Maybe they’re nice. Maybe they’re a bit unknown to you. Maybe they have a special interest in your research area.

Your examiners might be experts. They could be among the many people you’ve cited in your thesis. Maybe they know your supervisors; they’re friends, more than professional colleagues.

There are lots of possibilities for examiners – and lots of certainties too.

They will have prepared. They will be ready. They will have questions. They will have expectations for you, the viva and themselves.

They will not have been randomly selected – supervisor friends or not, experts or otherwise – they will have been asked for a reason. They will have been selected as a good choice.

Best choice? Perhaps. Capable? Certainly.

Find out who they are and you can help yourself as you prepare for your viva.

Nathan

The Key Expectation

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There are lots of things we could expect of the viva. A particular length, certain questions, the tone of the discussion, the expertise of the examiners…

And the most fundamental expectation: that the candidate is up to the task. That they have done the work. They have written a good thesis. They are a capable researcher.

If your viva is near, or submission is soon, it’s reasonable to expect you are up to the task.

It’s also common to feel that you’re not. It’s common to be nervous, anxious or worried that you are missing something.

If you feel doubts about your ability then take a deep breath and ask yourself three questions:

What am I really worried about? What can I do to work past that worry? And could I really have got this far if I wasn’t good enough?

You can’t simply be lucky. You’re expected to be good.

And really, you must be good by this stage.

Nathan

A Place For Everything

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You can work to make your viva environment as helpful as possible for you.

If you’re working from home for your viva, what could you do in the space you’ll work in? How can you be comfortable? What do you need? How do you need to arrange the resources you’ll use?

If you are in a seminar room, when do you need to check the space before the viva? What do you need for your viva and what do you want for it? Can you minimise distractions? And are there things that you need but which you can’t provide yourself, like a flipchart stand or whiteboard?

You probably can’t have everything “just so” of course. You have to do your best. Whether you have a video viva or an in-person viva, make sure you create the best space you can for your conversation with your examiners.

Nathan

Vivas & Job Interviews

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It’s understandable to think of the viva as being “like a job interview”…

  • You dress a little smarter than the everyday probably.
  • You expect to be challenged by the questions you’ll be asked.
  • As much as you prepare, you know you can’t anticipate everything.
  • Like job interviews, it helps to treat a viva as something serious.

The success rate for a candidate is much higher in a viva though – because you’re not competing with anyone else. You’re trying to demonstrate what you’ve achieved and what you’re capable of, but not to be better than someone else.

It’s understandable to think of the viva as being like a job interview but there are better mindsets and better reflections to make of the viva. Understand what the viva is like, understand what it’s for, understand what you need to be and do.

When it comes to passing your viva, you’re the right person for the job.

Nathan

Your Viva

Daily Post

Viva expectations are useful.

It helps to know that vivas vary in length and that some are more common than others.

It helps to know that examiners are prepared and they use certain questions more often than others to begin.

It helps to know that there are specific topics or areas that are regularly discussed in the viva.

It helps to know the ways that examiners direct the viva.

Expectations are useful and at the same time we have to understand that they are not predictive. You can know the range of times, questions and common approaches for discussion but you cannot know which combination you will find on your viva day.

You can’t prepare by trying to anticipate every possible permutation directly.

Instead, listen to viva stories and understand viva expectations as a framework. This is the shape of things. This is what vivas look like. This is what you need to be ready for your viva.

Nathan

The “Get To” Shift

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Our daughter, being eight, says something like, “But do I have to…?!” most days.

Shortly after that, on being told that yes she does have to, she’ll give a big sigh and say, “Okaaaay…” then go off to do whatever thing is needed.

I’ve seen a similar energy around the viva and viva prep on many occasions:

  • Do I have to read all my thesis before the viva?
  • Do I have to do a certain task as part of my prep?
  • Do I even have to have a viva?!

It’s hard sometimes to find words to explain helpful things in “have to” terms.

A few years ago Seth Godin published a short post that always helps me to shift my thinking when I “have to” do something. As a result I try to find a way to think of my “have to” as a “get to” instead.

You don’t have to have a viva: thankfully you get to have a viva. You get to have a viva after years of work and development. You worked hard and got this far, now you get to have a discussion with your two examiners.

The difference between “have to” and “get to” works well to shift my perspective and it also works well when thinking about the viva.

(or when explaining things to eight year olds!)

Nathan

Confident or Arrogant

Daily Post

Some viva candidates find themselves concerned that they might overstep the line from being confident about their research to being arrogant in their thesis defence. I understand the worry, but typically think there’s not a great deal to be concerned about.

Feeling confident is what you need for the viva. Feeling arrogant is something you really don’t want when you meet your examiners.

Confident says to examiners, “I’m ready for you.” Arrogant says, “I’m better than you.”

Confident comes from building knowledge and talent through hard work. Arrogant assumes that they’re the only one who could do that work.

The distance between confidence and arrogance isn’t stepping over a line: they are opposite ends of a spectrum. You have to take a lot of steps to walk from well-earned confidence to the bluster of arrogance. Find confidence in honestly reflecting on how you’ve got to where you are, rather than rudely proclaiming that you’ve made it.

Nathan

Joining Instructions

Daily Post

Since March 2020, for every session I’ve delivered, I’ve created a Zoom meeting, written up joining instructions for participants, been responsible for hosting the session and had to send all of the information through in plenty of time.

I’ve had to revise the terms of my joining instructions several times over the last eighteen months. I’ve been able to make them clearer, more engaging and also set out expectations for participants. Hopefully they arrive at my session knowing what to expect and what we will be doing more than when I first delivered a session over Zoom: I’ve learned a lot since then!

 

Reflecting on my changing life and work processes over the last two years has got me thinking about the “joining instructions” that are sent out for the viva. Not the links and logistics that will be arranged in the weeks leading up to a viva, but the signals and signposting in academic culture generally.

Why do so many candidates not know what to expect generally? Why do so many worry about the process when there are so many people passing the viva every year? Why do so many not have a clear picture of how to get ready or how to arrive on the day, with what mindset or approaches they could take?

In the absence of good joining instructions for the viva in academic culture, I would encourage you to write your own. Think about what you need to know. Think about who could help you. Think about what you will do in prep and what you will then do on the day. Consider how you will get ready for all of this.

Then write your own joining instructions: a checklist telling you what to find out for your viva, what to do and when to do it. You can do do what’s needed and be ready to join your viva on the day.

Nathan

Fireworks

Daily Post

For a change I want to write about fireworks today.

 

To begin with, a lot of hubbub and excitement beforehand, anticipation at what’s about to happen. Will it be like last time? Someone shares their thoughts based on what they heard from someone else. There’s a certain level of expectations and anticipation.

Right or wrong, fair or unfair, people have strong feelings about whether they like them or not.

When it begins there’s a lot of concentration! Everyone involved at the time offers something, sharing what they think as the event unfolds. There are pauses, lulls, and sometimes things are a little unexpected. It has to be, I suppose, because every time the factors involved are different. Different people, different materials, different day.

And for nearly everyone involved on any given day, it’s over much sooner than expected. The time just flies by.

 

I wanted to write about fireworks, but found myself writing about the viva as usual. Sorry!

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