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Tag: viva feelings

Nathan

Stress & Tensions

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It’s a good idea to reduce stress ahead of your viva. A little pressure might motivate some people but stress never helps anyone. You can reduce stress by planning your prep so that you aren’t overwhelmed. You can reduce stress by reading regulations and asking others about their experiences. You can reduce stress for the viva by doing the prep you need to do so that you feel more ready.

On the other hand, it will help to accept that there are tensions around the viva – and the best you can do is acknowledge them and work with them. For example, the tension between not knowing the questions you will be asked but still being able to respond. There’s a tension between knowing that most vivas succeed but not knowing your own outcome until the end. There can be a tension between being nervous because the viva matters but being confident that you have done enough to do well.

Reduce stress. Accept tensions. In both cases, you need to find your way forward.

Nathan

Encouraged

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What are your sources of encouragement ahead of your viva?

  • Hopefully your supervisor. They can offer guidance and evidence that you are on the right track.
  • Friends and colleagues can share their experiences to give encouragement. The viva in reality is not the horror stories that spread through researcher culture.
  • Your work can be an encouragement. Read, reflect and remember that this is something valuable.
  • Your journey can be an encouragement. You are now a more capable individual than when you started your PhD. You are more capable than your worst and most difficult days.

You’ve done the work to get you this far. You can prepare for the particular challenges of the viva.

Don’t forget to find encouragement. There are plenty of sources when you look.

Nathan

Different Kinds Of Expectations

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Here’s a little model that I’m still working out to see if it makes sense.

Procedural expectations about the viva are what happens generally: the typical lengths, common questions, the process of the exam and so on.

Emotional expectations about the viva are how candidates might generally feel: it’s not uncommon to be nervous, it’s human to wonder “what if…?” and so on.

Personal expectations about the viva are how individual candidates feel: the particular worries, specific requirements, self-knowledge and so on.

 

Knowing more about procedural expectations can have an impact on the other two areas for a candidate: a greater sense of the process could reduce nervousness and any worries. That’s not to suggest that someone shouldn’t do something directly to improve the other areas; perhaps starting with a good foundation of understanding the process will have an impact on the other areas and mean there is less to tackle.

So, if this seems reasonable: what do you not know about the procedural viva expectations? And what are you going to do to fill that gap?

Nathan

When You Have To Stop

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There’s a moment coming when you will start your viva.

All of your preparations will stop. You will have to be ready.

What do you want that moment to be like? How would you like to feel? What would you need to know by then?

 

Whether your viva is a week away, a month from now or some date later this year take a little time to reflect on the questions above. You can’t directly control how ready you’ll feel but you can decide on and take steps that lead you in that general direction.

So what steps will you take? How do you want to feel when you have to stop?

Nathan

Future Feelings

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What do you think it will feel like to wake up the day after your viva?

How might you feel if you were to look at a list of requested corrections?

What do you think it will feel like to be told you’ve passed?

How will you feel when you shake someone important’s hand at graduation?

 

And assuming that some of the above are positive or good expected feelings, what are you going to do between now and your viva to get to that reality?

Nathan

Careful Prep

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Is there a danger that I could be overprepared for my viva? Do I need to be careful?

No to the first question, yes to the second.

I don’t think a candidate can do so much preparation that they can harm how ready they are for their viva – as if they were driving so fast in one direction that they missed their destination. Of course, a candidate could be over-invested: prep is necessary but it’s a means to an end.

Being careful means making a plan and trying to follow it. Sketch out the things you need to do, ask others for a little help or guidance and then do the work. Leave yourself time so that you aren’t stressed. Don’t fill in the hours with more and more work just so you feel busy.

You can’t be overprepared for your viva. Be careful that you don’t spend more time than you need or leave yourself too little time to feel really ready.

 

PS: want to know exactly what kind of work goes into being prepared for your viva? Take a look at the details of my Viva Survivor session on March 27th 2025. I’ll be covering a lot at my live webinar next week and providing a catch-up recording too!

Nathan

The Biggest What If

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What if it happened at my viva?

Whatever it is, there would be consequences. That’s a simplified way to look at the situation, but it’s the most accurate. The most dire “what if” differs for everyone; depending on the exact details the consequences could vary a lot.

It might be forgetting something. In which case you could take time to recall. You could annotate your thesis to help you remember. There’s something to do.

It might be worrying about saying “I don’t know” – which is a common viva worry. Saying “I don’t know” is not the end of the viva. Rehearsal before the viva helps a lot. Remembering you can pause in the viva to think about why you don’t know.

It might be anxiety about failing. Failure at the viva is rare. This might be the biggest what if: which means that if you worry about it then you have to do something to move on.

If you’re really worried that you might fail then you need to explore why. You need to talk to your supervisors or someone you trust. You need to figure out what’s at the root of the worry. You need to do something.

It doesn’t just happen. You don’t just think about it for no reason. If you can figure out what’s causing you to wonder “what if…?” you can then take steps to move past it.

Nathan

Storms & Teacups

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It’s not that you shouldn’t be nervous about your viva: it’s likely that you can’t do a lot to remove nerves if you feel them.

The viva is one of the final stages of a long process of exploration, knowledge generation and personal development. Those three letters – PhD – will make a difference to you, your ambitions and your future destinations.

It’s not that all of this is so big and important that you should be nervous: you just probably will be because it’s all important.

 

Being nervous is uncomfortable, but is to be expected probably.

Being anxious or being worried is different.

Nervousness is a general feeling but anxiety and worry are more commonly centred around something specific. If that’s more of what you’re feeling then you have to get specific too.

The problem will not be impossible to resolve. It might feel bigger than it is because the viva feels big. The viva is important and so any problem with it feels big and important too. It might not be the case.

If you face any anxiety or problem ahead of your viva then pause. Breathe. Reflect on it. Is this a storm in a teacup? Does it just seem big but won’t make a difference really? Can you do something about it? Is there someone you can ask for help?

In my experience, there’s always something you can do and someone who can help. If you face a problem with your viva that makes you worried, then your next step is to do something.

 

PS: if you have any big worries, concerns or questions then take a look at my Viva Survivor session. Registration is open now for my March 27th 2025 webinar and you can ask questions in advance through the booking process.

Nathan

Final Preparations

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My last viva prep task was to knock on my supervisor’s door with fifteen minutes to go, “Hi Hugh, just to check one more time, a genus 2 mutant can be defined as….?”

What will your final prep be?

Perhaps you’ll just check you have everything in your bag. Maybe you’ll focus on re-reading something one more time. Your last prep step could be to relax with a cup of coffee.

Or like me, your last task will be to stress at the last moment.

 

There’s an element of choice involved. You can plan your viva preparation. Sketch out a plan when you reach submission. You don’t need to account for every minute of every day until your viva, but by looking ahead you can remove stress, rush and a lot of doubts.

The last step in getting ready for your viva could be tiny or could be a big task. It’s better if it’s not panicked or stressed.

Nathan

Advice > Anecdote

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Your friend’s experience might be useful to know but has to be placed into the wider viva context.

One good story shouldn’t be enough to help you feel better about the viva. Similarly, one person’s negative experience shouldn’t shift you to thinking that your viva will be bad too.

Ask others for help and ask for their stories but consider them alongside the wider advice about the viva, in terms of prep, expectations and approach. One story can be interesting; the patterns and trends in many stories can be valuable.

Anecdotes about the viva are good but good advice is much, much more helpful.

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