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Tag: viva feelings

Nathan

Revise or Review?

Daily Post

Words matter.

It might help to think of viva prep as revising for a test. If that’s how you think of it then follow that impulse. Make a plan. Consider what you need to do. Build structure to help you get the work done. Thinking of viva prep as exam revision has merit.

Another consideration could be that viva prep is reviewing things. You don’t need to revise and re-learn everything. You already know what you know. Because you’ve been doing this for years you don’t need to revise and cram your mind with information. Instead you just have to review who you are, what you can do and how far you’ve come.

Words matter.

What words are you using to describe your process for getting ready?

Nathan

Find X

Daily Post

I love maths problems that look really simple.

A simple statement that asks a question. A string of numbers looking for connection. A picture with an undefined angle or shaded area.

They can look really simple but require real thought to unpick what’s involved and then find X.

 

This isn’t very different from having concerns about the viva.

If you or someone you know feels worried we have to find the X that is worrying them. We have to unpick why X is a concern. We have to understand what that means. We can then start to think of possible options.

A maths problem typically has a single solution being looked for. Viva problems can have lots of possible solutions; they depend on the person or the situation.

In viva problems, finding X is the first step to a bigger solution. Find why the problem is a problem and you can start to find options for resolving the situation.

Nathan

Deep Down

Daily Post

Nervous. Anxious. Concerned. Worried. Afraid.

If any of these words describe how you feel about your viva then you need to ask why.

They don’t all mean the same thing. Be sure of which best describes the situation, then dig into why. Why are you worried? What’s the reason for your concern? Do you know why you’re feeling this way?

Deep down there is a reason. If you feel negative about your viva, try to unpick the cause.

It’s not wrong to feel any of these things. The viva is important and important events have a way of making us feel nervous and more. If the feeling isn’t helping you to get ready then ask why, reflect and see what the reason might be.

Do you need to know something about the process?

Are you worried about something you’ve heard about vivas and aren’t sure if it’s true or not?

Do you feel concerned about your thesis or prep?

Whatever the reason, uncovering it gives you the means to start resolving that situation. Don’t just sit with the feeling. Find something you can do to shift that feeling.

Nathan

One Hour To Go

Daily Post

With sixty minutes before your viva what are you going to do?

  • Read a few more pages a few more times?
  • Check through your notes again?
  • Knock on your supervisor’s door to ask one more question?
  • Pace  to try and release a little tension?

These are all things I did! I also went to the seminar room   too early and waited for my examiners to be exactly on time.

You can’t always control how you deal with the building expectation of something important. Maybe you can set a better intention though.

I wish I’d thought more about when I was going to arrive. I would have made a plan. I would have found ways to remind myself that I had not been idle in the weeks leading up to my viva.

Nervousness is not an unlikely possibility for viva day. What can you do to make a good final hour before your viva?

Nathan

Nervous or Anxious?

Daily Post

Some candidates feel nervous because of what they did in their thesis. Is it enough?

Some people feel nervous because of what they haven’t done. Have they missed something?

Some feel nervous because of who there examiners are. Will their experience lead to tougher questions?

Some feel nervous because they don’t know what is going to happen. What if there’s a situation they can’t cope with?

And some candidates will be nervous because the viva is important and important things make people nervous!

We can quibble as to whether some of the above is nervousness or anxiety, but either way, these things won’t disappear by themselves. If you feel nervous or anxious you have to do something.

Read your thesis, review a few papers, ask about your examiners, have a mock viva, talk to friends and colleagues and do anything rather than just sit nervous or anxious. Sitting with a negative feeling like that, whatever we call it, won’t help.

What could you do to help yourself? What will you do? Go do it.

Nathan

Hope For Excited

Daily Post

Hope is what we have when we have little leverage on the outcome.

I encourage PhD candidates to prepare for their viva rather than hope it will just all go well, because preparation leads to a better experience and a better outcome. No candidate needs to hope that they will be ready when they can act to be ready.

You might need to hope you feel excited or enthusiastic for meeting your examiners. It’s rare in my experience that candidates feel that way. I ask candidates how they feel about their viva at the start of every webinar I do and between five and ten percent say they feel excited.

At the end of a session they might say they feel better, but it’s rare that they now feel excited!

 

I know what someone can do to feel ready. I know the kinds of actions someone can take to be prepared. But I only hope that candidates feel excited. Confidence can ward against nervousness, but excitement is another thing entirely.

Maybe that’s something else I can consider in the future: how can you go from confident to excited?

Maybe if more people were excited it would be simpler to build up a positive culture around the viva.

And maybe then the viva would be something that fewer people were worried about.

Nathan

Address Your Concerns

Daily Post

If you have any worries or concerns about your viva then take steps to address them.

It sounds like really obvious advice, right?

But I talk to hundreds and hundreds of PhD candidates every year who are worried about their viva. They aren’t sure what to expect. They worry about technical aspects of their research. Some are afraid of meeting their examiners.

And for some reason they keep hold of those worries rather than take actions to work past them.

I love helping people, but for their own sake, I do wish for candidates to realise that they can find help or release worry sooner. Ask your supervisor. Check the regulations. Do something rather than hold on to worry.

If you have a worry about your viva, don’t let it fester. Don’t let it become something bigger than it needs to be. If you need to know something or you aren’t sure then take steps.

By all means ask for advice – ask me! – but take steps rather than just worry.

Nathan

Pick A Number

Daily Post

Pick a number between 1 and 10 to describe how happy you feel about your upcoming viva, 10 being very happy and 1 being not happy at all.

Whatever the number, whatever the reason, what can you do to make that number higher?

  • What can you do today?
  • What information do you need?
  • Who could you ask to help you?
  • What tasks can you schedule or do?

Even if you feel very happy, a 10 today, just reflect on whether or not there are gaps in your viva knowledge. Information, expectations, regulations, prep ideas and more are not hard to find if you really want to know.

However you feel about your viva, you can take steps to feel better.

Nathan

Verbs In The Viva

Daily Post

At your viva will you face your examiners?

Will they confront you with questions?

And will you challenge their comments or criticisms?

In that small group will you talk or debate or discuss?

Do you have to answer every question? Or will you feel more comfortable as you respond to the questions and the conversation?

 

Words matter. Verbs mean different things. The words you use to describe your viva, your examiners and what you’ll do when you meet them can make a great difference to how you prepare, how you feel and how you behave on the day.

Find the right verbs for the situation.

Nathan

Ten Words

Daily Post

A quick bit of viva prep.

Write a few sentences on each of the following ten words. Don’t take too long, don’t overthink things, just reflect a little and then write a little:

  1. Thesis
  2. Examiners
  3. Methods
  4. Contribution
  5. Confidence
  6. Expectations
  7. Feelings
  8. Problems
  9. Success
  10. Questions

Put all of your sentences to one side for a few days, then come back and read them. Whatever you’ve written tells you something about how you’re approaching your viva.

What does it all mean and what do you now need to do?

 

PS: If you’re looking for more ideas of what you can do to get ready for your viva, take a look at the  Viva Help Bundle of ebooks. A collection of my best blog posts, a practical guide to getting ready and a reflective writing game to build confidence – available for £6 until Thursday 30th November 2023.

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