You Are Here

Tag: viva help

Nathan

Viva Survivors Select 07

Update

It was a few years after my PhD before I started to feel confident. It took me time to find a way to build it up for myself. I didn’t find it during my PhD or ahead of my viva: I thought my thesis was pretty good but didn’t think I was a good candidate. I knew something was missing on my viva day but didn’t know what it was.

After my PhD I started to listen to podcasts, read blog posts and found books that helped me assemble a jigsaw of confidence from myself, borrowing ideas from many different places and finding what worked for me.

I’ve had the good fortune to spend my post-PhD life exploring confidence for myself and how to help other people find it for themselves. I’m glad to have the chance to share some help, encouragement and ideas in this month’s issue of Viva Survivors Select.

Cover of Viva Survivors Select 07/The Confidence Issue/Nathan Ryder. Background image shows a pair of hands holding a small plant growing in soil.

The Confidence Issue contains twenty posts from the Viva Survivors archive exploring confidence in the PhD, helpful practices to try during viva prep and how to respond to questions in the viva. This is a topic I’ve explored a lot over the last fifteen years and it’s great to share a curated resource like this zine.

Every issue of Viva Survivors Select also contains new help too. This month I share my thoughts on making a playlist to help promote confidence. I love using music to prompt a shift of feelings and know I’m not alone in thinking it’s a useful nudge – and nudging confidence is the theme of my other new piece, a short game to help people getting ready for their viva.

Viva Survivors Select 07 is out now for £3 and joins six other issues in this ongoing series. If you like the blog, want more help and want to support what I do then please take a look at and consider buying The Confidence Issue.

The final issue of this volume, The Survival Issue, will be released on Wednesday 12th November. I’m also considering releasing a bundle of all eight issues of Volume 1 for a special price. Let me know if you think that’s a good idea!

Please do pass on details of this issue and Viva Survivors Select to anyone you know who is looking for viva help.

Thanks for reading!

Nathan

Nathan

Be Helpful

Daily Post

What can you offer your friends and colleagues when they are getting ready for their vivas?

When you’ve had your viva, who will you share your experience with and how will you try to help them?

If you’ve not already had your viva then keep a little record as you get ready of what you do and how it helps. This will help you to figure out positive actions that you might recommend.

A good starting point for helping others could be to think of the help that you got. An even better starting point might be to consider the help that you feel you really needed.

 

PS: and another good starting point might be to tell someone to subscribe to the Viva Survivors daily blog if they don’t already do that!

Nathan

Viva Survivor Webinar, December 3rd 2025

Update

Let’s keep this announcement short and simple:

  • I’m running my Viva Survivor webinar on Wednesday 3rd December 2025.
  • Registration is open now for this three-hour live webinar and participants will have access to a four-week catch-up recording and other follow-up materials.
  • Viva Survivor has been delivered for the last 15 years to more than 8000 PhD candidates at universities and programmes all over the UK.
  • In that time and in over 400 sessions I’ve been continuously developing Viva Survivor to be as helpful as possible to PGRs.
  • You can register now and use code VIVASURVIVORS until midnight on Sunday 5th October 2025 to save £10 on registration.

There’s a lot more information at the link about the webinar on Wednesday 3rd December 2025 and if you have any questions please get in touch. Viva Survivor is one of my favourite things to do and I’m really looking forward to this session, my only remaining independent Viva Survivor of 2025.

Please take a look if you’re interested and don’t forget that the code VIVASURVIVORS will save £10 on your ticket if you register before midnight on Sunday 5th October 2025.

Thanks for reading!

Nathan

Nathan

The Questions I Can’t Answer

Daily Post

I love to respond to questions from PhD candidates. When it comes to general advice there’s a lot I can help with and I’m willing to listen to situations to offer a few thoughts about particular things that might help.

There’s also a lot that I don’t know or can’t help with.

 

There are so many questions where the most responsible answer is “it depends” – and it will depend largely on the person asking the question.

There are many, many questions where the best person to offer a really valuable response might be the candidate’s supervisor. There are often questions where the best place to look for help is the university regulations.

I’ll always help if I can. If I can’t, remember that you have a lot of help around you.

When you’ve finished your PhD you can be a lot of help too.

Nathan

Viva Help Webinars

Event, Update

In brief: A second post for this morning because I have two upcoming dates for my 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva session. As a reader of this blog I thought you might want to know. Use the code DAILYBLOGFAN before Sunday to get a discount on your ticket.

 

If you’re looking for viva help then look no further than the 3000+ posts on this blog.

Look to see what resources and help your university or PhD programme offer.

And then look at what past attendees say about 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva:

  • “Thanks, really helpful session that’s helped me feel confident about the viva!” – University of Edinburgh PhD candidate
  • “Thank you so much this was very helpful – I have my viva on Monday and feeling a bit more confident now :)” – Liverpool John Moores University PhD candidate
  • “Thank you for such an engaging and helpful session!” – University of Liverpool PhD candidate

 

I describe 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva as a 1-hour confidence boost. I explore why candidates can know what to expect, how that helps them and what they can do to help themselves. When you register you also get access to a four-week catch-up recording of the session and after the session you’ll receive a pdf copy of 101 Steps To A Great Viva guide.

I’m running the session live on Wednesday 24th September 2025 (and Thursday 30th October 2025 October date is cancelled) and registration is open now. Registration is £20 and between now and Sunday 7th September 2025 you can get a discount if you use code DAILYBLOGFAN when prompted.

 

If 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva seems helpful to you or someone you know then check it out. Feel free to share details and the code DAILYBLOGFAN. Please get in touch if you have questions or if you need any help with your viva prep.

And if you’re looking for my Viva Survivor session then keep the morning of Wednesday 3rd December 2025 free in your diary and look out for more details and registration in October.

Thank you for reading!

Nathan

Nathan

One Sentence Per Page

Daily Post

One purpose of annotation is to make a more useful version of your thesis for the viva. Another purpose is to engage again with your thesis and think more about what’s in there and what it means.

One helpful annotation you could make is to add one sentence to the top of each page: read, think and then add one sentence to the top of each page that summarises what’s below. One sentence, maybe ten words or less to briefly describe what else is on the page.

This fulfils the point of engaging with your thesis and thinking carefully about it – and creates a more useful version of your thesis for the viva, complete with a commentary track about everything you’ve presented.

Nathan

Ask The Right Person

Daily Post

Do you have any of these questions rattling around your mind?

  • What happens at vivas?
  • How much time is given for minor corrections?
  • What does “major corrections” mean?
  • If I don’t want a mock viva what could I do?
  • When do I know when my viva will be?

I’ve been asked these lots of times at webinars, over email and in-person when I used to travel for work. I am always happy to help but it’s also worth pointing out that some questions I’m asked can be dug into far better by the candidate asking.

I can give a general perspective on regulations and expectations – but if you ask someone at your institution or read your regulations you’ll know exactly what you need. I can suggest the kinds of good support you could get from someone else if a mock viva doesn’t feel right – but you could know exactly who around you would be best placed to offer help.

Always ask. If you see me in a webinar or want to send me an email please do! I will always respond. But consider that someone much closer to you could help with some problems much more effectively.

 

PS: the latest issue of Viva Survivors Select contains a lot of helpful thoughts for your viva. It might not answer all your questions, but it will give you a lot of help. It’s available at my Payhip store along with the previous issues of curated collections and other resources too. Take a look if you can and tell anyone else who needs viva help 🙂 Thanks for reading!

Nathan

Five Times Five

Daily Post

Make a list of five papers you could read as part of your viva prep.

Make a list of five pages you’d like to be able to find easily in your thesis.

Make a list of five people you could talk to about your research.

Make a list of five days you could take a small break (even an hour) in the coming weeks.

Make a list of five questions you could write about before your viva.

 

Five lists with five points on each. They won’t take long to think or record.

Twenty-five helpful actions or activities you could do as part of your viva preparations, ready to go.

 

PS: Looking for more practical viva prep ideas? Explore June’s issue of Viva Survivors Select, my monthly viva help zine where I curate posts from the Viva Survivors archive!

Nathan

Viva Survivors Select 04

Update

Viva Survivors Select 04, The Focus Issue is ready and I’m very excited to release it into the world!

As with the first three issues, The Focus Issue is made up of twenty posts from the Viva Survivors archive and two new original pieces of viva help.

In this issue I wanted to explore the power of creating summaries as part of viva prep. I’ve loved sharing this topic in webinars and workshops for years. There’s a real value to thinking ahead for the viva, drawing useful information together and building confidence from really appreciating what you’ve done, how you did it and why it matters.

The Focus Issue is twenty posts from the Viva Survivors archive and two new original pieces: the first digs into the power of key questions for creating summaries and the second is an original prompt-based reflection game for reflecting on the PhD journey.

Viva Survivors Select 04 is out now for £3 and joins the first three issues in this ongoing project of monthly viva help. If you like the blog, want more help and want to support what I do then please take a look at and consider buying The Focus Issue.

Please do pass on details of this issue and Viva Survivors Select to anyone you know who is looking for viva help.

Thanks for reading!

Nathan

Nathan

Viva Survivor this Wednesday

Event, Update

In brief: Registration closes tomorrow at 5pm for my Viva Survivor session this Wednesday morning, 25th June 2025. Take a look now if you’re looking for help getting ready for your viva!

 

Slightly more details: If you want to know what to expect, what to do, how to get ready and how to build confidence for your viva then take a look at my upcoming Viva Survivor session this Wednesday 25th June 2025.

For three hours on Zoom you’ll get direct help from me in a live session I have shared with over 8000 PhD candidates. We have a packed schedule, plenty of time to take questions and I’ll be sending you great follow-up resources including some of my publications afterwards. All this and access to a catch-up recording for four weeks!

I love sharing Viva Survivor. I’ve spent more time sharing this session than anything else in my work since my PhD. I’ve now delivered it more than 400 times for universities and doctoral training groups all over the UK.

There are lots of free resources on this site that can help you get a sense of what to expect and what to do for your viva. Start there, but if you’re looking for more then please take a look at the registration page for Viva Survivor this Wednesday. If you have any questions about the session please get in touch and do pass this on to anyone who might be looking for viva help.

One last time: Viva Survivor session this Wednesday 25th June 2025! Registration closes tomorrow, Tuesday 24th June, at 5pm.

Thank you for reading 🙂

1 2 3 … 7