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Tag: viva nerves

Nathan

Don’t Worry*

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Don’t worry about what might happen at your viva – take steps to learn more about what to expect.

Don’t worry about the variety of questions you might be asked – find spaces to rehearse responding to questions and build up your confidence.

Don’t worry about remembering everything – work through your prep to help your memory as best you can for the things that matter most.

Don’t worry about the outcome of your viva – find ways to remind yourself of what you’ve done and what that means.

 

* Or rather, don’t only worry. Feel the feeling and then take steps to help change the feeling.

Nathan

The Wrong Way

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If you’re worried about doing something wrong at your viva or in your prep then you’re probably fine.

But, to be sure:

  • Check your institution’s regulations for the viva.
  • Ask your friends how they got ready for their viva and what happened.
  • Check out a few posts on this site for advice.
  • Ask yourself why you might be doing something wrong and get at the root of the worry.

If you’re self-aware enough to think that you’re going in the wrong direction then you’re probably on track and nervous. Nervous simply means that you’re recognising the viva – correctly – as something that matters.

Nathan

A New Opportunity

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The viva is a new opportunity to talk about your research and your thesis. It’s similar to other times during your PhD but also unlike anything else you will have faced so far.

  • It’s similar to past discussions, meetings and presentations – and on a topic that you know a lot about – so your past experiences can really help you rise to the challenge.
  • It’s different to other challenges you’ve overcome so a little preparation will be necessary to be ready for the challenge you’ll face.

The viva is a new opportunity so it’s to be expected that you’ll feel a mix of nervous and confident about what might happen. Draw on your past experience and take time to make yourself ready for the challenge.

Nathan

Separating Out Feelings

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In my local area we’ve recently moved to separating food waste from our rubbish. Pre-sorting in our homes makes for a better waste management situation. There’s been grumbling and resistance from some but for the most part I think people realise it’s a good thing to do.

As with so many things in my life, encountering this new situation made me think of the viva!

It made me think of all the feelings that someone might feel ahead of their viva. There can be a lot of mixed emotions as the viva draws near. It helps to sort and separate them. Different feelings require different actions:

  • If you feel worried then you have to ask yourself why. When you know the root of the problem you can do something about it.
  • If you feel unsure then you have to decide who to ask for help, whether that’s your supervisor, a friend or simply a webpage provided by your institution.
  • If you feel unprepared then you have to take action. There are a great many things you can do to improve your preparedness.
  • If you feel confident then you have to hold on to it. What can you do to build your confidence up even more?

Separate out your feelings as you work towards your viva. Respond to the negative and recycle them for positive actions and feelings. Take the positive to one side and build on them.

Nathan

Every Viva Has A Start

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The start of your viva can be prepared for even if you don’t know exactly how it will begin.

There are many questions people suggest are typical for the start of the viva:

  • Can you tell us why you wanted to do a PhD?
  • What attracted you to this area?
  • How would you summarise your main project?
  • Can you start by giving us an overview of your thesis?

Assuming these questions and similar are typical you don’t need to prepare scripted responses. They are the kinds of questions that connect with topics you’ve talked about many times before. They’re asked to be a good opening, something to ease you past any initial nervousness and into the main discussion.

Some examiners ask candidates to prepare presentations to start the viva for the same purpose. They always do this with plenty of advance notice and clear expectations in terms of length, purpose and logistics.

There are lots of possible starting points to a viva. You can be prepared even if you don’t know which question will start yours. More importantly, you can decide how you want to start your viva and take steps to be ready.

 

PS: got questions of what to expect from the viva and yourself? You’ll find a lot of answers and ideas in  Viva Survivors Select Volume 1, which released this week! Volume 1 is my complete collection of helpful viva zines from last year: eight issues, 165 posts from the archives and lots of new resources – and available at an introductory offer price until 31st January 2026!

Nathan

Prep Powers

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What viva superpower would you like?

It might be nice to have Mega-Memory and have perfect recall of every piece of information. Would you prefer to have some kind of Precognition, able to hear your examiners’ questions in your mind hours ahead of time? Or perhaps you’d like Invisibility to hide from questions you don’t want to face?

 

Of course, you won’t be superhuman as a result of viva prep – but you don’t need to be.

Prep helps you to be ready. Building confidence helps you to be certain.

You don’t need to be superhuman but if you can find confidence you have a superpower: the ability to understand what nervousness is and what it means. Your viva is important and you want it to go well. That’s all.

Nathan

Shifting Feelings

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“Don’t be nervous.”

“Cheer up.”

“You don’t have to worry.”

These are nice sentiments ahead of the viva, usually very well-intentioned. If only feeling better were as simple as stopping nerves or putting a smile on your face.

 

Maybe it’s not a lot harder. You can’t shift feelings directly but you can take action to change your mood. Reading over a chapter could help lower nerves you’ll forget something. A mock viva could make you happier for talking to your examiners. Reading the regulations could help you realise you don’t have to worry.

If you need to shift your feelings in some way for your viva you have to do something.

How do you feel? How do you want to feel? What will you do?

Nathan

What Will You Do?

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Hypothetical situations can be inherently stressful. We don’t like to think about them because we know that they’re not real right now – but know that they could be.

For example:

  • What will you do if you don’t get all of the results you are hoping for?
  • What will you do if you find a problem in your thesis after submission?
  • What will you do if you feel short on time and your viva is very soon?
  • What will you do if you’re in the viva and your examiner asks a question that feels instantly tough?

Whenever you’re faced with a situation like one of these you might feel overwhelmed or worried or confused. That’s a typical human response to a potentially stressful situation.

Whatever you feel you then have to decide: what will you do?

In some ways, the real point is that you can decide. You feel whatever you feel and then you can do something. You can choose in a moment of stress and uncertainty just as you have through all of the other moments of your PhD journey.

You can do something. There is always something you can do.

Nathan

Everything But That

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“I don’t want to talk about my methods chapter.”

“I’m ready for any questions except something about my bibliography!”

“Please, please don’t let them ask about my interpretation of that paper…”

“I will be OK so long as……”

 

Sound familiar? If any resonate with how you feel about your viva and talking with your examiners then you are most definitely not alone.

You’re perfectly rational: the process and pressures of the viva could easily make anyone nervous about needing to talk about a particular something. It might even make them stressed.

What do you do? If a possible question makes you feel nervous or stressed before the viva, what are you going to do?

You could review part of your thesis, talk with a friend, make some notes, read a paper or ask your supervisor to bring it up in a mock viva.

If there’s something that troubles you then there’s something you could do.

Consider your options and make a choice. Don’t stop at feeling nervous or stressed.

Nathan

Concerned?

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What should I be concerned about when it comes to my viva?

There are two strong words in that question. “Should” you be concerned at all? If you’re putting your focus on potential negative impacts is “concern” a good way to frame things?

At face value the best response a stranger could give to that question would have to begin with “It depends…” If you’re worried then that is concerning. If you feel that there’s a gap in your knowledge, understanding or confidence then that needs addressing.

But it depends: do you feel anything like that?

 

Maybe instead of the opening question we need different ways to frame this:

  • What could I do to make sure I’m ready?
  • What do I need to explore to be ready for my viva?
  • What do I need to check I understand for my viva?

There’s no need to feel concerned for your viva generally. If something is distracting you then unpick why, possibly in conversation with your supervisors. Beyond that, reframe your focus for getting ready.

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