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Nathan

Perfect Prep

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There are core viva prep areas that any candidate has to focus on like reading your thesis, checking regulations, rehearsing and so on. The way you focus on these areas and how you spend your time is all about you.

You need to prepare in a way that responds to the research you’ve done and the thesis you’ve written. You need to prepare in a way that meets your personal needs and preferences for work. You need to consider your situation, your energy and your life circumstances.

When you take all of that into account you can start to find prep perfection.

At submission take a little time to think about what you’ve done, what you need and what your life is like. Sketch out a possible plan for getting your prep done. Gather the resources you’ll need. Rest! Make sure your needs are covered. Look for advice from others but make sure that you tailor it to your situation.

Perfect viva preparation means perfect for you – or as close as you can get it.

Nathan

Prep Is Particular

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There are big areas to cover if you want to prepare well for your viva:

  • Reading your thesis;
  • Annotating your thesis;
  • Rehearsing for the viva.

How you engage with these areas has to be particular to your preferences and situation. Your viva preparation has to be personal.

What you do matters but how you do it matters too. How do you need to get ready?

  • How do you need to read your thesis? All at once or spread over many days?
  • How will you annotate your thesis? Where will you put your focus?
  • When and with who will you rehearse? Is a mock viva enough or will you rehearse with other people?

How will you get ready for your viva? How will you plan your preparation?

Nathan

Summary Elements

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Creating a summary is a useful task as part of viva preparation. You could write sentences and paragraphs, bullet points or keywords. You could draw pictures, graphs and diagrams. A summary is a space to think ahead. A summary is a chance to focus before your viva.

A good summary has:

  • A clear focus. You can summarise your whole thesis or can zero in a particular aspect but you know what you’re focussed on.
  • A finite process. The summary is not open-ended. You have a clear space to write or draw in and an expected time to do the work.
  • A new resource. You are going to have made something that didn’t exist before. You aren’t simply copying words down. You are making something new.

A clear focus following a finite process makes a new resource. What will you focus on? What do you need to make to help your preparation?

Nathan

Layering Prep

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I’ve enjoyed learning to create digital art a lot so far this year.

(see recent issues of Viva Survivors Select for examples!)

It’s freeing to not have to worry about making mistakes while creating. The software I use allows you to add elements in layers: I can create a quick sketch, add a new layer and build on that with more detail. I can do some broad colour, add another layer and go deeper. Bringing all of these together creates a lovely composition.

(at least, I think it does!)

Consider viva prep in the same way. You’re layering pieces of work to create a beautiful effect. Layer annotation on top of spending time reading your thesis. Layer creating summaries on top of the time spent thinking while annotating. Layer a mock viva on top of a chat about your work with a friend. It all comes together to create a state of being ready.

Each layer matters but isn’t the whole picture. You need to bring things together to be well prepared.

 

PS: there are many more layers to the viva. You can find out more at this week’s 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva webinar on Wednesday 24th June 2026. There are full details for all my June and July webinars here. Registration includes a catch-up recording, follow-up email and my pdf guide 101 Steps To A Great Viva. Hope to see you there!

Nathan

120 Words

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I was going through my files in the last few months and found the speech I gave at my sister’s wedding. When I gave the speech I was nervous but I also had a fair amount of experience with speaking in public so it wasn’t too bad. I got some laughs, I encouraged a few heartfelt tears and I didn’t take too long.

To help with the latter I researched a typical speaking speed: the low end estimate is 120 words per minute. If I didn’t want to speak for more than five minutes, I had to say everything I needed in 600 words, give or take. That was my guideline as I drafted and redrafted.

Now, at the viva you’re not required to give a response within a time or word limit, but thinking a little about them in preparation can help you shape your responses:

  • If you write a short 120 word summary over a handful of sentences then you know that’s about a minute of speech.
  • If you write ten keywords then that can help jog some thoughts.
  • If you write a full page you know that’s a lot to say.

You don’t want to take notes and prompts to the viva – although you might want to consider annotating your thesis to mark things out usefully – but you can make a variety of summaries and prompts in advance to help you think through how you talk about things generally.

Adding this to rehearsal can give you a lot of practice at shaping and sharing your thoughts. You’re not limited to 120 words – but maybe considering a range of options can help you find what feels right for you.

Nathan

Be Helpful, If You Can

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After your viva, be helpful for other PhD candidates if and when you can.

  • Share your viva experience if it will help someone understand what they need to do to get ready.
  • Listen to someone if they have questions about the process.
  • Give suggestions for helpful viva prep ideas.
  • Offer your time if you can to ask someone about their research (the mini-viva resource will help).

If you can, when your viva is done, share your experience. Share what helped you get ready.

Nathan

First Draft

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I cut a chapter from my thesis I knew I didn’t have the time to finish the research involved. I rearranged the flow of information in a few chapters several times to try and make the points flow well.

When I started my prep, after only a week away from my thesis, my first thought was, “Where’s that section? Where did I write about…?”

So how has your thesis changed between your first draft and the draft you submitted?

The massive amount of writing, rewriting, changing and editing makes reading your thesis a crucial part of viva prep so that you can be really sure of what’s in there for your viva.

Reading your thesis doesn’t mean rote memorisation. It means refreshing your memory. Read and annotate your thesis after submission so you have a good overall view of your thesis and a helpful resource for your viva.

Your thesis has come a long way from your first draft. Be certain of what you’re talking about at your viva.

Nathan

Hard Choices

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If a decision in your PhD was difficult then there is probably something interesting to reflect on as you get ready for your viva.

  • What was the situation?
  • How did you assess your options?
  • Why did you make the choice that you did?

Hard choices might not be questioned directly in your viva but their impacts will likely be felt on your research and your journey.

It’s worth taking a little time in your preparation to reflect on how you progressed through difficult decisions.

 

PS: you’ll find advice for sharing your contribution at the viva in The Examiners Issue, the 11th issue of Viva Survivors Select which came out a week ago. The issue contains twenty posts from the blog all about examiners plus two new pages of viva help.

Nathan

Cosy

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My daughter and I both have an appreciation for cosy video games. There’s often no great rush when you play, there’s typically a creative aspect to the things you do and you often see a great deal of cute aesthetics!

I don’t think that many vivas will feel cosy for those involved but maybe cosy isn’t a bad vibe to keep in mind for your viva preparations:

  • Take your time. There’s work to do but you can find a good pace for your needs.
  • Be creative. Make the work fun in parts and in expression.
  • Make it personal. Find an aesthetic for how you make notes. Follow your feelings for how you get it done.

How else could you make your viva prep cosy? And is there anything you can do to take that feeling on to your viva as well?

 

PS: if you need to feel better about your examiners and their role at the viva then check out The Examiners Issue, the 11th issue of Viva Survivors Select. Twenty posts from the blog covering nearly everything to know about examiners and two new pages of viva help.

Nathan

“All The Ideas”

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Every thesis is “incomplete” in the sense that no book could possibly contain everything you did, read, thought and considered during your PhD journey. Your thesis just can’t contain it all.

It also doesn’t need to. Consider that what you leave out shows your awareness, curation, style – your expertise, if you like. Your thesis is an expression of your capability as a researcher as much as a summary of the research you did and what it means.

If it helps, use this short summary exercise to think through some of the ideas in your work:

  • Take a sheet of paper and divide it into four parts.
  • In the first part, list five results or conclusions you think are valuable. Add a few keywords for each.
  • In the second part, write down five things you did well during your PhD. These could be projects, tasks or skills you developed.
  • In the third part, list five papers you believe supported your work well. Add a few keywords for each of these.
  • In the fourth part, list five things you left out of your thesis and a few keywords for each that expresses why.

Finally, think a little about what all this means.

Your thesis doesn’t show everything you did.

Recognise that what it does have means a lot more than what it doesn’t.

 

PS: if you’re looking for more viva help then check out The Examiners Issue, the 11th issue of Viva Survivors Select, freshly released yesterday! Twenty posts from the blog covering examiners from lots of perspectives and two new pages of ideas 🙂

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