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Tag: viva prep

Nathan

The Questions You Expect

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A question that’s expected can be prepared for.

A question you expect can still be difficult to respond to.

If you expect a question you might not be asked it after all.

And if you prepare you may still find something new to say on the day of your viva.

 

Remember that rehearsal for the viva doesn’t mean memorising talking points on expected questions. Rehearsal helps you find a process to engage with all questions about your research, your thesis and you – expected and unexpected.

Nathan

Prep & Procrastination

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If it’s hard to get started on viva prep or you’re putting it off then perhaps you need to make a plan – not to procrastinate but to give yourself some structure.

If you get distracted then maybe you need to put distracting things out of your reach.

Perhaps set a time to do some viva prep and set a time afterwards to do something that feels fun or like a reward.

And if the work feels like too much for right now then maybe you need to rest before you get ready for your viva.

Actually: remember that rest is part of what you need to get ready for your viva.

Nathan

Three Things

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Do you want a simple task to help how you feel about your viva?

Every day after submission, take five minutes to write down three things about your research: things that you know are good, that you’re proud of, that you know turned out well or that you know make a difference.

Three things, every day. Three things about your work that then go into the mix of thoughts and feelings for your viva. Three things you could draw on as you go to the viva to share your work. Three things to help build your confidence before you meet your examiners.

Viva prep takes more than five minutes each day after submission, but little tasks can make a big difference. Start with three things to help your viva preparation.

Nathan

What’s Important?

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Two words to prompt reflection on nearly every aspect of the viva and viva prep.

What’s important…

  • …about your thesis? Explore it chapter by chapter with a notebook in hand. Make notes about anything that stands out to you.
  • …about your PhD journey? When you think back over how you did the work, what matters?
  • …about your viva expectations? What do you need to know more about and what are you comfortable with?
  • …about your examiners? Who are they, what do they do and what might they ask?
  • …about your viva preparations? What do you have to do and when will you get the work done?

What’s important? Two words that can start your thinking, exploring and working towards what you need. The examples I give above might help, but maybe for your situation you need to focus on something else.

So ask yourself: what’s important?

Nathan

Plan For The Unexpected

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Plan your viva prep. Take a sheet of paper when you submit and spend ten minutes thinking about how you would space out the work that you need to do.

When will you start? Will a month investing an hour most days be enough to manage what you need to complete? Or is it better for you – your life, your preferences, your needs – to focus and invest more over a shorter period of time, say two weeks?

There’s no right or wrong time period to take for viva prep.

Whatever you decide, give yourself some wiggle room in your plans. Give yourself a margin of error, because something will go wrong. An unexpected emergency. Something you forgot in your diary. Or a thing you didn’t notice in your thesis that needs a little more thought.

Plan your viva prep – but expect the unexpected!

Nathan

Up Your Sleeve

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You don’t need to be magical to do well in your viva. You don’t need a hidden card with notes up your sleeve or to be able to divine your examiners’ questions before they ask them. You don’t need to be able to perform feats of wonder to astonish all onlookers.

You only need exactly what every good magician has: the right skillset, knowledge and practice.

You can develop all of these over the course of a PhD journey.

No magic words. No hidden talents. Nothing up your sleeve.

You are more than capable of producing what you need at your viva.

Nathan

Saying Why

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Sharing why your research is important is a natural topic of conversation at the viva. Saying why can sometimes be tricky. There are so many factors that you might want to share and so many different ways you might have expressed yourself in the past.

In preparation for talking in your viva, perhaps take a little time to reflect and gather your thoughts. Perhaps make some notes or write a summary. The following questions could help you to explore the “why” of your research:

  • Why was it necessary or important to explore the topic?
  • What were some of the unknowns when you started?
  • What did you not understand? (what do you still not understand?)
  • What are the boundaries of your research?
  • Can your work be applied in other ways?
  • What are the benefits of your work in this area?

Sometimes asking “Why?” is too hard. It’s one word but a big question.

Using other questions to reflect can be a valuable way to break past that barrier. Reflecting on several questions can be a helpful way to respond to “Why?”

Nathan

Special Days

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There are so many special days in the life of a typical human.

Special days usually invite some element of preparation.

A special day might make someone nervous.

You mark your calendar for a special day.

And a special day is often marked in some way: a celebration, big or small, to show that the day really was special.

The viva is a special day in the life of a typical human. Not every human has one, but those that do get there after a long series of days. Some of those will have been special too, but some will have been hard, others will pass without comment and some days will go by in a blur of activity.

The viva takes preparation, you might be nervous because you’ll know it’s a special day ahead of time.

And hopefully you’ll make time to celebrate somehow too.

 

PS: Today is a special day for me as it’s my birthday! I won’t say how old I am, but for a little fun and celebration of my own you can save 42% on all of my ebooks at my Payhip store until the end of the month if you use the code SPECIALDAYS when prompted at the checkout! 🙂

Nathan

If You Forget

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Forgetting something in the viva could happen to any candidate. It’s a reasonable thing to worry about, even if there realistically wouldn’t be a great consequence to a minor lapse in memory.

It’s reasonable to worry about forgetting; if you do then you have to take action to help yourself get past the worry. There’s a lot you could do:

  • Mark out the start of chapters to make your thesis easier to navigate.
  • Mark key sections so you can find important details.
  • Highlight or underline parts of your thesis that you might want to quote.
  • Create summaries of important information.
  • Practise responding to questions to gain comfort for the viva.

There really is a lot you could do if you worry about forgetting something in the viva – and all of this work is part of regular viva preparation!

Nathan

Finding The Words

Daily Post

If you’re concerned about saying the right thing at the viva – or worried about saying the wrong thing – then invest time before then in finding the words to share your research.

Write summaries to draw out key points. Review literature that has helped your work. Take time to rehearse with your supervisor or with friends.

The last part helps a lot. You can’t find the words by only worrying and thinking. You have to talk, because that’s what you have to do in the viva.

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