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Tag: viva prep

Nathan

Summary Values

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Summaries are not scripts. You don’t write an overview of your results to be able to read them out. You don’t make a list of helpful references to simply parrot them back on the day.

The value of a summary is that it helps to highlight what matters. It’s a practical task that gives you an opportunity to draw your thinking together. It helps you to find the words you need to express yourself.

If you invest a little time in writing one or two summaries before your viva then you prime yourself to respond well in the viva.

Nathan

Three Part Success

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There are three parts to a successful viva:

  • Effective preparation before the viva;
  • Full engagement during the viva;
  • Relieved celebration after the viva.

Before the viva you need to take steps to get ready. Plan your prep in advance so you don’t feel pressured for time. There’s a lot of generally good advice about kinds of activities help (and a lot of that on this blog). Make sure you don’t leave it too late, but remember you have done a lot already that puts you in a good position.

During the viva take your time. Breathe. Pause. Your examiners want you to engage with and respond to the discussion. They are not simply looking for rapid-fire responses or testing your memory. They need to have a conversation so that you can demonstrate what you did, what you know and what you can do. Take your time. Engage – and enjoy!

When the viva is finished do something to celebrate. Smile. You’ll probably have corrections to complete, but all in due course. On the day you can celebrate your achievement. You’re very likely to succeed, so perhaps have an idea or two in mind before the viva to help motivate you.

There are three parts to a successful viva – after, of course, a successful research journey and thesis submission.

Notice that at every stage the key factor is you.

Nathan

A Special Day

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When you think ahead to it, how do you describe your viva?

Do you feel it will be a challenge? Do you joke that your examiners will give you a grilling? Do you find thinking about your viva a bit scary?

When you think of all you’ve done, do you imagine your viva will be special? Important? Easy?

Do you think you will feel nervous, anxious or worried in the days before?

Words matter. The words you use to describe your viva, your preparation and yourself all matter. They are the story you tell about the situation.

Will you need to be lucky or do you think you will be ready?

Nathan

It’s Complicated

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If your research wasn’t complicated then it probably wouldn’t be up to the standard needed for a PhD. It will help you, however, to explore how you can express your ideas clearly, simply.

The process for getting ready for the viva isn’t a straight-forward linear process; deciding when to start and what to do can be a complicated business. You can simplify things by asking simple questions and doing simple things.

Knowing what to expect from your viva is a very complicated question. It depends on what field you’re in, what university you’re at, whether your viva is in-person or over-video, who your examiners are, what time of year you submit and many other factors. Or simply, you can expect a conversation for several hours or so, lead by examiners and their questions.

Ask anything about the viva and the honest first response is: “It’s complicated.” If you find the right help and explore a little though, you’ll probably find that there are simple things to consider which will really help you.

Nathan

A Lasting Contribution

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Nothing lasts forever. How long will your contribution to knowledge stand? How many years before there is something bigger, better, more considered or more helpfully stated?

On the one hand, you don’t need to account for everything that will or could happen in your field with respect to your research.

On the other, it could be helpful to think about what could happen next to help you share something of the significance you see and that you hope others will see in time.

Consider what your work could mean in the future and you can help yourself to consider what it means right now.

Nathan

Find Your Numbers

Daily Post

I’ve worked with over 6500 people who were getting ready for their viva. I’ve now been publishing this daily blog for five years. Today happens to be the 1800th post.

And every time I am about to start a webinar I get nervous.

Every time I finish up a post I wonder if it is alright.

Every month I wonder if I’m going to run out of things to say or what I might do if no-one wants my help.

I’ve been working in this area for over a decade and I still have doubts. I still get nervous. And that’s OK, that’s part of the process. Over time I’ve found ways to build up my confidence and balance out the nervousness I feel. I’m nervous because I treat what I do as important.

I’m confident, at least in part, because of the numbers I focus on. If I’ve done that many viva prep sessions, helped that many people, written that many posts – well, I can do one more!

What numbers will help convince you on your journey to the viva? The number of times you’ve presented work? The number of days or hours you’ve shown up to work on your PhD? The number of papers you’ve read to build your knowledge of your field?

Find the numbers that will help build your confidence for the viva.

Nathan

The First-Year Viva

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I write and publish this blog with the final PhD viva in mind, but there are other times when some of the ideas and advice might be applied. The first-year viva naturally springs to mind: a test that marks confirmation that a postgraduate researcher is on track. After a year of work they have made progress, are showing their potential and their department is confident that they will complete their PhD.

Thoughts on how to prepare for the first-year viva are very similar to the final viva. Ideas of who can support you, expressed throughout the many posts of this blog, are the same: your supervisors, your colleagues, your friends and family. The expectations for first-year vivas are very similar.

Everything is smaller though. Shorter than the final viva. Less work expected. Less prep needed. The stakes and the desired outcome are nowhere near as great as the final viva.

Of course, for all the same reasons that one might feel nervous for the final viva, you might feel nervous for your first-year viva. Worries about what to expect. Uncertainty about whether you’ve done enough. Anxiety about whether or not you are good enough.

All the same remedies are needed as for the final viva. You can’t simply change how you feel. You can work to get past the worry and stress. Do the prep. Ask for help. Reflect on your journey so far. Remember that you’re learning, developing, but capable. You are good enough.

Ask others from your department about their experiences in the first-year viva to learn more about what to expect. Then use that to work well and work past any doubts you have about the future of your PhD journey.

Nathan

What Do You Do?

Daily Post

Here and there in my posts you’ll see subtle hints and outright confirmation that I love games of all kinds. Computer and video games, board games, card games, role-playing and story games. Thematic games, abstract games, little games, big games – basically games of all kinds, purposes, styles and descriptions.

I have a particular fondness for role-playing and story games. I love the countless possibilities when one reads a game and appreciates the intent and flavour that someone else has presented – that is now open to interpretation, modification and enjoyment by the people who are going to play. It’s a great thrill!

In many role-playing games, whatever their mechanical rules or genre, there is a fundamental question asked by the people playing whenever a situation is encountered: What do you do?

  • A dragon appears in the dungeon! What do you do?
  • You try to open the door but it’s stuck. What do you do?
  • The person you’re talking to has answered your question but you’re not sure if they’re telling the truth. What do you do?

There could be a facilitator for the game or not. You might be playing with a group or responding to prompts in a text. You might be rolling dice or drawing cards to influence the outcome but still at some point the question is always, “What do you do?”

 

It strikes me that this simple question is one that helps a lot in so many other situations, even with the viva.

  • You find a passage in your thesis after submission that doesn’t read well. What do you do?
  • Your first-pick for external examiner has cancelled. What do you do?
  • You have a week before your viva and want to boost your confidence. What do you do?
  • It’s two hours into your viva and your internal has called for a break. What do you do?
  • It’s two hours into your viva and your internal has asked a question you’ve never considered before. What do you do?

You might have an idea in mind. You might need to ask someone for information or help. You might not be in a hurry. Eventually, you have to do something. You’re the only one who can do something to move things forward or start the process.

It might not help to consider endless “what if…” possibilities, but considering how you might approach particular challenges could help. More importantly, recognising that it really is you who will have to do something to resolve a challenge, big or small, can help you realise that you’ll need to take action.

So, what do you do?

Succeeding in the viva is not a game, but it can help your confidence to have a winning strategy. You don’t need to play a role to pass. If a challenge presents itself pause and ask yourself what you will do. Then do it and move closer to your ultimate goal.

Nathan

Do This

Daily Post

Read your thesis. Write an overview. Have a mock. Congratulations you did it!

There is a lot of good, general advice for the viva but it can’t be reduced to an easy step-by-step instruction book. The unique nature of every viva, thesis and candidate mean that prep has to be individual.

And still: every submission period of prep work comes down to making time and doing the work. Reflecting, checking, thinking again, getting ready and reminding yourself that you are a good researcher.

Do the research, get your thesis done, do the prep – do all of this and you’ll succeed.

Step-by-step you go towards success.

Nathan

Pressures & Priorities

Daily Post

When and how do you get ready for the viva? How do you manage what needs to be done, especially considering that you’ve already got lots that you need to do?

Consider the pressures on your time and availability to get the work done. You don’t need thirty hours per week for a month before the viva; a little time each day can help. Focussed work helps you get ready.

If you have a job or responsibilities, if you’re looking for work or face other pressures then you can find time to get your prep done. Step back and look at the big picture. Find gaps to allow you to get the work done.

Consider that viva prep – even while getting ready for your viva – is probably not the number one priority in your life. Acknowledge that it needs doing, accept that there are other things that have to be your main focus, then plan out where and when you will do your work to get ready for the viva.

Sketch a plan over the period you think best, making sure there is enough time to do all of the things that will help you: reading your thesis, making notes, checking papers and rehearsing for the viva.

The pressures and priorities that are your personal situation can only be navigated by you. Step back: look at how things are and what you need to make space for. Then find a solution that works for you.

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