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Tag: viva preparation

Nathan

Strengths & Weaknesses

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Your examiners will want to talk about the strengths of your work in the viva. They’re there to talk to you about your contribution. Spend time in your prep thinking about what makes your work strong. How is it new? How does it make a difference? What makes it good? Why does it matter?

Your examiners might want to explore weaknesses. They might want to unpick clumsy sentences that don’t express what you had hoped. They may want to ask about limitations. The potential for improving on your research could be a rewarding topic of conversation. What could you do differently? Are you sure you’re right? Why?

Spend a little time thinking about your weaknesses. Spend much more time reflecting on your strengths. The background assumption for the viva is there is something valuable in what you’ve done – be ready to talk about your strengths!

Nathan

Ignorance Is Bliss*

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*but not for the viva.

Sometimes it’s better to not know something (a news story, a headline, a particular meme that is going around) but for the viva, ignorance is definitely not bliss. You need to know things.

You need to know your work. You need to know who your examiners are and what they do. You need to know what about regulations and expectations.

You really need to know that you can’t know everything (and also don’t need to know everything).

You can do all of that. It’s not a huge task to not be ignorant for your viva. And it’s far better than missing something you need to pay attention to.

Nathan

Simple Instructions

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Help for the viva can be summarised very simply.

  1. Before submission, do the work. Write a good thesis.
  2. After submission, read your thesis. Reflect and write on your research. Practise answering unexpected questions. Remind yourself that you must be talented.
  3. On the day, present your most confident self. Listen to questions, pause, respond as well as possible.

It’s simple, but not always easy.

Nathan

Where’s Your Focus?

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Focus on perfection for the viva and you’ll be disappointed.

Having a focus for your preparations is useful. You can see gaps in your confidence, and set goals to bridge those gaps. There’s a lot you could do.

Pick a focus that helps.

You can focus on reading your thesis to learn it. You can focus on your examiners and their research. You can focus on getting feedback from your supervisor. You can focus on trying to answer questions well. You can focus on making your thesis useful by annotating it. You can focus on refreshing your memory of your bibliography. You can focus on asking your friends for help. You can focus on finding out as much as you can about viva experiences. You can focus on building your confidence for the day.

Pick a focus that helps.

Nathan

Why Would I Be OK?

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This is a question I didn’t realise I was asking myself before my viva.

All of my friends told me I would be fine. They’d passed their vivas, they told me I would pass mine. It would be OK.

Why? Why would it all be fine? Why would I be OK? I didn’t know.

I didn’t know that most candidates pass – and pass with minor corrections. I had no idea.

I didn’t know what examiners did in the viva. I didn’t know if there was a format. Were there expectations for vivas? I didn’t know.

I didn’t know what I might be asked about. I had a good understanding of everything I’d done, but I didn’t know if that would be enough. Would that match what my examiners wanted to know? I had no clue.

Everyone told me I would be OK. If I’d been a little more self-aware at the time I would have known to ask, “Why?”

Your viva can be fine. Find out more about what they’re like, find out what you can do to be ready. Then go and be fine.

You’ll be OK.

Nathan

Finding Next Steps

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At some point you have to finish. No more reading papers, no more ideas. Your thesis has to be complete. Enough, done!

In preparation for the viva, checking recent publications shows you are a capable researcher. Thinking of how you might develop your work also shows your talent. It could be you don’t want to pursue any of these ideas because you have other plans for your life. That’s fine. Still spend a little time exploring what could be done with your research.

If you have trouble imagining future next steps, ask some of these questions. Reflect and write down your ideas:

  • What are some easy ways to go further with your results?
  • In what other areas might your approach be useful?
  • What does your work mean for other researchers?
  • What does your work mean for the theory of your discipline?
  • What does you work mean for the practical applications?
  • What would you love to do with your research?

Remember: you don’t have to do any of this. You can be clear about that.

Thinking about it could not only lead to some interesting ideas, but perhaps a different appreciation for the work you’ve already done.

Nathan

Nervous & Important

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People tend to get a bit nervous about important events in their lives.

Sometimes they’re nervous because of the circumstances around it, sometimes because of the outcome, and sometimes for no real reason they can pin down. People are nervous on their wedding day because of the huge occasion. People are nervous when they take a driving test because they want to pass (or want to not fail) and then be free to drive. People are nervous sometimes before concerts or movies because they’re desperate to know if the thing they’re going to matches their expectations.

Being nervous doesn’t mean the event is a bad thing. It’s important, it means something. Humans are told to deal with the nervousness, find a way to make it go away perhaps, find a way to feel better. That’s one strategy, but I’ve become convinced that a better approach is to focus on the important event or task: focus on that and find a way to do it as well you possibly can. Not only will you be working towards the success of the event – in the process you’ll probably do something to help your lower your nervousness too.

What tactics might this suggest for the viva? How could you focus on the event and not your nerves?

  • Read your thesis to have a good mental picture of your work.
  • Check expectations for the day; think about how you could meet them.
  • Find opportunities to talk about your research.
  • Be honest about how you’re feeling; do what you can to feel confident.

Don’t try to distract yourself or not be nervous: have your focus be this important moment, finishing your PhD. Focus on that rather than the worry that comes from pushing away what ifs and maybes and hypotheticals.

Nathan

One, Two, Three

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Years ago, my friend Dr Aimee Blackledge shared with me one of the most useful rules for receiving feedback I’ve ever come across. There are lots of models and ideas about giving feedback, but not so many concepts for receiving feedback. The model Aimee shared with me is one I’ve found helpful for a long time.

If one person tells you something, that’s their opinion. If two people tell you, that could be coincidence. If three people tell you, you should listen!

One, two, three – opinion, coincidence, listen! This has been really helpful for me; I know it’s helped many more people Aimee has shared it with, particularly when receiving negative feedback (constructive or otherwise). Sometimes a piece of feedback is just one person’s opinion. They didn’t like it, maybe for really valid reasons, but that’s just their opinion.

For the viva, this is useful when considering feedback directly – from your supervisors in advance, from your examiners on the day – but I think we can also connect it to expectations as well. If you hear bad things about the viva, who told you? How many people have told you that they had a bad experience? How many people have told you that their viva was fine? What have people said about the details, the format, the structure?

Pay attention to what people say about viva experiences. One person’s detail is just a single experience. If two people tell you about a certain feeling or question that comes up, that could be coincidence. If three or more people tell you about the same aspect of the viva, then you need to listen.

And maybe you need to do something.

Nathan

Yesterday

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If you’ve already submitted your thesis, then yesterday was the best time to start preparing for your viva.

The next best time is today.

But start small. You don’t have to do a lot today. Spend five minutes. Gather together your thesis and some stationery. Figure out how many days until your viva. Sketch a plan of when you can prepare. Make a short list of things that might help. Decide what you’ll do next. Then stop, that’s enough.

Yesterday would have been great, but today is fine to make a start. Later, you can really get to work.

Nathan

Comfort, Stretch, Panic

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Three useful words for experiential learning. Before setting goals or planning out a project, it’s good to think about how you feel about different aspects of the work or the possible outcomes.

  • Comfort: what do you have no problem with? What would feel fine?
  • Stretch: what would be a challenge? What would be new to you, but feels within your capabilities?
  • Panic: what would make you afraid? What would be terrible for you?

These words are useful to frame planning and review of a project. They help with lots of parts of the viva too! In preparation, what feels comfortable about your work? What might stretch you while you review your research? Do any parts of your thesis make you panic?

On the day, how can you get comfortable or feel confident? What could be a stretch in the viva? Do you feel panicked at the thought of any particular questions? After the viva, take time to reflect and review. When did you feel comfortable in the viva? What questions stretched you? Did you panic?

(I hope not!)

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