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Tag: viva preparation

Nathan

7 Tips For A Viva Presentation

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Presentations are not often requested by examiners to start the viva, but they can be a useful way to get things started. If your examiners ask for one they’re giving you a way to control the start of the viva, and hoping you can use it to start well.

Of course, you could still be nervous, as people often are when called to give a presentation. Here are some thoughts on what you could do to help your presentation:

  1. Think Why-How-What to give structure: Why did you do your research? How did you do it? What were the results? This can do a lot to frame a good presentation.
  2. Check to see if other candidates have given presentations. How long were they? What did they decide to include? Use this to help shape the depth and content you share.
  3. Ask your supervisors for their perspective. What are the key results or ideas you have to tell your examiners about?
  4. Decide on the format. Powerpoint or whiteboard? Prompts or script?
  5. Recycle! Do you have diagrams, slides or other material you have used before, that could be repurposed for this presentation? You don’t have to start from scratch.
  6. Practice! If your examiners are expecting a twenty minute overview, don’t show up with fifty slides you’ve not rehearsed.
  7. Remember this is all about giving you a good way to start the viva.

You might not be asked to give a presentation to start the discussion. Still, giving a presentation could be a valuable task in advance of your viva. Many of the things you would do to prepare a presentation will also serve you well as part of your viva preparation. Giving a presentation could also be a great confidence boost before the viva.

Nathan

Who Are Your Examiners?

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Once you know their names, check them out. It’s useful to check recent publications to get a sense of their own knowledge and research focus. It’s useful to follow that up with a look at their staff pages to see what else you can find out. What are their research interests? What teaching do they do?

It is also really useful to be aware of what they are like as people. Have you met them at conferences? What do you know about your internal? What do their students say?

Knowing their research may give you insight into questions they may have, but knowing about them helps create a picture that these are real people coming to talk to you. Not faceless strangers, unknowable and uncaring: they are humans like you.

Knowing a little about them can help your confidence a lot for the viva.

Nathan

Seat Belts & Viva Prep

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I got in a taxi a few weeks ago and the driver didn’t wear his seat belt.

Nothing bad happened, we didn’t have far to go, it wasn’t raining and the roads were quite clear…

But WOW! was I nervous!!!

Most cars don’t get into accidents. Most drivers pay attention properly and do what they need to. Wearing a seat belt, as helpful and vital to safety as it is, shouldn’t be needed. You do it because the consequences could be awful if you don’t.

Over a full-time PhD you could do 6000 hours of work. You build up talent, knowledge, instinct – all of which is helpful in the several hours you’ll be in the viva. But you still need to invest time before then, a small period of viva preparation, to be ready. The relatively small amount of work can make the difference in your viva.

It can help you do your best work on the day rather than face a stressful situation you’re unprepared for. Take the time to cover all the little things you need.

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.

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