Daily viva help for PhDs
It might be the start of your response to a particular question at the viva.
It’s unlikely to be the only thing you can say or the only thing you need to say in response to that question.
(see also: “I don’t know”, “My supervisor told me to” and “I’ve not thought about that before”)
The viva is a facilitated discussion. Your examiners have a plan with notes and prompts. They’ve prepared. They come to the viva with questions, comments and ideas to invite you into conversation.
There are many possible questions they could have for you:
With all of that said, you don’t need to write a big list of possible questions ahead of the viva and make notes on them all so that you’re ready.
You can prepare for every question simply by rehearsing for the viva. Get experience by finding opportunities to practise responding to questions. Mock vivas, conversations with friends and seminars can vary in how close they will be to your actual viva but all can give support.
Have a plan (which you can practise in advance too!). Whatever the question, take your time to think. Maybe make a note in some way. Pause, take a sip of water. Then take your time to carefully respond. There’s no rush to get the viva done quickly.
Treat every question as important and you’ll give your examiners what they need at your viva.
Expect the unexpected at your viva but don’t expect:
Expect an unexpected question. Expect an unexpected opinion. Expect that your examiners might have less understanding or require helpful explanation. Don’t expect them to change the rules or broader structure of the viva.
Expect the unexpected but expect that the unexpected will still be reasonable and relevant for your work.
At the root of a lot of viva questions and discussions is a why.
Why did you do this? Why does it matter? Why is it helpful?
Why this and not that? Why now? Why did you choose X over Y?
It could be explicit or quiet, it could be a why you have thought about for years or a why you are finding for the first time.
As you get ready for your viva, consider all the whys you know in your preparations. Consider what happens as you rehearse and offer whys in your mock viva and other spoken preparations.
What can you do to help yourself be more ready to talk about the whys?
There’s a good chance, whatever your research area, that you can be asked a question at your viva for which you have no answer. There’s a chance even that you could be asked a question for which no-one has an answer – there are simply opinions.
When you have an opinion – or are called to think and explore your opinion in the moment – it helps to pause and think a little. There’s plenty of time to do that in your viva.
None of this is evading the question: it’s all geared towards you offering the most considered opinion you can depending on the situation.
In fact, to engage well at the viva, whatever the question, pause and think before you respond. Even if you have an answer ready, something you’ve considered and refined for years. Pause and think just in case there is a subtlety in the question that you’re rushing past in your desire to show what you know.
When you’re called on for your opinion at the viva give yourself a little time to respond well.
If you and your examiners all know about something then you can talk with the same reference points.
If you know something and your examiners don’t then you might have to explain something to them so that you can have a fruitful discussion.
If your examiners know something and you don’t then you will benefit from being ready to ask questions so that you know more and can respond to their questions.
Neither you nor your examiners can know everything! There might be topics or questions where no-one knows the truth and none of you have given much thought to it previously. That doesn’t mean you can’t take the opportunity of the viva to use what you do know to consider and discuss.
Whatever you or your examiners know or don’t know, because the viva is a conversation you have space to think, ask questions, offer ideas and make the most of the opportunity.
Inspired by thinking about the Johari Window model!
That’s what you can expect most of all from your examiners. They’re not there to ask awkward or difficult questions to catch you out. Their questions are always asked with real purpose. They want to hear what you think, what you know, what you understand and what you can do.
They don’t want to catch you out. They don’t want to haze you or break you. They don’t want to find the edges of your capability and test you that way. Every question they ask is an opportunity for you to demonstrate what you can do. Every question is one more chance for you to keep going and keep showing what your research is all about.
No tricks, no traps – just opportunities to shine.
The start of your viva can be prepared for even if you don’t know exactly how it will begin.
There are many questions people suggest are typical for the start of the viva:
Assuming these questions and similar are typical you don’t need to prepare scripted responses. They are the kinds of questions that connect with topics you’ve talked about many times before. They’re asked to be a good opening, something to ease you past any initial nervousness and into the main discussion.
Some examiners ask candidates to prepare presentations to start the viva for the same purpose. They always do this with plenty of advance notice and clear expectations in terms of length, purpose and logistics.
There are lots of possible starting points to a viva. You can be prepared even if you don’t know which question will start yours. More importantly, you can decide how you want to start your viva and take steps to be ready.
PS: got questions of what to expect from the viva and yourself? You’ll find a lot of answers and ideas in Viva Survivors Select Volume 1, which released this week! Volume 1 is my complete collection of helpful viva zines from last year: eight issues, 165 posts from the archives and lots of new resources – and available at an introductory offer price until 31st January 2026!
What’s fair or unfair at your viva?
What’s fair or unfair at your viva? And is “fairness” a useful thing to focus on?
Worrying about what questions might come up or whether your examiner is the best choice is at best a distraction. Instead, bring your focus on to what you can do and what you did.
Is it fair that your examiners have to examine you after a short amount of preparation compared to your years of work?
If you were to start your PhD over again what would you do differently?
If you were to start again what would you do the same?
I don’t know how often examiners ask these questions. I’ve seen them suggested as good general discussion questions but haven’t verified if they’re widespread.
That said, they might be helpful questions to reflect on during viva prep.
What would you do differently? Write down three things you would change. Be specific. Say why. Consider the impact of these changes. What else might change as a result? Could you have done any of these at the time or do you only know this with the benefit of hindsight?
What would you do the same? Write down three things you would not change about your approach. Be specific and say why. What was the impact of these actions and why would it be important for you to do it the same again? Were you sure of their impact the first time around?
Your examiners need to unpick your process at the viva. It helps if you take time to do that during your prep.