Do’s and Don’ts on a Dissertation Defense
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Loading ...Posted on March 9, 2007
Well, I can understand why you are worrying about the day of dissertation defense. Show me someone who wasn’t. Even if you know everything perfectly, a slight feeling of butterflies in a stomach doesn’t let you forget about the big event. Here are some tips on how to gain confidence.
Do:
- Attend defenses that are prior to yours. It’s always good to know at least approximately how a defense looks like. Go to five or six. The more defenses you stay at, the better you learn the procedure and, therefore, the more confident you become on your own defense day.
- Prepare mentally for the day of defending a dissertation. Practice in front of the mirror; look at how you use gestures. If you have problems with giving presentations, schedule your time. If you know that you tend to talk quickly, practice saying words more slowly, and highlighting important parts.
- Discuss your research with friends and colleagues. It looks like a strategy. Give a rehearsal presentation for your friends and colleagues, and make them ask questions. Mind that the ability to pull yourself together and bring ideas forward clearly is important, and leaves a good impression on the committee.
- Know your committee. Arrange a meeting with the members of your committee to evaluate the situation. When talking, try to predict what kinds of questions these people will ask you. Ask colleagues – they probably had some of the members in their committees, and can share personal experience with you.
- Don’t share pieces of dissertation with the committee until the actual day of defense. If you prematurely share sections of your writing with committee members you will probably find yourself in a situation where one committee member tells you to do one thing and another member says to do something else. Discuss all your questions with the supervisor.
- Memorize presentation by heart. It usually leads to disasters, for the fear of losing a thread of conversation is unstoppable. Also, if someone or something interrupts you, you will find out that it is hard to start right from where you finished. Write down a basic plan, and just talk about the dissertation.
- Don’t try to do a presentation by yourself. Make committee members part of your team. You might want to discuss the strategy with the major professor.
- Don’t be aggressive. Nobody is going to threaten you with weapons, and make you accept a certain point of view. It’s natural that you are defending the results of long and hard work, but any of the committee members is able to bring in something new. Be flexible, and react politely.
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