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oral defense (working the room during oral defense (pausing techniques for…
oral defense
working the room during oral defense
natural eye contacts
find and stay more on the friendly faces
looking at friendly faces for reassurance
more eye contacts on whom you are answering to
but also use eye contacts to draw others in the discussion
looking at the committee member for the signs if the message is getting through
if discomfort is noticed, try to alter the delivery to let audience sit back and enjoy
speaking with appropriate volume and pace
using pauses to let audience to catch up your points with ears
gentle hand gesture (reducing fidgets)
pointing to an item on screen
moving with demonstrating items
turning note pages
pausing techniques for reception
taking a sip of water
turning a page of notes
asking people questions
pointing to screen
taking moments to breath
finally thanks the committee members
answering questions from committee members
be professional and courteous in reacting and answering even if I feel provoked
Written Work: Finalize and filing the thesis
note that revision on the thesis would be discussed
submitted thesis itself is expected to be solid, well organized, worth reading
attention to the steps necessary to file the final committee approved copy with the university
take notes of items committee members want clarifications or challenged or requested to revise
jot down the topics for improvements
The defense result is
pass
yet possibly minor revision is required
informal process
after revision, finally, sending a copy to advisers and committee members
failure
revision might be required
will be required to resubmit and to be re-examined by another committee later
recall the support network and the reason why I pursue the degree
Paper copy
read and follow my university specifications
electronic version
again, university specifications
file size, font, figures, ...
issues
what parts of the thesis the public can access
which semester I aimed at graduation
Can I use cue cards or any visual aids during the defense?
what i can bring in the defense?
thesis copy, ok
notes for presentations, ok
notes for answering potential questions, ok
visual aids chart or graph or tables, ok
key sources of literature and associated notes, ok
show and tell items, ok
rethink the relationship with my university --> partnership
reflect you, your advisers, the quality of education by the university
you obtain your degree from the university and use it in job seeking
specifications for delivering your thesis copy to the university
nature / meaning / purposes
nature
authentic to your original work
credibility
assure having done the work
understood the academic process
a form of communications in academic community
functions
draw supportable conclusions
restate the contributions to the knowledge in the related fields
clarify the confused parts
answering the enquiries
effective communication with academic community
peer review process
evaluate whether the research meets the requirement of the study program
advantage to pass through this process (-->motivation)
skills gained to handle the demanding questioning or potentially hostile people in career
survive in oral defense --> survive in any circumstance requiring reporting, discussing, arguing or even debating
emphasis on
the results
discussion of the result (interpretation)
Preparation for success
personal qualities
mindset or attitude
interpersonal skills
feel relax and comfortable & less the feel of crawling, even there is still some forgotten facts or misunderstanding.
take enough rest and relaxing exercise
willing to participate in the discussion
open minded to revision requests
patience to listen the comments and questions
take clarity to answer them
get ready through preparation, avoid last minute cramming
right frame of mind
get ride of pride, throw away paranoia, giving up any grudges
bear in mind the nature of oral exam is an academic process to objectively test your research skills, rather than arguing, even there is any personality conflicts
bear in mind everyone including committee members could have different personalities, tendencies and preference
taking moral high ground and assuming good intentions behind the questions and choosing the professional way to answer them, even I feel hostile in the situation
avoid overreactions
notice stress may skew my perception
making venting afterward!!
confidence
ability to remain clam
knowledge & expertise
quick thinking
organize for scheduling & preparing for my defense
making you feel comfortable rather crawling
making a backup plan in case of something wrong
meeting with my adviser for gaining the similar perspectives on the strength and weakness of the study --> confidence and support in the defense
knowing more about the chair person and defense procedure
if needed, giving prior distribution of the drafted thesis to committee members
not try to bring everything to defense
not try to bring everything to defense
rather focus on describing and discussing the major concepts & fluently present the ideas
too many looking up may cause disrupting and distraction and lessen the confidence of committee members
depend on your brain, rather than paper
potential logistic inconvenience
practice out loud the presentation at least three days ago & practice over and over in order to learn the improvement each time and wait for the best presentation to come; take physical breaks
the aim is to flesh out the main points of the outlines
loud voice can draw a strong self-consciousness on the matter in presentation
notice which rough spots or unexpected mishaps
making annotation and find ways to solve the problems
prepare your mind of stating things in a better way
recall your previous practice for thesis proposal
if success, keep it; if not, using a different methods
the unconsciousness may be distracting to some unrelated tasks, practice to use mindfulness to focus my cognition on the subjects
Get enough preparation & being relax
rewarding myself after putting effort
relaxing with laughters
not be afraid to disconnect yourself from this stressful task
chatting or having entertainment with your family or friends
getting enough sleep to make myself refreshed and have a clear mind
find ways to have stress relievers
I have been done for years towards this day
during & after oral defense
ask for your friend or family members to accompany
expect to be flexible in time and conditions (non-stop chatting or silence)
not to drive after finishing the oral exam
stress relieve of the worst may cause unpredictable thing
prepare to stop thinking it
remember to thank the committee members
perception of oral defense
perform
to complete the thesis final process of peer review
to play dramatic role
thinking of an oral defense as a ceremony
a covenor to chair as a master of ceremony
communicate audience with the order of events
set the expectation of audience
introduce the roles of committee members & student
speaking "ladies & gentlemen"
control of speaking right with the microphone
questioning in a fair manner
the candidate is given adequate opportunity to answer
the examiners are given sufficient opportunity to ask questions
reporting the conclusions on the results of viva
committee members
stage managers
may have last-minute change in presentation
1 more item...
challenge me when I am heading in a wrong direction
your work in shape and receive cheers rather than jeer
evaluate the candidate's performance
making recommendations on the report
sign the completed form
I myself as a headliner
committee members are my captive audience
receive suggested revision or changes from the committee members
probably the only time to talk about your research and passionate experience & infectious eththusisam
dress comfortable clothes but showing respect for your audience & committee members
present your content in an attractive way to keep all attentive to receive your message
consider to use visual aids or pass-around presentation items
consider to give stimulus to the sensory channels of my audience
break the monotony
keep myself engaged in the presentation content and the attention of my audience as well
my supervisor
take note of revision requirement and ensure these are clearly recorded in the report form
essentials to personal work
ability or skills to completely memorize (take time)
review the statements of research problem
the thesis title
hypotheses
bear in mind those phrases and keywords on which the researcher can fall back
reasons to memorize these
when veering off on a tangent (talking about a new subject)
filtering those discussion through refocusing on the research problem, title, hypotheses
diplomatically steering the discussion back to study focus
check those essential literature again in relation to the thesis (backbone)
the sources used in lit review, and methodology, reference list
pick those essential sources that the assertions or arguments could not be supported without them
adding sources --> opening up new avenues for discussion
to supplement the omissions
re-read the key sources & your notes, and attempt to re-skim the original abstracts, figures, and conclusions
the effect is to enhance the recalling speed of the relevant sources when answering the questions from committee
collate them into a handy binder
let committee immediately review the source when questioning about that key source
looking for the most latest literature related to the thesis
relevant journal, concerned experts
be familiarizing with the abstract
Committee may ask if you read the recent article by ... about ...?
Yes, i was especially interested in .... e.g. its conclusion ...
Data: simple revision
not the time to make substantial changes
lead to timid presentation
undermine the assertion
need time to collect thoughts and make amendments
review or skim through data-collection instruments & logbook or journal or notes
refresh memory for some details or enjoyable anecdotes
add depth to the discussion at defense
not necessary to be included in the presentation outline
review analysis rationale
the reason to select the analysis method, and not to select the optional methods
when looking back, the method may not be the right choice because ...
technique: using first person lang, like "I" because this is my research and I decided the chosen method
using visual aids
guiding your idea flow
keeping main points clearly in visual ways
thesis title, descriptions about the subjects, RQ, hypothesis, guiding questions, methodologies steps, major findings, conclusions
figures used in the thesis, data collection sheet samples
graph & tables
any related photographs, diagrams or flow charts (e.g. participant selection process)
presentation
time control (no rush to end it)
practice and timing it
practice it alone or in front of others
grasp the main points as a summary of my study
research problem, purpose, brief LR, theoretical framework, RQs, RMs, DC, DA, Results, Discussion & Interpretation, implication for practice
thorough understanding about how each part of my research relate to each others and the overall theme (packing)
abstract is most eye catching packing
find out the assigned room and try practice there
Anticipate the questions and practice to answer them
sources of questions
from committee members
asking what I did, why i did, what it found, what it means & implies
request clarifications
e.g. any collaboration
ask the candidate to resolve their doubts
probe the Candidate's knowledge in the field
determine if the candidate understand the significance of my work in the broad context of his subject
assure student's own work
the candidate done the work
has sufficient understanding and grasp the subject matter
could be detailed questions
responding attitudes
listen carefully
carefully listen to and acknowledge every question posed by the committee
If i do not understand the question posed by the committee
ask the committee to rephrase the question
I may paraphrase the question again to ensure my perceived question is correct
respond both respectfully and scientifically
give a professional response with well thought out rationales
give a complete and succinct answer
some questions I can't answer
missing one or two questions will not fail the oral exam
e.g. have you read that recent article. what do you think how the results related to yours?
If not, just tell I did read it and could you please give me the reference and I will read it
Yes, I did, the finding is interesting and I think....
Sometimes, it may need clarification only. But, still keep answering respectfully and scientifically. Try to refer to the page number of my thesis and answer the question
questioning the methodologies
specific steps used to collect and analyze data
intention: the methodology can attain to test the overall hypotheses and answer the RQs?
sampling
how to select the participants
the extent the result can generalize to
validatity & reliability to use the instruments
the pilot study as well
any internal & external threat to the validity of data collection
questions about statistical analysis in details
some demanding suggestion for revisions
thought it may strengthen the study but it implies to conduct another independent study
restate RQs and purpose to affirm the scope of my study and filter out the suggestions. But, it is very interesting point and I will add it to my section for recommending further research
win win strategy
acknowledge the question posed by the committee
made minimum change to my thesis
some committee members suggested the other procedural options
If I don't agree with it
give a relatively detailed explanation / rationales on deciding to use that procedure, based on data & other researchers
acknowledge their suggested point and give a professional & scientific answer
get it settled
if the suggestion is easy to handle, e.g. the table heading or content
I agree with you. It will certainly clarify the table.
giving respectful responses
Posturing of committee membersl
the long, rambling comments are not real questions at all
some members may exhibit their knowledge about the topic to other members
let they talk and not to be interrupted
keep respectful listening to the signal of ending his/her say
usually no change is required to my thesis
avoid lack of informed consent about the oral defense (having a cognitive and psychological preparation on it)
otherwise, it may result in during-defense paralysis
clear picture what weaknesses or threats may transpire during oral defense
otherwise, it may result in pre-defense fear
otherwise, it may result in post-defense depression
Main points: what & why I did such a research, what it found and means and implies.
seek assistance before defense
asking recent graduates' experience
psychological aspects
first-hand accounts
how to defend from start to finish
any high or low instances
what learned from the process
what were doing differently if doing it over again
what the key to success
any relational changes between themselves and committee members afterwards
what you brought in the room of defense?
how did you rehearse for your defense?
moral & emotional support
telling your friends or family members who have been supporting my research endeavors, about the need of support, invest all of you to carry out in the course and would not quit
important supporting relationships stay intact
reminding yourself of being smart and capable
coming up with strategies to stay clam during defense
taking a break & telling I need their support