Final Ph.D. oral defence: A winning attitude (II)

Sometimes, you feel justified to argue because your three years’ (or more) work is on the line.  But look at the things that are on the line for the examiners:Their credibility, their reputation, their own PhDs – which they probably earned eon of years ago, their position and standing within their field, all the theses […]

Sometimes, you feel justified to argue because your three years’ (or more) work is on the line.  But look at the things that are on the line for the examiners:
Their credibility, their reputation, their own PhDs – which they probably earned eon of years ago, their position and standing within their field, all the theses or dissertations they had examined in the past, you’re also making them lose face – because there are at least two other adults with you in the room.
So, if you consider that you’re putting a question mark on all aspects of the professor’s professional career, you’ll understand why they would not want to lose an argument with a baby PhD or yet-to-be-minted doctor who probably spent a quarter of his research time on Facebook.  So don’t start an argument you can’t win.

3. You’re going to pass – believe it!
Believe you’re going to pass, yes, go with a strong conviction that you’re not going to fail.  The examiners do not want you to fail. They just want to see if you’re now a scholar – a worthy peer.  Actually, it’s administratively more costly if you failed than when you passed.
The examiners respect you and are likely to treat you like an equal.  You’re now their peer!  What they want from you is what they expect from themselves – an academic conversation.  Actually, the final defence is all about academic conversation, so prepare to give them one.  Just be confident and have fun.
Erik Marshall, author of Surviving the Dissertation Defence, said “Remember that your committee [panel] wants you to succeed.  This is usually true. Your committee would not let you get to the stage of a public defense if they did not know that you would pass. They have seen drafts and given comments on your project, so they know it and know whether it is ready. They will ask you hard questions, but, in most cases, they won’t try to trap you in unanswerable questions,” “What usually happens is that the examiners have read the work typically twice,” said Professor Joe Wolfe of the University of New South Wales and author of How to Write a Thesis, “and looked closely at some parts that interested them most. These are usually the good bits. The examiners have standards to uphold, but they are not out to fail you. (Administratively, it is a lot more complicated to fail you than to pass you!) In general, they feel good about the idea of a new, fresh researcher coming into their area. You are no immediate threat to them. They have to show that they have read it and they have to give you the opportunity to show that you understand it (you do, of course). And they usually have a genuine interest in the work. Some of them may feel it is necessary to maintain their image as senior scholars and founts of wisdom. Judicious use of the “Good question”, “Yes, you’re right of course”, “Good idea..” and “Thanks for that” will allow that with a minimum of fuss and a maximum of time for champagne drinking.”
What are your chances of failure?  1.6%!  That’s one professor’s odds.  Out of 60 theses she examined only one person failed.  So you have a 98.3% chance of success.  Cool!
Update on Algebra Project
Our coordinator from Adamawa State wrote:
“Salaam alayk,
 Quite a while, we have not interacted.   I received my books after the strike by air cargo handlers.
 I must tell you that this programme is succeeding and the students are even asking for more areas to be covered. My evaluation of the whole thing, after 4 weeks, shows an impressive progress. We are going to expand by admitting three more clusters of 25 students. One of the groups will be student admitted to read math in the FCE [Federal College of Education], Yola. This is to improve on their current level and build in them the interactive skills of the book hoping that they use it when they are out on teaching practice. We are also seriously looking to have a class for math teachers of junior secondary schools to enhance their own quality for a better output to the students.
Regards to Josh [Rappaport, the author of Algebra Survival Guide: A Conversational Guide for the Thoroughly Beffudled] and the family.”
 May God bless the Adamawa State coordinator, he’s contributed to this programme than any other person, yet he pleaded with me not to mention his name on this page again.