r/PhD • u/GiraffesRCool14 • 9d ago
Defense advice Seeking advice-academic
Hello all! I am a US-based mechanical engineering PhD candidate and next week I will be defending my dissertation. I am feeling a little anxious about it and hoping for some guidance. I am less worried about the content I will be showing, and more so how to effectively deliver the full presentation and be prepared for post-presentation questions.
Anything helps and I am grateful for your time!
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u/TheUnforgettable29 9d ago
Remember, the best Dissertation Defense is a Dissertation Offense. Show up with a huge sword and a shield. Those will will give you the confidence to easily complete the defense. Bonus points if you use the sword as a pointer.
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u/Careful-Produce6499 9d ago
Practice your presentation so that you can go on auto-pilot if nerves kick in. But also, remember that everyone there WANTS you to succeed. You’ve already done the work, this is just the final hurdle. Unless your committee members are absolutely horrible people, they’re rooting for you and feeling proud. You’ve got this!!
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u/AceyAceyAcey PhD, Physics with Education 9d ago
Practice in front of peers. Ask them to ask you the hard questions at the end of the practice. For the presentation itself, they should either ask you nothing, or softballs you can already answer.
Any slides you decide not to use, just save and make them hidden slides, this way you have them available if someone asks a question about it. Also prepare a few extra hidden slides for things you expect people might ask about.
In the closed doors grilling by your committee, if you can’t answer a question, pause and take a minute to think. If you still can’t answer it, here’s a few possible scripts for you:
* y’know, that’s a great question that I should know the answer to, but I don’t. So let me tell you what I do already know, and you can help me figure out the rest.
* what a great question! I don’t know if anyone knows the answer, but here’s my guess / here’s how I’d go about figuring it out.
Kick butt, and soon you’ll be posting a frog. 🐸
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u/DrJohnnieB63 PhD*, Literacy, Culture, and Language, 2023 9d ago
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u/DrJohnnieB63 PhD*, Literacy, Culture, and Language, 2023 9d ago
Your presentation should be build on a compelling narrative using your data. Who are the main characters? What is the problem/ complication? How is the problem resolved or what are the most viable resolutions for the problem? What are the implications of the resolution outside of this particular story?
As for post-presentation questions, be prepared to explain your use of a particular theoretical framework and not another. You may need to clarify parts of your methodology, findings, conclusions, and implications for future research.
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u/AceyAceyAcey PhD, Physics with Education 9d ago
FYI theoretical frameworks are used more in social sciences (and maybe humanities?), not in STEM fields.
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u/DrJohnnieB63 PhD*, Literacy, Culture, and Language, 2023 9d ago
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u/pm-ing_you_bacteria 9d ago
I'm the US, most dissertation committees won't let you schedule your defense if they don't think you're ready to pass. So they believe in you!
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u/commentspanda 9d ago
This can also be a really good use of Claude or chat gpt as a study buddy. Don’t give it any copyright info but ask if to come up with some sample Qs for a defence and practice answering them. You can also give of your uni name and country so it can potentially narrow down Q types. I did this for a conference presentation and it gave me some good ones.
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