10 Doctoral Dissertation Defense Ideas That Can Help You Stand Out

Many students are completely terrified by the moment when they have to defend their thesis. After months of hard work for creating it, now you need to answer the questions of your teaches regarding the topic that you analyzed, the research that you did, and the aspect of the issue. The questions are not always connected to your content, and you need to have a good knowledge in order to be able to answer each one of them. These tips will help you survive this and pass your dissertation defense successfully:

1. Don’t study the night before. You had months to prepare for this, so there is nothing much you can do right now to improve your knowledge. Better get a good sleep so you can be well rested for the second day.
2. Write on a post-it the important things. Maybe there is some elements that you need to emphasize. It’s much easier if you have them on a small list that you read before the presentation.
3. Get to know the professors. It will be much easier for you if you know who will ask the questions and what to expect from each person.
4. Remember they are not there to make you fail. Even if they are testing your knowledge, all of them want to see you passing, so do not look at them as your enemy.
5. Be relaxed. This is difficult for most of the students, but it is actually important. Be calm and relaxed; smiling during the presentation can help you a lot with this.
6. Be honest. If you need to express your opinion, but it’s not something that is easily accepted, be honest and let them know exactly what you think. Believe us, they will appreciate this.
7. Admit when you don’t know the answer. It’s better to state openly that you don’t know than to find excuses or to try to compose a strange answer.
8. Show that you are knowledgeable. Don’t be afraid to show that you studied; mention authors, references, statistics, anything that is related to the topic and it can develop your answer.
9. Don’t extend your answers more than necessary. Sometimes you want to be as explicit as possible, and you get lost in details. This is something you need to watch out for; be clear and short.
10. Be polite and open. Make sure that you are polite, open and calm for the entire duration of the defense. Nobody want to see an aggressive, frowned student.