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In this episode, Dr. Scott Burrus, Provost at United States University chats about the oral defense.

TIPS:

•  Keep your presentation clear and concise; use bullet points and not complete sentences.
• Do a dress rehearsal with your chair. Ask them to quiz you on potential questions and record the meeting so you can refer back to it as you prepare.
• Once your chair has approved your presentation, practice it both in front of a live audience and alone until you are so comfortable that you are not relying on notes. This might take 10 trials or 50; you will know when you own your presentation.
• Do not memorize a script. Tell your story using the bullet points on your slides as cues.
• Practice answers to basic questions like:
  • What was the most surprising finding?
  • What was your biggest challenge, and how did you overcome it?
  • If you had to do this over, what would you do differently?
  • If you had an unlimited budget and time was no issue, what would a qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-methods study look like that could logically follow from your results?
  • What do you believe is the most important practical implication of your research?
  • Summarize your dissertation/doctoral project in 1–3 sentences.
• Before your defense, practice a grounding exercise to calm your mind and body—humming, Apa Japa, or prayer are great choices.
  •  Humming podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1547113/9349250
  • Apa Japa podcast:https://www.buzzsprout.com/1547113/9315017
• Don’t be discouraged if you are asked to make some edits to your manuscript post-defense.
• If you do not pass your oral, refer back to Step 3 in the Happy Doc Studnet Handbook (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0578333732) and when you can respond rather than react, ask your chair for a meeting so you can strategize your plan for passing the next go-round.  
   
   

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