Lennart Nacke: After 15 Years in Academia, I’ll Tell You in 30 seconds…

Lennart Nacke, Professor and University Research Chair at University of Waterloo, shared a post on X:

“After 15 years in academia, I’ll tell you in 30 seconds:

1. Perfect presentations don’t pass vivas. (Confident discussions do.)
2.  Your weaknesses are actually opportunities (to show academic maturity) Here’s the viva slide playbook that works every time:

Your viva isn’t about memorizing your thesis.

It’s about demonstrating three things:

1.  You understand your research deeply
2.  You can defend your choices confidently
3.  You can think critically under pressure

Most students focus on 1 and ignore 2 and 3.

Your examiners already read your thesis. They’re not testing your memory. They’re testing your ability to:

•  Handle intellectual challenges gracefully
•  Synthesize complex ideas quickly
•  Show academic maturity

This changes everything about preparation.

Master’s defences typically follow the 20-30-10 rule:

• 20-30 min: Your presentation
• 30-40 min: Q&A discussion
• 10 min: Deliberation

Yet 90% of students spend all their time perfecting slides. But zero time preparing for questions. Big mistake. I got a playbook for that right here.

Stop cramming everything into your presentation.

Focus on the narrative arc:

1.  Context (Why this matters)
2.  Problem/Gap (What’s missing/unexplained)
3.  Method (How you filled/explained it)
4.  Findings (What you discovered)
5.  Impact (Why it changes things)

One story, not 100 details. Simple.

Every thesis has limitations. Don’t hide them. Feature them.
“While sample size was limited to 50 participants, this allowed for deeper qualitative analysis that revealed patterns impossible to detect in larger studies.” (“Qual is cool, just saying.” – Recovering quant guy) Acknowledge → Reframe → Strengthen

Examiners ask 5 types of questions:

1.  Clarification (explain X better)
2.  Justification (why did you choose Y?)
3.  Extension (what if Z happened?)
4.  Connection (how does this relate to…)
5.  Challenge (I disagree because…)

Prepare 2 examples of each. Get ready to go to battle.

If you don’t know something, say:

“That’s an excellent point I hadn’t considered. Based on my current understanding, I would hypothesize that… {and go to town here}
But I’d need to investigate further.”

Shows:

•  Intellectual honesty
•  Academic mindset
•  Critical thinking

Boom.

One graph > 1000 words

Your examiners are tired academics who’ve read dozens of theses.
(Worst case: They haven’t had coffee.)

Make their life easy:

•  Big fonts (24pt minimum)
•  High contrast colors
•  One point per slide
•  Clear labels

A clear idea has power.
A complex one has problems.

Know your formats (the most common):

Closed (committee only):

•  Prepare for specialized questions
•  Go deeper on methodology
•  Include technical details

Open (with audience):

•  Bridge lay and expert understanding
•  Save technical depth for Q&A
•  Simplify early slides

Two days before your viva:

Day 1: Run through presentation 3x

Morning: Full presentation run-through
Afternoon: Practice Q&A with friend
Evening: Review weak points

Day 2: Rest

•  Good sleep
•  Light review only
•  Trust your preparation

If you’re rested, you’re ready.

TL;DR: Your Master’s defence success formula:

•  Focus on defending choices, not memorizing content
•  Prepare for questions more than presentation
•  Use visuals to simplify complex ideas
•  Acknowledge limitations confidently
•  Know your defence format
•  Rest before the big day

You got this!

Found this helpful?

•  Follow me to become a smarter researcher
•  Repost to help anxious Master’s students
•  Reply with your biggest fear. I’ll address it

If you made it to the defence, you’ve already done the hard part.”

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