You have completed one of the greatest projects of your life – your dissertation. Now you have to get ready for the final step – your dissertation defense. This is going to be not less challenging than the dissertation writing itself. However, there are a lot of ways of getting prepared for a dissertation defense.
 
Everybody who has ever experienced a dissertation defense will tell you different stories. Yet, in this article you will find some general tips that will contribute to your successful dissertation defense.

• First of all, you have to know yourself and your behavior in extreme situations, since the dissertation defense is going to be a real extreme. If you tend to be too nervous performing in public, think of the ways how you can calm down. You have to make a plan of your dissertation defense far beforehand. Thus, if you tend to put off things, you have to make every effort and think over your performance not the last minute.
• Be positive. Brush all your doubts away; do not think that you will not be able to answer some questions. At the dissertation defense you have to act like an expert. Actually, you are a real expert. Only imagine that number of materials that you have studied. It is completely pointless to think that there are some issues that you do not know.

• Do not make the monsters out of the committee members. Mostly, people are afraid of the committee that is present at their dissertation defense. You may think that you will be snowed under with hundreds of complicated questions, and your dissertation defense will be failed. Trust me, the committee members are there for another purpose. They want to listen to you and get the essence of your work. Definitely they will have questions, but only to make something clear.

So, do not worry and do not be afraid. It would be really ridiculous if something goes wrong at your dissertation defense just because of your nerves.