Updated on: 15th Apr 2020
1780 Views

Method to Communicate Effectively with Ph.D Supervisor

Facilitating effective communication with a Ph.D. supervisor is very much crucial for getting happiness in graduate school. Sometimes scholars have a bad relationship with the supervisor. Ineffective communication is considered to be the main cause of the bad relationship between supervisor and scholar. Particularly students pursuing masters and bachelor’s have a question that how do I  talk to a Ph.D. supervisor?   In this article, our professional team of Singapore assignment help is giving few tips that how you can make it easy for the supervisor to support you. They are also providing information on How to communicate effectively with a Ph.D. supervisor?

Before developing an understanding of how to communicate effectively with a Ph.D. Supervisor you should first understand the role of the dissertation supervisor.

Method to Communicate Effectively with Ph.D Supervisor

What does a dissertation supervisor do?

The main role of the dissertation supervisor is to help students in completing their thesis. The dissertation supervisor must provide students with proper guidance throughout the dissertation writing procedure. The main role of the dissertation supervisor is to help students in the identification of topics for writing a dissertation. The supervisor also helps in making an appropriate methodology for performing research. Knowing the work of the dissertation supervisor is very much important to communicate effectively with a Ph.D. supervisor.

Selection of the right supervisor for communicating effectively

It is an initial step where you need to first make the selection of the right supervisor.  The selection of the right supervisor is very much essential for maintaining good relations and successful completion of a Ph.D. Course.  For instance, if you are acting as an independent researcher then in such a case you can select a hands-off supervisor.  If in case you need additional guidance then you can select supervisors who like to involve students. If in case you have already made a selection of a supervisor that is not suitable for you then in such a situation you will need to apply effective techniques for removing differences. Elimination of differences with the supervisor is very much essential for the completion of the thesis on time. In addition to this, you should practice professional relationship skills, as these tactics will help you in exploring and capturing more learning opportunities.  After making the selection of dissertation supervisor you need to think about How will you contact a dissertation supervisor? If in case you are planning to use e-mail then you need to first develop an understanding of how to write an email to the dissertation supervisor. By making the selection of a good supervisor you will be able to communicate effectively with your Ph.D. supervisor.

Quick Services for Dissertation Writing by Singapore Writers

Important  skills for  communicating effectively  with Ph.D. scholars

After getting a job you will have to interact and work with people having different personalities. You should start your practice of communicating effectively in graduate school. By communicating effectively with a Ph.D. supervisor you will be able to gain assistance and support from them which is very much essential for increasing confidence and productivity. Assertiveness is the best communication skill that every Ph.D. Scholar should develop.  The development of communication skills is important for communicating effectively with the Dissertation supervisor.

Assertiveness  an Effective communication  Skill

Assertiveness is considered as a basis for communicative effectively with a Ph.D. supervisor. Most of the time students have confusion between assertiveness and aggressiveness. Assertiveness is a happy medium among aggressiveness and Passiveness. Assertiveness is considered as the basis for communication. It is an interaction skill that will help you in communicating effectively with a Ph.D. supervisor.

A person with passiveness communication skills makes requests to other people to avoid disputes. People with aggressiveness have a high level of concern about accomplishing their objectives. Such type of person does not bother about the requirement of other people.   A person with Assertiveness communication is those who have a high potential of communicating their ideas with a high level of confidence.  Assertiveness communication skills when utilized properly will help you in eliminating the conflict with the supervisor.

Take Help of Experts to complete your Dissertation on Time

Communicating effectively with Ph.D. Supervisor: 3 Steps

The 3 steps which will help you in facilitating communication effectively with Ph.D.  supervisor during the time of problem-solving are:

Step 1: Provide a statement of facts

When communicating with your supervisor you should make sure that your personal feeling should not influence the research process. It is the best strategy to communicate effectively with a Ph.D. supervisor.

You need to only concentrate on work-related problems. At this step, it is very crucial for you to clearly state the real-life problem about which you are highly concern.

Step 2:  Clarity in thoughts about situations

It is a step where you need to analyze the reason because of which you have a high concern. You can ask certain questions from yourself like are you have a concern about the completion of the project?  Is the project taking a long time for completion?  For instance, if you are facing the issue in the selection of research methodology or writing an abstract then you should prepare the list of questions that you want to ask from your advisor. Clarity of thoughts is very much important for communicating effectively with a Ph.D. supervisor.

Step 3: Explain objectives and express your expectation

Before having a meeting with your supervisor you should create a plan. The formulation of a plan would be beneficial for you and your supervisor about saving time. Before taking any advice from your supervisor, you should clearly state your research objectives. As it is the tactics that will help you in getting the proper guidance from the supervisor.

The answer to the question How do you prepare for a supervision meeting is completely based on the discussion which you intend to have with your advisor. In the context of writing Dissertation, you can have discussions related to the selection of research topics. You could also discuss research results.

Example:  A supervisor ask student to complete research project which is burdensome. If a student is passive in nature, he or she will do the task without saying any single word.  But in case if a student is aggressive in nature then the student will reply in anger that working on a specific project is just a wasting of time.   If in case you give first response then you might feel that your supervisor is taking advantage of you.  In case you give an aggressive reply then such type of communication could have an adverse influence on your relationship with the supervisor. In relation to the situation above assertive communication strategy will help you in maintaining a strong relationship with the supervisor. It will help you in avoiding conflicting situations.

How to communicate disagreement without an offending advisor?

As a being of assertiveness nature you might have potential and willingness to share your ideas with a high level of confidence. You must remind your supervisor about current and upcoming projects. Before starting a discussion on a specific project you should ask your supervisor whether they have time to discuss a particular project.

You should start communicating effectively with your advisor by stating the positive note. In simple words, you should first share the good news about research. If in case you don’t have any kind of good news then you can start your conversation by appreciating and thanking advisors for giving their precious time.  When facilitating a conversation with your advisor, you should always adopt the rule of thumb. It means that you should think that people with whom you are working with is reasonable and they would provide a good response if you will apply assertiveness communication strategy when communicating with them.

When facilitating the discussion about the project you should share all essential facts related to the project with your advisor. It is the best way to communicate effectively with the Dissertation supervisor. In between the discussion you should also share your opinion about the benefit of completing a specific project. But when your advisor says something about the project, you must effectively listen to them.   After completion of your interaction with the supervisor you should share information about techniques in which you are going to resolve specific issues in the project. It is the best method of communicating effectively with a Ph.D. supervisor.

Making it easy for the supervisor to support

You by communicating effectively with your Ph.D. supervisor you can provide them an ease in supporting you. If you are facing issues in the completion of the research project, only writing of the research paper cannot be helpful in research to an agreement with the supervisor.  You can utilize a proactive approach for teaching to an agreement with the supervisor and completing your research paper. It is also very much important for you to be more independent, as these tactics will help you in providing advisor an ease in supporting. This tactic will also help you in strengthening your professional relationship with the supervisor. Below are a few tips which you can apply for making it easier for the professor to support

  • You should develop a proper plan before having a meeting with a supervisor or advisor.
  • If there is any specific issue then you should think about the techniques for solving the same in advance. At the same time, you should also consider the advantages and disadvantages of applying a specific strategy.
  • If you want to get advice about your project then you should prepare the draft and prepare the list of questions that you want to ask related to the project.
  • In case you need their signature on something, ask them personally and show them where they need to sign.

Hire Professional Singapore Writers to make your Dissertation Paper

Conclusion

From the above article it has been concluded that by communicating effectively with a Ph.D. supervisor you can avoid conflicts with supervisors or advisors. Another fact which has been found is that an assertive communication strategy when applying appropriately will help a person in improving their professional relationship with the supervisor.

Frequently asked questions

Ques1. How should I talk to my Ph.D. supervisor?

Ans: You should communicate effectively with a Ph.D. supervisor.  By communicating effectively you will be able to get the proper guidance and support from your dissertation supervisor. By being assertive you will able to avoid the conflicting situation with your advisor. You should be assertive when talking to your supervisor. You should communicate your ideas to your thesis supervisor in a confident manner.

Ques 2. What is assertiveness about effective communication?

Ans: Assertiveness is the potential to communicate your views or ideas confidently. Assertiveness is a communication skill when used properly will help in avoiding the conflicting situation.

Ques 3. What is the best method to guide decisions in problem-solving mode?

Ans: The three-step method of guiding the discussion to the problem-solving mode  and  communicating effectively with Ph.D. supervisor is:

Stating the facts: You must make sure that your feelings should not create hindrances in the research process.

Clarification of thoughts about the situation: you should be clear what specific issue bothers you and why?  By having clear thoughts in mind you will able to facilitate communication effectively with your Ph.D. supervisor.

Explain your objectives: before meeting with your dissertation supervisor you should prepare a plan and design questions that you want to discuss with them.

Ques 4. How can I communicate effectively my disagreement without offending my dissertation supervisor?

Ans: You should first start communicating effectively with your supervisor by sharing positive news. It is considered the best technique of communicating effectively with a Ph.D. supervisor. In case you don’t have any positive news then you can start by thanking them for giving you time. After that, you should start a discussion about your project. Then after that you can by stating the facts cab share your opinion about the reason why the completion of a specific project is not beneficial. At the last of your conversation with the thesis supervisor, you can share your opinion to get a specific issue resolved.

Author Bio:

Laura Tan

I am an academic writer since 2003 and associated with Singapore Assignment Help. I have expertise in making dissertation proposal. Till now i helped more than 2000 Singaporean and Malaysian Students in completing their masters dissertations thesis and other academic papers.