Confidence is the cloth you must wear as a student especially during your final year defense. Confidence has a way of presenting your work as a good one even before you start explaining your research work. It’s like the mirror by which your audience sees through on how well you understand your research work.
It is a known fact that once undergraduate student get to their final year in the university, that you must be expected to write a final year project to round up their study as well as acquire their bachelor degree in the university. Therefore, in writing of this final year project, it will require them to make accurate and intensive research in order to come up with a well formulated and articulated project topic and then sort ways to source out materials for their research work.
However, in the exercise of project work by final year students, a supervisor is usually attached to them to oversee their project work and guide them through it all in order to come out with a very good research work. After the completion of the research work, the next thing is to defend the research work which tells how well you understand your project topics as well as letting them in on your findings in the course of your research and finally make feasible and realistic recommendations.
However, when it comes to project defense, undergraduate students gets fidgeted and anxious because they are unsure of what to expect or questions to be asked by the defense panel in the defense hall. Some undergraduate students though well prepared and have a very good knowledge of their research topic; they get tensed once they get to the defense hall or are asked certain questions. For any student who shows this trait before his/her defense panel is only sending a message of lack of confidence in his/her research work and obviously does not know his onions.
Nevertheless, project defense can be very easy contrary to what most students assume or perceive it to be. To have a successful defense project, it is expected that you first of all believe in yourself, have full confidence in yourself and tin your research work, understand your research topic and have all the firsthand details of your research work before your defense date. During the defense, questions from the defense panel and even your supervisor are expected; as such you should be ready for them and be confident as well. The questions asked during defense are to test your knowledge on your research topic and to be sure that you carried out a thorough research to come up with your findings and the conclusions you arrived at as well as feasible recommendations.
Project defense is like an examination because there is mark awarded to it which is very important to students as the mark awarded can either increase or decrease their GDPA so you must ensure not to portray any attitude that will send the wrong the message to your audience/defense panel. The only difference between a project defense and a general classroom examination is that in this case the students know more than the supervisors’ because that is for those who did an extensive research on their project topic. Students often expect questions to be difficult and attacking, and answer them accordingly.
Therefore, it is relatively common that the defense panel will ask one or more questions as regard your research work. It is however, expected that the students answer the questions, and clarifies his/her audience on any doubt they have concerning the findings of the research. Undergraduate students must ensure not to stumble or underperform when asked certain question that is why it is advised to be abreast with your research work and have ideas of possible questions that would be asked of you in the defense hall. However, there is no universal standard method of conducting oral defense. It differs from one institution to another.
Above all, you must be confident while defending your project work it goes further to show to your audience that you know and understand your project work to the later. It also portrays the extent you went in your research for you to exude such confidence.

FINAL YEAR PROJECT DEFENSE

Project defense is a vivid explanation of what your research findings are and the solutions you recommend as regard the problem you identified. It is usually written at the final year of study in the university. It is also a show of knowledge acquired in all the years in the university as well as your contribution to the existing body o knowledge to the school and the society at large.

HOW TO BUILD UP CONFIDENCE BEFORE YOUR FINAL YEAR PROJECT DEFENSE

A) BE FAMILIAR WITH YOUR AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF YOUR RESEARCH

One of the ways to build your confidence before your final year project defense, is to be familiar with your aims and objectives. Your audience would want to know what prompted the research topic, what problem did you identify which triggered the choice of the research project topics. So you must have your aims and objectives of your study at the tip of your fingers to avoid fumbling when asked at the defense hall or by your audience.

B) ASK QUESTIONS FROM THOSE THAT HAVE DEFENDED BEFORE YOU

There is a saying that no man is an island likewise no man is an embodiment of all knowledge no matter how far you’ve read and schooled. We learn everyday as well as seek to improve on the knowledge we already have.
Therefore, before your project defense, seek insight from those who have defense before you and have an idea of questions that are likely to be asked as this will help in your defense practice and also improve you where needed.

C) BE CONVERSANT WITH YOUR PROJECT TOPIC

Another point to help you build your confidence is to be conversant with your project topic. You must have a good knowledge and understanding of your project topic. That is why from the beginning, it is advised that you choose project topic that interest you and draws your attention avoid choosing topics because your friend or parent suggested it. A topic that is not chosen by you will definitely give you difficulty along the way. A good knowledge and understanding of your research topic will give an edge during your project defense as well as boost your confidence.

D) HAVE A GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR SUPERVISOR

A mutual and good relationship with your supervisor is very important as far as final year project writing is concerned. You definitely need your supervisor if you must have a hedge free and excellent research work. Having a good relationship with your supervisor will also help you during your defense. For example; there are may be some highly technical and intellectual question that you may be asked during your defense, your supervisor could assist you with the answer or even wave off the question just because of your relationship with him/her.

E) DRESS SMARTLY/DECENTLY

Dressing smartly and decently on your defense day is a pass already even before you begin your defense. Smart and decent dress has a way of attracting the attention of your audience to you and will also send a positive message about you to them. As the saying goes “first impression matters.” It is also for your own good because it will boost your confidence. When you are indecently dress, you don’t feel comfortable and self confidence will elude you even when you need it most.

F) GO STRAIGHT TO THE POINT

Be concise and go straight to the point in your defense. Avoid going round and round and repeating words over and over again, it will bore your audience and give you a bad mark. And by the time you notice that your audience no longer have interest in what you are saying, your confidence diminishes instantly. You may even begin to stammer. Endeavor to also use simple but good English in explaining your project work it will save you the stress of trying to use big grammar to impress your audience who may not even understand you on the long run.

G) PRACTICE WITH YOUR COLLEAGUES AND ALLOW THEM ASK YOU QUESTIONS

Practice they say makes perfect. you may want to practice with your colleagues by making them your defense panel and allow them ask your any question as regards your research work. by so doing, you will be improving your defense skills and be ready for any question that you may be asked.

H) PRAY FOR GRACE
Finally, pray to God for grace. For no matter how prepared you are for your defense, you need grace to carry you through it all.