Creating an Effective
Board Presentation
Mercer Science and Engineering Club
3 Creek Rim Drive
Titusville , NJ 08560
www.mercersec.org
Overview
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The starting point: good research
Why is the presentation important
What needs to be included
Laying out the board
Choosing fonts and figures
Simplify, simplify, simplify
Construction Tips
KISS (Keep it simple, stupid)
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Good Research: It’s a start
• You can’t hide bad research with a
fancy presentation
• Good research does not sell itself
• Not all details are equally important
• You will know what should be
presented. It is simply a matter of how.
• A research paper and research
documents complement a presentation
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Why The Presentation Is Important
• It helps sell your project and results
• Elementary and Junior Division
– Entries are judged exclusively on the
presentation
• Senior Division
– Judging includes both the presentation and
an oral defense
– The presentation is the backdrop for the
oral defense
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Presentation Components I
• Required
– Board
– Abstract (can be on its own stand)
• Recommended
– Research paper
– Research documents
– Detailed results
– Abstract handouts
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Presentation Components II
• Optional
– Audio/video presentation if it augments the
static, board presentation
– Project artifacts if useful for oral presentation
(senior division)
– Artifacts built by student (photos recommended)
• Not Recommended
– Project artifacts not used for oral presentation
– Tools used for experimentation
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What The Presentation Does
• Attracts attention to the project
• Provides the initial introduction to viewers
of the project (i.e. judges)
• Provides organized overview of the project
• Visual aid when describing a project
• Helps students organize their thoughts
when describing their project to judges
• A picture is worth a thousand words
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Target Your Audience
• Decide who is the target audience
– Judges, teachers, parents, students
• Design presentation to use terms
familiar to the target audience
• Explain unfamiliar terms or procedures
• Use drawings and explanations that
target the audience’s level of
understanding
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Presentation Tells A Story
• The board should speak for itself
• Photos and drawings should enhance
the story, not the way the presentation
looks
• The sequence of the story should be
obvious
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What needs to be included
on the board
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Title
• Recommended items
Problem
• Benefits
Hypothesis
• Optional items
Materials
• Future plans
Methods
• Photograph
Data
acknowledgements
Analysis
Photograph taken by …
Conclusion
Abstract (may be free standing)
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What NOT to include on the board
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Your name
Name or logo of school or affiliation
Sponsors
Photos of identifiable people
– Remember, it is the experiment that is
important
– Caveat: photos relevant to the experiment
can be included
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More on Photos
• Photos of researcher can be included only if
they are showing something relevant to the
research that could not be shown otherwise
• No photos showing identifiable people
• Any photographs showing identifiable people,
other than the student investigator(s), must
have a signed release form
• No photographs of body parts or tissue,
except those allowed by ISEF rules
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Laying out the board
Model it first. It’s easier
Project Title
Problem
Data
Photos
Analysis
Hypothesis
Materials
Methods
Conclusion
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Where The Eye Goes
Decide what, when and where a viewer should look
Project Title
Title 1st
Problem 2nd
Data 3rd
Analysis 4th
Problem
Data
Photo
Analysis
Hypothesis
Materials
Methods
Conclusion
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Choosing fonts and figures
• Dont’s
– MiXiNg Ffhts IS nft a gsod Idea
– Too many colors are bad
• Do’s
– Fonts tips
– Figures and Photos
– Constructing a complex page
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Font Tips I
• Use as few fonts as necessary
• San serif fonts like Arial work best on
presentations
• Use serif fonts in research paper
• Use fonts like Cooper for titles
• Look for free fonts on Internet (www.1001freefonts.com)
• NEVER USE ALL CAPS
– It is hard to read
– Use Bold, Italic or Color instead
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Font Tips II
• Use same font and color for similar uses such as
explanations of the Problem or Conclusion
• Choosing font size
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Must be readable from at least 3 feet away
Size should be related to surrounding text
Size should indicate the text’s importance
Titles should not giant while explanations are
microscopic
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Figures and Photos
• Should be viewable from at least 3 feet away
• Figures should be as simple as possible
– Use thick, not thin lines
– Use colors judiciously
– Use legends when necessary
• Scan and print photos
– Allows captions and acknowledgements to be
included on same piece of paper
– Annotations like arrows can be added
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Taking Photos
• Take lots of photos of the same thing
– Choose the best
– Different angles can eliminate glare and highlight
aspects of the project
– Try close ups, multiple items in photo
– Where does the photo fit in the story
• Scan and edit photos
– Crop: allows larger images, eliminates extraneous
details
– Print and try adjustments: a printed image looks different
from it viewed on a display
• Digital cameras: Always use highest resolution
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Constructing A Page
• KISS – use a single page of paper for
each item if possible
• Generate pages using a word
processor, presentation or drawing
program
• Use color printer to add borders and
background
• Don’t forget to try landscape page
orientation
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Simplify, simplify, simplify
• KISS – Less is better. Clutter is bad.
• Eliminate redundant or unimportant
information
• Keep titles and sentences short and
concise
• Only show figures or photos that help
explain key points
• Leaves more space for other
information
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Construction Tips I
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KISS
Double sided tape for mounting paper/photos
Always use a paper cutter
Borders
– Print borders on paper
– Use a matte or colored paper to back paper
• Colored board background
– Highlights items placed on board
– Buy colored background
– Spray paint
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Construction Tips II
• Maximize white background on paper
– Minimizes print time and cost
– Simplifies combining multiple pages
• Use photo matte or glossy paper
– Thicker paper, nothing shows through
– Works well with double sided tape
– Best for photos and figures
• Use same type of paper throughout
presentation. Differences stand out.
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Gotch ya’s
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Always use a spell checker
Use a grammar checker
Read the rules !!!
Catch errors early: get multiple critiques
from the initial layout design to the final
product
• Remember the ISEF abstract
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Video Presentations
• The board should not require the video
presentation
• Do not duplicate board contents in presentation
• Video presentation should show something that
is more easily explained using a movie or
animation versus a figure or photo
• Do not include video presentation if it is
unnecessary
• Keep video presentation simple and short
• Video presentation should run automatically
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More Suggestions
• Peer review
– Have students critique boards for extra credit
– Rate boards on how well they explain a project
– Use simplified judging forms
• Involve other teachers
– Make them aware of the projects and goals for
improving the student’s presentation skills
– English: effective text descriptions
– Math and science: methods of presenting data
– Computer: use of tools to create complex pages
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Summary
• Good research means good artifacts (results)
• Presentation is important because it is selling
your project and its results
• Include all relevant information
• Board layout catches the eye and explains
the details
• Text and figures must be readable from a
distance
• Remember KISS but complexity is relative
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