Poster Presentations
Chapter 28
Popularity of Posters
More common today, especially at national and
international meetings
Largely due to increased attendance at
conferences
Previously, program committees rejected
abstracts
Some conferences have more than 1,000
poster presenters
Most are by graduate students and post-docs
Posters are interactive
Organization
IMRAD or IRDAM
Follow instructions provided by conference
organizers
Posters are usually landscape (e.g., 4 ft wide, 3 ft
tall)
Poster Sessions are usually partitioned by topic
Usually, a session is about 2 hours
Organization
Less text than a manuscript
More illustrations, tables and figures
The results section is often only graphics
Bullets often use to make concluding points in
discussion section
Preparing the Poster
Title - large font spanning the width of the poster
Should include author names and contact
information
Abstract - usually already done because it
needed to be submitted before the meeting
Use 1.5x or 2x spacing
Use 18-22 point font for text
Use columns
Preparing the Poster
Must be legible from about 10 feet away
Use black for fonts
Can use other dark colors for points of
emphasis
Avoid distracting backgrounds and other clutter
It should be self-explanatory
Use colors!
Proofread, proofread, PROOFREAD!
Bring pins
Transporting Posters
Air travel today can present problems for
transport
Tubes are usually used to transport posters
printed on large sheets (e.g., 4 ft x 3 ft) and can
be cumbersome to carry on airplanes
Alternatively, posters can be printed on smaller
sheets and packed in checked luggage
13” x 19” sheets are convenient for such
posters
8.5” x 11” sheets are less useful
Transporting Posters
Risks of packing your poster with checked
luggage
Luggage may get lost
May get wet
Wrap poster in plastic trash bag
May get damaged
Always have a backup PDF copy of your poster
on electronic medium (e.g., CD, flash drive, etc.)
If possible, have PDF posted on an ftp server or
web page
Presenting the Poster
Abstract books are usually posted online before
the meeting
Attendees often read the abstract book in
advance and look for posters of interest
This maximizes efficiency for viewing many
posters
Those who visit your poster likely have a genuine
interest in what you are doing
Presenting the Poster
Presenting
Have your poster up before the session start
time
Be at your poster during the entire session
Be proactive when someone stops at your
poster
You never know who might stop by
Presenting the Poster
Engage in dialog
Posters are interactive, sometimes with more
than two people
Explain your work clearly and why it’s
important
You are selling your work
Listen to their questions and solicit comments
Look them in the eyes
Thank them for stopping by, especially if they
provided constructive feedback
The miniposter
Bring 25 or so copies of your poster printed on
letter or legal size paper
Use both sides of the paper
Leave them at your poster for viewers to take
Make sure your contact info (email address) is on
the poster
Oral Presentations
Chapter 27
Selection
Oral presentations are more selective than poster
presentations
Program committees select abstracts for the oral
session because time is more constrained
Sometimes you will request an oral presentation
but given a poster presentation
Organization
IMRAD is usually the best
State the problem you are addressing
Provide sufficient background for your
audience
Not all audiences are equal!
Explain how you went about the problem
Organization
Show results in concise slides
Keep in mind that oral presentations are not
interactive
Keep your data simple
Graphs are almost always better than tables
(data reduction)
Use colors as much as possible
Symbols are also important because some
people, particularly men, are color blind
Organization
Discussion
Bullet main points
Complete sentences are not necessary
Keep statements as short as possible
It is better to make three bullets than one
long statement of three conclusions
Questions
Answer as best you can
Be courteous and responsive
Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know”
Presentation
Time limits
Rule of thumb: 1 minute per slide
Do not exceed your time limit
Unprofessional
Rude
Avoid temptation to include too much information
Oral presentations should convey one or two
broad points
Presentation
Stage fright
Some people have trouble giving talks
The only solution is to give talks
Start with small groups of friends or peers
Move to larger groups
Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse!
Delivery - Avoid distracting mannerisms
“um...”; “you know”; etc., etc., etc.
Unnecessary tangents
Slides
Use appropriate font sizes
Varies with room size
Use appropriate colors for slides
Light fonts with dark backgrounds
Dark fonts with light backgrounds
Templates - can be good or bad
Do not crowd the slides with too much
information
Do not read from the slide; look at your audience