Poster Presentations

1. Poster Presentations • Chapter 28

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. Oral Presentations • Chapter 27

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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”

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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