The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly How to effectively present your research

What is the point of a research poster? it is an advertisement, a way to quickly communicate your hard work and findings

The Bad

The good

The ugly

In the beginning  Identify a meeting or conference to present at  Local, Regional, National or International  Determine size requirements  Should be available on conference website  Make poster slightly smaller all around  Determine any other requirements  Abstract?  Poster #

Your Poster  Visual aid  Tell a story  Introduction/Background  Method  Results  Discussion/Conclusions  References

Your Poster  Make the story flow  L  R, Top  Bottom  Less is More  words  Bullet points  Short sentences  Graphics  Charts, Pictures, Flow charts

Formatting  Title  Easily readable from at least 6’ (minimum font 48)  Headings  Be bold, minimum font 32  Text  Minimum font 24  Font  Anything but Comic Sans

Formatting Continued: Design  Make it Appealing  Appropriate and simple color scheme  No distracting backgrounds!  Be consistent  Font  Spacing  Writing style  Dry, logical and formal

So….. You made a poster. Now What?  Solicit Feedback  Send a copy to your mentor  Post a copy and have your friends and classmates comment on it  Upload to Faculty of 1000 for expert feedback.Faculty of 1000  Revise & Repeat  Print!  Save as.PDF  Print early  At least 3 days before conference

Be enthusiastic Be attentive to audience #1 Don’t read your poster Use as a visual guide Refer to it as you speak #2 Be prepared 30 second summary 3 minute summary #3 The presentation

Be prepared Practice Practice out loud! #4 Be prepared for questions I don’t know is A OK Follow up Prepare handouts of poster with contact info #5 Don’t be defensive Consider alternatives #6 The presentation

Extras  Add a QR code  Contact info  Music or video files  Digital handout of poster   Layouts  Horizontal 1 Horizontal 1  Horizontal 2 Horizontal 2  Vertical 1 Vertical 1