Available at Presentations: Posters and Talks Vanessa Couldridge BCB 703: Scientific Methodology Please note: AUDIO required for one slide

Presentations can take one of two formats:  Poster presentation  Less intimidating  Allows for personal interaction at an individual level  Oral presentation  Guaranteed captive audience  More people are exposed to your work Scientific Presentations

A poster needs to be:  Visually attractive  Eye-catching and attention-grabbing  Informative  Scientifically accurate  Simple and uncluttered Posters

 Conference organizers often impose a size limitation on posters – make sure yours complies  Before you start, plan where everything (title, text, pictures, etc.) will be placed  It may be helpful to create a dummy poster and play around with different layouts  A landscape format is easier to read  Order information under headings  Make sure there are no large empty spaces  Ask other people for their opinions Posters – Preparation

 Should NOT simply be a paper stuck up on a wall  Keep text to an absolute minimum – if people want a more detailed explanation, they can ask you for one  However, bear in mind that a poster must still be able to stand alone  Use pictures and graphs for visual impact, but try to avoid tables, especially large ones  A4 sized handouts can be useful to take to a conference Posters – General Points

 Make use of bright colours (but don’t overdo it!)  Use a background colour or image that contrasts sufficiently with your text and does not distract peoples’ attention  Good colour combinations include: blue/yellow; blue/orange; red/white; green/white; black/orange  Avoid red and green colour combinations as 10% of the male population is colour-blind Posters – Colour

 Title should be concise and should be large enough to be read at a distance of 5-7m  Include the names of all authors, as well as their affiliations, near the title  Can be helpful to also include a small (passport sized) photograph of yourself next to your name  Main text must be sufficiently large to be easily read at a distance of 1m  Use a font that is easy to read (e.g. Arial) and be consistent throughout Posters – Text

Bad poster:  Too much text  Too busy  Title too long  Title too small  Author names too small  Poor quality graphics  Background is distracting Posters

Good poster:  Minimal text  Simple and uncluttered  Title short  Title large  Author names stand out  High quality graphics  Good contrast Posters

 Open a new presentation in PowerPoint  Under the File menu, select Page Setup  Select Custom size and set the size of the poster – use A0, or 90x120cm, or 36x48inches  Decide on the layout and colour scheme  Use at least a 96 font size for the title  Names and affiliations should be larger than the main text, and names larger than affiliations  Use an 18 or larger font size for the main text Posters – Create with PowerPoint

 Talking to an audience can be an inefficient means of communication  Far less detail can be presented than in a written format  Pitch your talk at the right level for the audience you are likely to have  Present information simply and clearly  Try not to use too much technical jargon  Take the time to prepare good visual aids Talks

 PowerPoint slides are the most commonly used visual aids  Slides should be kept simple, with minimal text  Plan an average of one slide per minute that you will be talking, e.g. for a 15 minute talk, you will need approximately 15 slides  Only include information on the slide that is relevant to what you are saying  Don’t use invisible colour combinations  Don’t use small text – at least 18 point font size Talk - Slides

Bad slide:  Heading too small  Too much text  Text too small  Text does not explain figure  Figure too small  Background colour dominates and is distracting Talks

Good slide:  Heading large  No irrelevant text  Large figures  Source of figure acknowledged  White background provides good contrast Talks

 On the first slide, provide a brief and informative title and the names and affiliations of all authors  Introduction – places your topic in context  Start with more general issues and then gradually narrow focus  Methods should be as brief as possible  It may be helpful to include a few words above a figure to summarise the main point  Figure labels and axes should be clearly visible  Don’t use abbreviations without defining them Talks – Content

 If the same information is needed more than once, create multiple copies of that slide instead of back-tracking through several slides  Your talk should tell a story, rather than summarise a collection of facts  Try not to stray from the main focus or topic  Don’t overwhelm your audience with too much information  End with a summary slide of the main points or take-home message Talks – Content

 Rehearse your talk  Make sure you won’t exceed the allotted time  Speak loudly and slowly  Don’t speak with your back to the audience  Don’t read your presentation  Make eye-contact with your audience  Don’t fidget or say “um” a lot  RELAX, SMILE AND BE ENTHUSIASTIC!!! Talks - Delivery

“Scientifically speaking: Tips for preparing and delivering scientific talks and using visual aids” Published by: The Oceanographic Society Further Resources