1. ENGAGe How to make a patient organization poster
Karina Dahl Steffensen
Professor, MD, Ph.d.
Department of Clinical Oncology, Vejle Hospital
Director, Centre for Shared Decision Making

2. Highlights: Fælles beslutningstagning
Posters are an excellent way to showcase your work
When done effectively they provide the viewer with attractive information about your work
Academic posters are an excellent way to showcase your work at conferences and meetings. When done effectively they provide an attractive summary of your project.
A poster presentation allows you to summarise your project into a concise format.

3. How to make an eye-catching and effective poster
First of all: Make sure you are presenting your information in a clear, clean, and concise way
Design – basic rules to follow:
Simple is good
Make important information stand out
Line things up
Do not make it crowded
Basic design rules to follow when preparing a poster.
Similarly to oral presentations, successful posters can generate discussion amongst the audience members. It is therefore important to have a
clear plan of what to say when standing alongside your poster.

4. How to make an eye-catching and effective poster
Design:
The flow of the poster should be logical
Once the poster is drafted, it is important to adhere to the instructions provided by the congress you are attempting to submit to
Failure to comply to guidelines may result in your poster not being considered for a poster award
Example of a logical poster flow:
Headings
Main body including results and conclusion
Tables and figures
Keep a logical structure throughout the poster, which will guide the audience through your project.
It is important to check the instructions provided by the congress before developing your poster.

5. How to make an eye-catching and effective poster
Specific instructions for poster presenters at the IGCS 2018 Conference
Instructions for poster presenters at the IGCS 2018 Conference
Check guidelines and poster instruction on the conference website

6. How to make an eye-catching and effective poster
Headings: Summarize your poster title in one headline and keep it short and concise
Title and heading styles:
The viewer should be able to easily identify each section of your poster
Headings should be clear in bold and grab the audiences’ attention. It is recommended that you use a short, sharp heading relevant to your study.
The heading should attract the audiences’ attention.
Remember that the poster must be visible several meters from the poster space.

7. How to make an eye-catching and effective poster
Headings: title, authors and affiliations
Authors
Affiliations
Headings should include:
1) Title
2) Authors: include everyone who has contributed
3) Affiliations: This should show which organisations are represented by the authors and/or where the research took place
Title

8. How to make an eye-catching and effective poster
Main body:
This should follow a logical structure guiding the reader through the poster
It is important not to make your poster wordy. Too much text can be confusing for the audience
The main body includes:
Introduction including short background of the topic, aim and objectives
Methods
Results
Conclusion
References
Think about what messages you want to deliver
Kill your darlings
Introduction: This should include a short background of the topic and state the main aims and objectives of your work. What makes your work eye-catching?
Methods: Should include basic parameters including setting, duration of study, primary outcome measures etc.
Results: Should include data analysis and key graphs, images and tables to show your results
Conclusion: The conclusions must derive directly from the results section and answer solely what has been proposed at the start of the paper
References: Only cite key references integral to your study, as references are wordy and space consuming

9. Table and figures How to make an eye-catching and effective poster
It is a good idea to include graphs/images/tables as this will make your poster look more pleasing
Tables and figures can add new information or graphically present what has already been said in the poster
They can also provide more information without crowding the poster with text

10. How to make an eye-catching and effective poster
Background of poster:
Keep your background non-distracting
You should avoid photos, busy patterns, or distracting colours, as it will take away from your content 
Keep the background white or some other light color

11. How to make an eye-catching and effective poster
Good advises for layout
Colours:
Stick to one or two colours
Check the colours before printing the poster as certain colours can differ when printed
Font size examples:

12. Final check: How to make an eye-catching and effective poster
Do my poster sections flow logically?
Is all my text readable?
Are all my graphics good quality?
Is my data understandable?
Does the most important information stand out?
Get someone to review it

13. Would you like to know more?
Questions
Discussion
Input
Would you like to know more?
Karina Dahl Steffensen
Professor, MD, Ph.d.
Department of Clinical Oncology, Vejle Hospital
Director, Centre for Shared Decision Making