Poster Presentation Advice

Poster Presentation Advice

Heading

Make sure to include the poster title, your name, email address, and affiliation and that this information is large enough to be read clearly from far away.

Colours

Colours can be a useful way of signposting or emphasising particular points. However, please make sure the that colours are not confusing or distracting.

Text

Use a large font which people can read from at least a metre away. It is also less distracting to use one or two font styles.

Think of your poster in bullet points. Be selective, and use key points to stimulate discussion. Charts, graphs or pictures with a strong visual impact are often better than tables of numbers or long paragraphs of text.

Organisation

Use numbers, arrows, or a very simple order to help people follow your poster. It is good to have a flow from research question - literature review - findings - analysis / conclusions. You may add additional information in a handout, or by uploading your handout and linking to a QR code. The JALT CUE SIG has kindly shared these standard templates which you may find helpful. For a more streamlined approach, this article outlines an alternative.

Discussion

Be ready to present your presentation over and over again to many different people from different backgrounds who will stop by and look at your poster. Wait a moment. Let them read. And then, ask how long the person has. One idea is to offer the viewer a two-minute, five-minute or ten-minute version of your talk. Provide the person with a brief overview and elicit questions.

Be patient

Avoid the temptation to start talking right away. Let people read your poster a bit and think. See what questions people have and then let the discussion begin. Most people can’t read and listen to you at the same time.

Grab attention

But also think of ways to encourage people to stop at your poster, read it and talk to you. There are many other poster presentations going on at the same time. What would make me stop and give you my time?

Practice

Poster presentations are presentations and practice makes perfect. Make time to hang your poster at the office and let a few colleagues look it over. They may have suggestions or questions that will really help.

If you would like me to look at a rough version of your design, or suggest ways to print or organise your ideas, I would be very happy to talk to you. You can contact me at any time - just send a message to delliott@nanzan-u.ac.jp