How to make a Poster Presentation in PowerPoint

Being a good scientist means being a good communicator. Being a good scientist means being a good communicator.

Prep.

Dr. Rabab Elamawi

Objectives

• Understand the techniques and aesthetics behind an effective poster presentation.

• Learn how to create a poster using a PowerPoint slide.

• Critique some existing posters.

Goals of a Poster Presentation• A visual presentation of your research.

• Concise and focused (not a long presentation of your life’s work!)

• Explains your research using schematics, graphs, and other visual strategies, with a minimum of supporting text.

• Uses various strategies to attract viewers and stimulate conversation.

The ideal poster is designed to (1)attract attention(2)provide a brief overview of your work(3)initiate discussion

How Do You Attract an Audience?How Do You Attract an Audience?

• Title

– Informative, accurate, clear, concise, and attention commanding

– What are the minimum number of words that describe what you’re doing?

• Abstract

– Principal objectives and scope of research

– Methodology, summarize results

– Principal conclusions

• Introduction and/or Conclusions

• Body of paper

Before attending the conference….

• Carefully prepare your poster well in advance of the conference.

There will be no time or materials available for last-minute

preparations at the conference. In some occasions, even getting

your poster printed out can be a problem at the last minute.

• Try tacking the poster up before you leave for the conference to

see what it looks like, especially to a large audience.

Sketch it out!

Make a sketch of the poster:

Arrange the contents in a series of 3, 4, or 5 columns. This will facilitate the flow of traffic past the poster:

Place the elements of the poster in position:

The title will appear across the top.

A brief introduction (3-5 sentences) will appear at upper left.

Conclusions will appear at lower right.

Methods and Results will fill the remaining space.

Key points of a poster layout

• Background

• Organization

• Text

• Pictures

• Graphs/Tables

• Balance

Backgrounds

• Photographs as backgrounds lose resolution when blown up (pixelation).

• Dark backgrounds are easier on the eye but use more dye. – Colored backgrounds can often break the monotony of

a sea of white posters, thus attracting a viewer.

• Use background/foreground contrasts.• Avoid fill patterns.

Organization

• Introduction/Summary: Use a minimum of background information. This sections should be composed mostly of your research questions/hypotheses.

• Methods: May shorten this section by using references for less critical techniques. Flow diagrams work well here.

• Results: Biggest section of the poster, with lots of graphs, figures, etc. Arrange in a logical order so conclusions naturally follow.

Organization (cont’d)

• Discussion: Usually more of a conclusion than a discussion. Link the results to the hypotheses.

• Acknowledgements: collaborators and grant support.

• References: Keep to a minimum. Only cite critical references to your project.

Text

• Should be able to read anything from 4’- 6’ away.

• Establish the font size:

– Title: 65-108 pts

– Subheadings: 36-54 pts

– Body text: 18-27 pts

• AVOID USING ALL CAPS (has the effect of yelling)

• Double-space all text, unless font size is large enough to read comfortably single-spaced.

• Use shorter sentences than you might otherwise use.

Text (cont’d)

• Use left justification (easier to read).• Fonts style

– Times New Roman

– Arial

• Be consistent in font type and size• Use bold, italics, or underline to emphasize words.

– Don’t change fonts to emphasize a word.

– Don’t use all three. Overkill! (Bacteria)

• Check your spelling.

Pictures

• JPEG, bitmap, or TIFF formats are easiest to use.

• Stay within 150-300 dpi resolution.

• Use light backgrounds with dark photos and vice versa.

• Neutral/gray backgrounds enhance color photos while white

backgrounds reduce their impact.

• 4”x5” photos are a good minimum size..

Graphs/Charts

• Make sure that the text on axes and legends adhere to the minimum font size.

• Few lines on a graph - label directly.

• Multiple lines on a graph - use a legend.

• Try to make all graphs and figures the same size for consistency.

• Make lines in the graphs thick enough to see from 4’- 6’ away.

• Use different colors for different groups, and maintain same color groups throughout poster.

Balance

• Easiest layout involves boxes in 3-5 columns.

• Use of contrasting or complementary colors.

• Even margins and spaces between boxes?

• General rule of thumb: 20% text, 40% graphics, and 40% empty space.

• Where does the eye go? Does the poster have flow?

• Would this poster make you want to stop and read it?

Using PowerPoint

• Before you start…– What are the maximum allowable poster dimensions

for the symposium/conference?

– Take a look around at other posters and get an idea of what grabs you.

– Decide on your poster dimensions (max. 36” height is typical for plotters).

– Type text into Word and create graphs in Excel.

– Plan layout on paper before using PowerPoint.

Starting a new presentation• Open Powerpoint and click on “File, New…”• Choose a “blank” slide presentation.• Go to “File, Page setup…”

– choose custom layout

– choose orientation (usually landscape)

– choose dimensions in inches (36” height maximum)

• Scaling– May scale poster down by 33% or 50% (change

dimensions accordingly). Then print by doubling or tripling scale in the print job.

– Actual size (easiest). Everything at 100%. Fonts actual size on screen. See effect of pixelation on photos.

Poster Margins

• The Easy Way: Set up margins by adding a box of known dimensions and center it on the slide.

• Double-click on the box to get to properties.– Color tab: remove fill color.

– Size tab: insert poster dimensions minus the margin space.

– Position tab: insert margin space from top and side, and choose “top left corner” for alignment.

• Use box to line up additions. • Remove when finished.

Layout of sections• Decide on the number of columns

• Do the math to come up with the width of boxes, minus the margin spaces (around and between boxes).

• After adding text or graphic boxes, use the properties to adjust the width.

• Nest a text box within a graphic box, so text will be outlined as well.

• Height of boxes may be variable, so try to leave same space between boxes vertically using properties.

– In other words, the math has to be done for each box.

• May remove graphic boxes after alignment, but boxes around text are a must.

Adding material

• Draw a text box on the slide. – Cut/paste text from Word into text box.

– Change the font size after transfer.

– Always check spelling before pasting text!

• May also cut/paste graphs from Excel in same manner. – If not using Excel, then try cut/pasting object as an

image into Word.

– If succeeds, then may transfer to PowerPoint.

– Resolution problem as an image.

Wrap-up

• Review poster by looking at issues of balance.

• Review layout tips given earlier in this seminar.

• Check for spelling and other errors.

• Print slide to 8.5”x11” paper (scaled to fit) for final proofing.

• May create a PDF version.

– What you see is what you get.

– May be easier to send to the printer/plotter.

• May print several proofs to hand out at the symposium.

At the conference meeting…

• Boards and push tacks will be provided for all poster sessions to tack your poster to the board. Make sure the size and style (in landscape or in portrait) of your poster is correct beforehand.

• If you are giving an oral presentation, make sure your slides are ready and give to the organizer of the meeting upon your arrival. Bring your own pointer. Although a movie can be quite attractive, it often causes a lot of trouble especially when you are not using your own notebook. Try to avoid it.

At the conference meeting…

• The short presentation you prepared can be periodically given to those assembled around your poster. Be ready to give it several times as people move through the area. Plan to spend the entire session at your poster.

• If possible, more than one author should attend the session to aid in the presentations and discussion, and to provide the main presenter with a chance to rest, and to answer questions.

Some additional comments…• Vary the size and spacing of the poster sections to add visual interest, but

do so in moderation.

• Do not wander too far away from your poster during the session; be available for discussion!

• Don't leave your poster unattended anywhere - including your hotel room! Anything could happen so don’t take any risks.

• Many posters from drier climates warped & wrinkled in the humidity. Protect your poster in a container.

• Pay attention to the printing quality for your poster.

• In case your poster has been published prior to the meeting, you may bring the reprints for those who are interested in your work.

• You can certainly take a picture of yourself with your own poster. However, it is very impolite to take photographs on others’ posters.

http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/cv/coveringletters.htm