How to make and present an effective poster Susan Boehnke, Ph.D.

Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen’s University

>25 conference posters…!!

Main Suggestions

• Define your take home message (3 pts max)

• Prepare several versions of your delivery

• 30 sec, 2-3 min, 5-10 min detailed version

• Prepare for specific questions from a competitor

PRACTICE!

• Minimize text and maximize effective graphics

It starts with your Title & Abstract

• Define your message in a declarative title

“Factor ‘X’ increases Y” vs.

“The effect of factor X on Y”

It starts with your Title & Abstract

• Your abstract is a stand-alone document

Rationale: Why should we care? Objectives: Why are you doing it? Methods: How did you do it? (keep minimal) Results: What did you find? (minimize stats, may change) Conclusions: Why does it matter? Implications: What should we do with this knowledge? -Be as BOLD as your data will allow!

-Never say “Results will be presented and discussed“!

-If your spouse/partner/roommate can’t follow it, start again.

It starts with your Title & Abstract

• Take care with session selection/ key words, so right people find you

THE MEGA CONFERENCE!! e.g. Society for Neuroscience (35k) American Geophysical Union (20k)

Know your setting

Know your setting An intimate conference

-small society (specialized) -research showcase @ Queen’s (broad)

Goal: attract and retain viewers

• In 3 seconds – a viewer decides to approach or avoid from about 10 ft away. – Key message readable from 10 ft – Attractive graphics, minimal text

• In 30 seconds – they decide whether it is worth

processing beyond the subtitles – Make sure you can deliver your main take-home

messages in that 30 seconds from subtitles

Prepare for 3 Audiences 1. Lab that is rabidly competing with you

-prepare for battle!

2. *People in your general field*

-will provide great suggestions/ideas

3. People outside your field

- may have novel insights

Adapted from:http://www.ncsu.edu/project/posters

Creating it – Get dimensions

Details on conference website • What is max allowed size? • Can your software do that size?

– Powerpoint does 56”x56” max • What can your printer do?

– plotters are usually 36” or 48” wide

Creating it – Sketch it Out!

• Use your abstract as a guide

• BUT - never put the abstract on your poster!! -Your poster IS an abstract of your research

• Sketch out your key messages in declarative form

• Plan what your key figures will be

Taken from ‘Pimp my poster’, by Andrea Wiggins

Creating it – Choosing Software

• Powerpoint/Keynote work fine – Everyone can open your file for editing/printing – Everyone knows how to use it – It basically does everything you need

• Adobe Illustrator / Canvas / Corel Draw etc.

are even better, but can be challenging to use

Creating it – Choosing Software

• Powerpoint Demo • Logos -

http://www.queensu.ca/identity/logo

The Layout: Left-Right in 1 pass only

Fischer & Zigmond, 2012

Why? In crowded setting, hard to go back to read the next L-R row

The Layout – DO THIS!

Figures are simple, uncluttered and tell a story

Text is readable by a 60yr old at a distance!

Declarative statements

tell the main point of each

panel

Take home points can be

read in 30s

Visual guidance

cues “where next?”

Adapted from:http://www.ncsu.edu/project/posters

The Layout – DON’T DO THIS!

• Text unreadable

• No visual guidance to help viewer

• No figures

• May as well just hand them your manuscript

The Layout – Colour

- Use dark colours so that white text contrasts - Avoid warm, bright colours (red, orange etc.) - Go with cool, muted (Dark blue, Forest green, Plum)

• Avoid colourful, cluttered, textured backgrounds • Colour blocking of titles is helpful

• Bright Red is hard on Eyes

• Dark colors are better, good contrast

The Layout – Font Size

Title100+pt

Subtitles48pt

Main Text32pt

Refs, legends24pt Note – sans-serif font

The Layout – Images

• Photos should be 5x7 min.

• Crop to focus on key part of image

• 300dpi min. • check how it prints blown up

to poster size

The Layout – Graphs

• Graphs should be simple, with axes optimized to show the effect

• Use colour effectively – Carry scheme through the

poster

• Watch font size on axes and legends

Humanities conference: http://digital.humanities.ox.ac.uk/dhoxss/2013/posters.html#Airchinnigh

Soc Sci / Humanities Examples

Plan for your Presentation

You may be stuck at your poster for HOURS! Be prepared!

Plan your conference kit: - Water, snacks and breath mints (not gum) - Paper and a pen for contact info, questions, ideas - Reprints of published papers, printed copies of your poster

Plan for your Presentation

You may be stuck at your poster for HOURS! Be prepared!

Plan what to wear - Room temperature? - dress in layers - Presenting can be physical: standing & stretching to point out data - Clothing choice is important

Plan for your Presentation

GOOD! (Badge stands out on solid shirt)

LESS GOOD (Badge gets tangled/flipped/hidden)

You should look professional Define yourself by your badge & your work - People look at your badge before your face - You are representing Queen’s and your lab

Goal: attract and retain viewers

• In 3 seconds – a viewer decides to approach or avoid from about 10 ft away – Smile, make eye contact

• You must convey your main points to a visitor in <1 min in order to give an out to leave – DON’T TRAP THEM – Ask them if they want a more detailed version or have

any questions.

• Let them ask the questions and use those to guide your delivery using your graphics as talking points

Great links for Poster making tips

http://www.flickr.com/groups/pimpmyposter/ -lots of poster examples with feedback www.ncsu.edu/project/posters - I admit to borrowing liberally from the above

excellent resource http://colinpurrington.com/tips/academic/posterdesign www.soe.uoguelph.ca/webfiles/agalvez/poster/ - Great poster tips also Attending professional meetings SFN 2012 - Full tips on giving posters and talks at major

conference by Society for Neuroscience