Developing a Scientific Poster
Objectives of poster presentations
- Stimulate interest and discussion
- Receive feedback on research
- Generate contacts
Typical questions a poster should answer
- What is the research question?
- Why is this question important?
- What strategy is used?
- What are the results?
- Why are these results unique or important?
- How does this relate to other research?
- What comes next?
Planning Your Poster
- Make it easy to read and understand; most poster sessions take place in crowded or distracting conditions
- Make it self-explanatory; verbal explanations should supply details, not essentials
- Plan ahead and leave enough time for production and problems
Poster Content
- Address one central question. State the question clearly in the poster, then use your discussion time with individuals to expand or expound upon issues surrounding that central theme.
- Provide an explicit take-home message.
- Summarize implications and conclusions briefly, and in user-friendly language.
- Give credit where it is due to contributors and funding organizations.
Design Tips
- Follow the conference organizer’s guidelines for size and content (see poster session and preparation guidelines)
- Determine the logical sequence for your material.
- Organize material into sections, e.g.
Title (stating the conclusion not the process of what was done)
Authors and affiliations (include in the heading)
Introduction
Methods
Data and results
Conclusions, implications and future work
References and acknowledgements - Show your work (schematic diagrams, arrows, etc.) rather than telling it(text alone or a lot of text).
- Use empty space to differentiate elements.
- Graphic materials should be visible easily from a minimum distance of 6 feet.
- Restrained use of 2 - 3 colors for emphasis is valuable; overuse is not.
- Use 3 to 5 columns
- Arrange material vertically from top left corner to bottom right corner.
- Use boldface numbers (36 - 48 points) to help sequence sections of the poster.
Hint! The success of a poster directly relates to the clarity of the illustrations and tables.
How big?
| Title | 96 pt |
| Authors | 72 pt |
| Affiliations | 36-48 pt |
| Section Headings | 36 pt |
| Text | 24 pt |
| Acknowledgements | 18 pt |
For more information, see:
Poster Presentation Tips
- Be prepared to give an overview of your work in 3-5 minutes
- Practice your presentation in advance for flow and timing
- Get feedback from colleagues
- Make eye contact
- Avoid jargon and acronyms
- Speak clearly and slowly; don’t go into detail unless asked
- Give people time to look at the poster; stand to one side but stay in the picture
Q&A
- Anticipate questions and rehearse answers, especially “How does this work differ from the other research in this area?”
- Listen carefully and wait for the person to finish the question
- Rephrase the question, answer it and then ask if you’ve answered the question
Other Poster Resources
- For samples of poster designs see: PhD Posters. Gallery of Customer Work.
- For a poster template developed using Powerpoint, click here.
- For tips on digitization and working with commercial poster production companies, see Guidelines for Preparing Scientific Posters in the Digital Age.
