Tips for Poster Presentations
Goals | Handouts | Graphics | Preparing & Organizing | Delivery & Rehearsal | Putting Your Poster Together
Posters should visually guide each viewer through the basics of the study, freeing you to clarify and discuss essential elements of the work. Poster presentations facilitate the rapid communication of scientific ideas. They combine a verbal presentation with a visual aid (the poster itself). Posters are less formal than seminars and much more interactive. The opportunity to meet people and interact one-on-one is one of the major advantages of a poster session. Many times, poster sessions lead to new, or further, collaborations among colleagues.
- Create a 1-page handout that includes a smaller version of your poster, as well as references and contact information for presenters.
- Save yourself the trouble of duplicating and shipping handouts (and save trees) by including your Web site or e-mail address on your poster. Then interested attendees can email you and request copies of your poster and/or handouts. Or include your e-mail/Web site address on your business card and pass out to interested attendees.
- Remember to submit your handouts to ASHA for posting online before you leave for Convention.
Posters are a uniquely visual medium – you only have a few seconds to attract someone's attention. Choose your graphics and images carefully with these goals in mind:
- Increase audience interest – use graphics to catch and hold attention
- Increase understanding – communicate information visually as well as verbally
- Enhance retention – people retain visual images far longer than the written word
- Increase efficiency – messages are communicated more quickly by visuals than by spoken word
- For each graphic image, ask yourself - Is it relevant, or just cute or faddish?
- Does it add information or merely duplicate verbal material? If duplicative, is the redundancy desirable or necessary to reinforce important ideas/concepts?
- Is the graphic clear and easy to understand?
- Re-read your abstract – make sure your presentation covers the information in the abstract and addresses the learner outcomes at the instructional level indicated.
- Design your poster to address one central question/concept. State the question/concept clearly in poster, then use your discussion time to expand on issues surrounding on that central question.
- Create a short (1-2 minute) take-home message or "elevator speech" summary of your key points.
- Focus on introduction, methods, results or results-to-date, discussion, summary, and publications.
- Allow people to peruse your poster for a few moments before leading them through it
- Rehearse your take-home message (or "elevator speech")
- Wear your badge
- Do not chew gum
- Speak to your viewers
- Thank viewers for visiting your poster
- Travel and set up
- Do not leave your poster unattended – be sure to put your name and (local) address on it
- Carry your poster on plane with you
- Take a digital photo or make a copy just in case
- If more than one piece, number back of pieces for ease in setup
- Make a rough layout to determine how text and images should be displayed
- Avoid titles with colons
- If your topic is related to something auditory, consider a button-activated sample of your study sound (photo frames that have a recordable memory chip that can be posted on the
board)
- Colored transparency overlays are useful in comparing/contrasting graphic results
Your Poster Should be Readable
- Title banner readable from 15-20 feet away
- All text readable from 6 feet away
- Left alignment for ease of reading
- Format text in sentence case – not all caps or all words in initial caps like a title
- Choose matte finish – cuts down on glare
- Lines in illustrations should be larger than normal
Your Poster Should be Well-Organized
- Make flow of information self-explanatory
- Use colored background to unify poster (use soft colors, bright colors may be difficult to view)
- 2-3 related background colors (Methods, Data, Interpretation) will unify the poster
- Present your message in a precise, interesting, and unique way
- Succinct: remember, the poster is the skeleton. You provide the meat by
discussing your presentation/study with your audience
- Minimal text - short sentences, simple words, or bulleted information
- Find ways to show what was done (diagrams, schematics, etc.)
- Illustrations should have a prominent headline containing the take-home message in a few words
- Clearly and accurately present the purpose and results of your study
This page was updated on: 5/14/2008.