communication skills poster presentation

Communication Resources

This comprehensive resource page is a one-stop destination to enhance your communication skills and elevate your academic impact. Whether you want to create impactful scientific posters, deliver compelling presentations, or improve your communication proficiency, we've got you covered. Our carefully curated collection of resources, including step-by-step guides, templates, video tutorials, and best practices, will equip faculty, researchers, and students with the tools to communicate complex research findings and discoveries effectively. 

Media Training & Digital Presence

In today's interconnected world, effective communication and a strong digital presence are essential for the School of Medicine Basic Sciences audience to amplify their research, discoveries, and educational initiatives. Here we have consolidated media training and digital presence resources to equip faculty, researchers, and students with the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively engage with diverse audiences through various media channels, harness the power of social platforms to disseminate valuable information, and ultimately enhance the visibility and impact of their work in the field of medical sciences. Through tailored workshops, guidance on content creation, and strategies for online engagement, participants will be empowered to confidently navigate the digital landscape, build meaningful connections, and contribute to advancing medical knowledge and healthcare outcomes.

• VUMC Reporter Media Training 
• Digital Strategies - Training Opportunities
• Digital Strategies -  Social Media
• Social Media Handbook
• Content Strategy
• Accessibility Guidelines
• Google Analytics
• Photos, Graphics and Logos
• Audio / Video Information
• Digital Strategies blog  
• History of the Vanderbilt Website

There are several resources available to the general Vanderbilt University community. Please visit this link to learn more. 

Scientific Presentation

This section is your go-to guide for delivering compelling scientific presentations that captivate audiences and showcase cutting-edge research and discoveries within the medical sciences community. Whether you are a seasoned presenter or new to the stage, we provide valuable insights on crafting engaging narratives, designing visually impactful slides, mastering public speaking techniques, and handling Q&A sessions with confidence. Our collection of tips, templates, and video tutorials will empower faculty, researchers, and students to deliver polished and memorable presentations at conferences, seminars, and academic events. To foster a culture of excellence in scientific communication, this resource equips you with the skills needed to share your expertise and advance medical knowledge engaging and influentially. Let's elevate the way we communicate science together!

Coming soon! 

Scientific Posters

Here, we provide a comprehensive resource guide for creating impactful scientific posters communicating research findings and discoveries. From understanding the fundamental elements of a well-designed poster to organizing content visually appealing and coherently, our resource webpage offers step-by-step instructions, templates, and best practices to ensure your posters captivate audiences and clearly convey complex scientific information. Whether you are a faculty member, researcher, or student, this resource is designed to empower you with the skills and knowledge needed to excel in presenting your work at conferences, symposiums, and academic gatherings, fostering a culture of effective scientific communication within our vibrant community of medical sciences scholars. Explore our tools and tips to elevate your scientific posters and make an enduring impact on biomedical sciences.

We support both PC and Mac platform. A poster can be created with the following software applications PowerPoint, PDF, Illustrator, and Publisher. We accept files through email to the following [email protected], CD or USB drive. See Pricing & Payment.

a) The text boxes on your poster should not be overlapping.

b) The information on your poster should not go beyond the top, bottom or outside margins to allow for variations in printing.

The following applications Microsoft PowerPoint 2013 header look like picture below: 

• Please used standard fonts like Arial or Times. Use of non-standard fonts or special characters could lead to missing characters after printing.
• Create a new blank PowerPoint layout presentation.
• Click on View Tab.
• Turn on gridelines to help line up your figures and text boxes.  This will display horizontal and vertical lines on the blank presentation.
• Note:   See Advice & Tips for additional information on creating poster that print successfully.

If you have created slides using PowerPoint, you will find that it isn't challenging to create a poster. However, what you see on the monitor is not always what you get when the sign is printed on the poster printer. We have compiled this list of tips to help you avoid common mistakes that lead to printing errors.  Please use these guidelines when creating your poster.  If this is the first time you're using PowerPoint to make a poster, browse our  Set-Up Guide  for additional information.

• All posters should be submitted  two business days  in advance of pick-up time. Before large scientific meetings, we suggest that you allow additional time.
• Add a  1-1.5″ border of white space  on all sides of your poster to accommodate variations in printing.
• Use  standard  fonts  like Arial or Times New Roman; other fonts may not print correctly.
• Type all special characters (e.g., Greek/mathematical symbols)directly in PowerPoint  rather than copying and pasting them from another document. We have found that special characters pasted into PowerPoint tend to print incorrectly  even though the character displays correctly on the monitor.  Insert special characters by clicking Insert >> Symbol >> [texture].
• Make sure that text boxes are on the page . Even if the text appears on the page, the text box may extend beyond the edge and cause the reader to shift when printed. See figure.

• Insert figures and graphs using the "Insert" function , not by copying and pasting the image or figure into the document. Click Insert >> Picture >> From file >> [filename].
• Use a graphics program, not PowerPoint, to resize your images to the size you want them to appear on the poster.
• Images will look very small when you view the entire poster at once. To get an idea of how the actual picture looks,  view your poster at 100% . If it looks fuzzy on your monitor, it will look fuzzy when it prints.
• The minimum resolution for printed images is 300 dots per inch (DPI) . If you take a 2″ X 2″ image at 300 DPI and resize it to 4″ X 4″, you have just halved the resolution to 150 DPI.
• For Macintosh users who want to insert graphs created in Excel:  copy and paste the chart from Excel into a new large document (e.g., 2000 X 1300) in Graphic converter. Under the "Edit" menu, choose "Trim Selection" and then save the graph in .pct format (not .pict). Import into PowerPoint as above.
• To use a graph created in GraphPad , select the graph (in GraphPad) that you want to use on the poster. Click File >> Export >> and Save As Type (pull-down menu). Save the image, then insert it into PowerPoint as outlined above.

Basic Sciences Poster Printing Core

In 2003, we began offering a non-profit poster printing service for affiliates of Vanderbilt's biomedical sciences graduate programs. Our low cost, fast turnaround time, and convenient location quickly made us a popular printing service. We now find that it is not unusual for us to print dozens of posters in the days before large scientific meetings. To avoid disappointment, submit posters for printing  at least two business days before  they are required, and we strongly suggest you allow additional time before large conferences. Our printing service has been top-rated because of its low cost and convenient location, and we need to implement this policy to continue printing posters in a timely fashion. As always, posters print on a first-come, first-served basis, and faculty can submit the sign in their finalized form according to the  Technical Specifications .

Contact Information:

Karen H. Perry, Printing Project Coordinator Vanderbilt Basic Sciences Poster Printing Core 307 Light Hall Nashville, TN 37232-0301 Phone: 615-322-3835 [email protected]

• The Vanderbilt Basic Science Poster Printing Core is at 307 Light Hall.

See  Pricing & Payment .

• We do sell poster tubes at our new location at 307 Light Hall. The price for our poster tubes is (36)" $2.21 or ( 42″) $2.54 is $. We also provide rubber bands.
• What you see on your monitor is not always what you get when the poster is printed. Following our  Technical specifications ,  Advice & Tips  will minimize problems, but we still prefer that you review your poster as it looks on our monitor and grant final approval.
• Follow our  Technical Specifications   Advice & Tips  to minimize errors. If you do not follow our specifications and advice and there is a problem with the print, you will be charged the total price for the errant poster.
• Appointments are not required; your poster is uploaded to dropbox.
• Posters need to be submitted for printing at least two business days before they are required, and we strongly suggest you allow additional time (2-4 days) before large conferences.

To create a poster in PowerPoint, first determine the final size of your poster. Find out if the meeting you are attending has any size guidelines or restrictions. The size you choose should follow conference guidelines and be an appropriate size for your data. The maximum dimension that PowerPoint allows for height and width is 56 inches. If it is longer, you'll need to work at half size, and we'll double when we print. In addition, our paper roll is 42" wide, so although your poster can be up to 56" long (PowerPoint's maximum, the width must be 42"or less).

• Poster Setup Guide for creating with Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 and 2010 for PC.
• Poster Setup Guide for creating with Microsoft Power 2008 and 2011 for Mac .

SETTING UP A NEW USER ACCOUNT

• If you already  have  an iLab  account, you  do not  need to sign up for a new one. Please check with your PI, Lab Manager, or Department Manager to make sure you have access to the necessary billing/cost center numbers.
• If you  do not  have an iLab account , please follow VUMC Core's  instructions  to register for one. After registering, your account will need to be approved. This will take 24-48 hours. Upon account request approval, please follow the instructions below.

ACCESSING VBS POSTER PRINTING CORE

*** DO NOT  submit a PO request. Your Department Manager must assign center numbers to your (VU) Lab and give you access to the center number.***

In iLab,  you must use a (VU) Lab to place an order with BRET Poster Printing Services.  If you  do not   have a (VU) Lab,  please email  [email protected]  with the following information to create one:

• Email Address
• Lab/Department Name
• PI Email Address

(Lab/Department Name(s) and Department Number(s): this should include any department that the PI has center numbers under.)

Note : If the PI does not have an existing lab group, the user should select the AAA Default (VUMC) Lab.

PLACING YOUR POSTER ORDER

Once you have an iLab account and a (VU) Lab:

• Log in to  iLab
• Click on the three bars in the top left corner of the screen
• Go to "Core Facilities"
• Select "Vanderbilt BRET Poster Printing Core"
• Click on "initiate request  -> " at the bottom of the screen
• Type in the person's name for whom you'd like to create a request
• Select your (VU) Lab
• Click " ->  proceed"
• Complete, save, and submit the request form with the correct billing/cost center number

If you have any questions or concerns, please email  [email protected]  or call 615-322-3835.

We support both the PC and Mac platforms. A poster can be created with the following software applications PowerPoint, PDF, Illustrator, and Publisher. The payments and poster requests are made through the  iLab Organizer .

a) The text boxes on your poster should not overlap.

b) The information on your poster should not go beyond the top, bottom, or outside margins to allow for variations in printing.

• Please use standard fonts like Arial or Times. Using non-standard fonts or special characters could lead to missing characters after printing.
• Turn on gridlines to help line up your figures and text boxes. This will display horizontal and vertical lines on the blank presentation.
• Note:   See  Advice & Tips  for additional information on creating posters that print successfully.

The printing coordinator processes poster requests and payments through  iLab . After setting up your account, you can request your poster. Use the following website, the software used by Core Facilities, for requests and payment for services rendered.

Home Blog Design How to Design a Winning Poster Presentation: Quick Guide with Examples & Templates

How to Design a Winning Poster Presentation: Quick Guide with Examples & Templates

How are research posters like High School science fair projects? Quite similar, in fact.

Both are visual representations of a research project shared with peers, colleagues and academic faculty. But there’s a big difference: it’s all in professionalism and attention to detail. You can be sure that the students that thrived in science fairs are now creating fantastic research posters, but what is that extra element most people miss when designing a poster presentation?

This guide will teach tips and tricks for creating poster presentations for conferences, symposia, and more. Learn in-depth poster structure and design techniques to help create academic posters that have a lasting impact.

Let’s get started.

Table of Contents

• What is a Research Poster?

Why are Poster Presentations important?

Overall dimensions and orientation, separation into columns and sections, scientific, academic, or something else, a handout with supplemental and contact information, cohesiveness, design and readability, storytelling.

• Font Characteristics
• Color Pairing
• Data Visualization Dimensions
• Alignment, Margins, and White Space

Scientific/Academic Conference Poster Presentation

Digital research poster presentations, slidemodel poster presentation templates, how to make a research poster presentation step-by-step, considerations for printing poster presentations, how to present a research poster presentation, final words, what is a research poster .

Research posters are visual overviews of the most relevant information extracted from a research paper or analysis.   They are essential communication formats for sharing findings with peers and interested people in the field. Research posters can also effectively present material for other areas besides the sciences and STEM—for example, business and law.

You’ll be creating research posters regularly as an academic researcher, scientist, or grad student. You’ll have to present them at numerous functions and events. For example:

• Conference presentations
• Informational events
• Community centers

The research poster presentation is a comprehensive way to share data, information, and research results. Before the pandemic, the majority of research events were in person. During lockdown and beyond, virtual conferences and summits became the norm. Many researchers now create poster presentations that work in printed and digital formats.

Let’s look at why it’s crucial to spend time creating poster presentations for your research projects, research, analysis, and study papers.

Research posters represent you and your sponsor’s research 

Research papers and accompanying poster presentations are potent tools for representation and communication in your field of study. Well-performing poster presentations help scientists, researchers, and analysts grow their careers through grants and sponsorships.

When presenting a poster presentation for a sponsored research project, you’re representing the company that sponsored you. Your professionalism, demeanor, and capacity for creating impactful poster presentations call attention to other interested sponsors, spreading your impact in the field.

Research posters demonstrate expertise and growth

Presenting research posters at conferences, summits, and graduate grading events shows your expertise and knowledge in your field of study. The way your poster presentation looks and delivers, plus your performance while presenting the work, is judged by your viewers regardless of whether it’s an officially judged panel.

Recurring visitors to research conferences and symposia will see you and your poster presentations evolve. Improve your impact by creating a great poster presentation every time by paying attention to detail in the poster design and in your oral presentation. Practice your public speaking skills alongside the design techniques for even more impact.

Poster presentations create and maintain collaborations

Every time you participate in a research poster conference, you create meaningful connections with people in your field, industry or community. Not only do research posters showcase information about current data in different areas, but they also bring people together with similar interests. Countless collaboration projects between different research teams started after discussing poster details during coffee breaks.

An effective research poster template deepens your peer’s understanding of a topic by highlighting research, data, and conclusions. This information can help other researchers and analysts with their work. As a research poster presenter, you’re given the opportunity for both teaching and learning while sharing ideas with peers and colleagues.

Anatomy of a Winning Poster Presentation

Do you want your research poster to perform well?  Following the standard layout and adding a few personal touches will help attendees know how to read your poster and get the most out of your information. 

The overall size of your research poster ultimately depends on the dimensions of the provided space at the conference or research poster gallery. The poster orientation can be horizontal or vertical, with horizontal being the most common.  In general, research posters measure 48 x 36 inches or are an A0 paper size.

A virtual poster can be the same proportions as the printed research poster, but you have more leeway regarding the dimensions. Virtual research posters should fit on a screen with no need to scroll, with 1080p resolution as a standard these days. A horizontal presentation size is ideal for that.

A research poster presentation has a standard layout of 2–5 columns with 2–3 sections each. Typical structures say to separate the content into four sections; 1. A horizontal header 2. Introduction column, 3. Research/Work/Data column, and 4. Conclusion column. Each unit includes topics that relate to your poster’s objective.  Here’s a generalized outline for a poster presentation:

• Condensed Abstract 
• Objectives/Purpose
• Methodology
• Recommendations
• Implications
• Acknowledgments
• Contact Information 

The overview content you include in the units depends on your poster presentations’ theme, topic, industry, or field of research. A scientific or academic poster will include sections like hypothesis, methodology, and materials. A marketing analysis poster will include performance metrics and competitor analysis results.

There’s no way a poster can hold all the information included in your research paper or analysis report. The poster is an overview that invites the audience to want to find out more. That’s where supplement material comes in. Create a printed PDF handout or card with a QR code (created using a QR code generator ). Send the audience to the best online location for reading or downloading the complete paper.

What Makes a Poster Presentation Good and Effective? 

For your poster presentation to be effective and well-received, it needs to cover all the bases and be inviting to find out more. Stick to the standard layout suggestions and give it a unique look and feel. We’ve put together some of the most critical research poster-creation tips in the list below. Your poster presentation will perform as long as you check all the boxes.

The information you choose to include in the sections of your poster presentation needs to be cohesive. Train your editing eye and do a few revisions before presenting. The best way to look at it is to think of The Big Picture. Don’t get stuck on the details; your attendees won’t always know the background behind your research topic or why it’s important.

Be cohesive in how you word the titles, the length of the sections, the highlighting of the most important data, and how your oral presentation complements the printed—or virtual—poster.

The most important characteristic of your poster presentation is its readability and clarity. You need a poster presentation with a balanced design that’s easy to read at a distance of 1.5 meters or 4 feet. The font size and spacing must be clear and neat. All the content must suggest a visual flow for the viewer to follow.

That said, you don’t need to be a designer to add something special to your poster presentation. Once you have the standard—and recognized—columns and sections, add your special touch. These can be anything from colorful boxes for the section titles to an interesting but subtle background, images that catch the eye, and charts that inspire a more extended look. 

Storytelling is a presenting technique involving writing techniques to make information flow. Firstly, storytelling helps give your poster presentation a great introduction and an impactful conclusion. 

Think of storytelling as the invitation to listen or read more, as the glue that connects sections, making them flow from one to another. Storytelling is using stories in the oral presentation, for example, what your lab partner said when you discovered something interesting. If it makes your audience smile and nod, you’ve hit the mark. Storytelling is like giving a research presentation a dose of your personality, and it can help turning your data into opening stories .

Design Tips For Creating an Effective Research Poster Presentation

The section above briefly mentioned how important design is to your poster presentation’s effectiveness. We’ll look deeper into what you need to know when designing a poster presentation.

1. Font Characteristics

The typeface and size you choose are of great importance. Not only does the text need to be readable from two meters away, but it also needs to look and sit well on the poster. Stay away from calligraphic script typefaces, novelty typefaces, or typefaces with uniquely shaped letters.

Stick to the classics like a sans serif Helvetica, Lato, Open Sans, or Verdana. Avoid serif typefaces as they can be difficult to read from far away. Here are some standard text sizes to have on hand.

• Title: 85 pt
• Authors: 65 pt
• Headings: 36 pt
• Body Text: 24 pt
• Captions: 18 pt

If you feel too prone to use serif typefaces, work with a font pairing tool that helps you find a suitable solution – and intend those serif fonts for heading sections only. As a rule, never use more than 3 different typefaces in your design. To make it more dynamic, you can work with the same font using light, bold, and italic weights to put emphasis on the required areas.

2. Color Pairing

Using colors in your poster presentation design is a great way to grab the viewer’s attention. A color’s purpose is to help the viewer follow the data flow in your presentation, not distract. Don’t let the color take more importance than the information on your poster.

Choose one main color for the title and headlines and a similar color for the data visualizations. If you want to use more than one color, don’t create too much contrast between them. Try different tonalities of the same color and keep things balanced visually. Your color palette should have at most one main color and two accent colors.

Black text over a white background is standard practice for printed poster presentations, but for virtual presentations, try a very light gray instead of white and a very dark gray instead of black. Additionally, use variations of light color backgrounds and dark color text. Make sure it’s easy to read from two meters away or on a screen, depending on the context. We recommend ditching full white or full black tone usage as it hurts eyesight in the long term due to its intense contrast difference with the light ambiance.

3. Data Visualization Dimensions

Just like the text, your charts, graphs, and data visualizations must be easy to read and understand. Generally, if a person is interested in your research and has already read some of the text from two meters away, they’ll come closer to look at the charts and graphs. 

Fit data visualizations inside columns or let them span over two columns. Remove any unnecessary borders, lines, or labels to make them easier to read at a glance. Use a flat design without shadows or 3D characteristics. The text in legends and captions should stay within the chart size and not overflow into the margins. Use a unified text size of 18px for all your data visualizations.

4. Alignment, Margins, and White Space

Finally, the last design tip for creating an impressive and memorable poster presentation is to be mindful of the layout’s alignment, margins, and white space. Create text boxes to help keep everything aligned. They allow you to resize, adapt, and align the content along a margin or grid.

Take advantage of the white space created by borders and margins between sections. Don’t crowd them with a busy background or unattractive color.

Calculate margins considering a print format. It is a good practice in case the poster presentation ends up becoming in physical format, as you won’t need to downscale your entire design (affecting text readability in the process) to preserve information.

There are different tools that you can use to make a poster presentation. Presenters who are familiar with Microsoft Office prefer to use PowerPoint. You can learn how to make a poster in PowerPoint here.

Poster Presentation Examples

Before you start creating a poster presentation, look at some examples of real research posters. Get inspired and get creative.

Research poster presentations printed and mounted on a board look like the one in the image below. The presenter stands to the side, ready to share the information with visitors as they walk up to the panels.

With more and more conferences staying virtual or hybrid, the digital poster presentation is here to stay. Take a look at examples from a poster session at the OHSU School of Medicine .

Use SlideModel templates to help you create a winning poster presentation with PowerPoint and Google Slides. These poster PPT templates will get you off on the right foot. Mix and match tables and data visualizations from other poster slide templates to create your ideal layout according to the standard guidelines.

If you need a quick method to create a presentation deck to talk about your research poster at conferences, check out our Slides AI presentation maker. A tool in which you add the topic, curate the outline, select a design, and let AI do the work for you.

1. One-pager Scientific Poster Template for PowerPoint

A PowerPoint template tailored to make your poster presentations an easy-to-craft process. Meet our One-Pager Scientific Poster Slide Template, entirely editable to your preferences and with ample room to accommodate graphs, data charts, and much more.

Use This Template

2. Eisenhower Matrix Slides Template for PowerPoint

An Eisenhower Matrix is a powerful tool to represent priorities, classifying work according to urgency and importance. Presenters can use this 2×2 matrix in poster presentations to expose the effort required for the research process, as it also helps to communicate strategy planning.

3. OSMG Framework PowerPoint Template

Finally, we recommend presenters check our OSMG Framework PowerPoint template, as it is an ideal tool for representing a business plan: its goals, strategies, and measures for success. Expose complex processes in a simplified manner by adding this template to your poster presentation.

Remember these three words when making your research poster presentation: develop, design, and present. These are the three main actions toward a successful poster presentation. 

The section below will take you on a step-by-step journey to create your next poster presentation.

Step 1: Define the purpose and audience of your poster presentation

Before making a poster presentation design, you’ll need to plan first. Here are some questions to answer at this point:

• Are they in your field? 
• Do they know about your research topic? 
• What can they get from your research?
• Will you print it?
• Is it for a virtual conference?

Step 2: Make an outline

With a clear purpose and strategy, it’s time to collect the most important information from your research paper, analysis, or documentation. Make a content dump and then select the most interesting information. Use the content to draft an outline.

Outlines help formulate the overall structure better than going straight into designing the poster. Mimic the standard poster structure in your outline using section headlines as separators. Go further and separate the content into the columns they’ll be placed in.

Step 3: Write the content

Write or rewrite the content for the sections in your poster presentation. Use the text in your research paper as a base, but summarize it to be more succinct in what you share. 

Don’t forget to write a catchy title that presents the problem and your findings in a clear way. Likewise, craft the headlines for the sections in a similar tone as the title, creating consistency in the message. Include subtle transitions between sections to help follow the flow of information in order.

Avoid copying/pasting entire sections of the research paper on which the poster is based. Opt for the storytelling approach, so the delivered message results are interesting for your audience. 

Step 4: Put it all together visually

This entire guide on how to design a research poster presentation is the perfect resource to help you with this step. Follow all the tips and guidelines and have an unforgettable poster presentation.

Moving on, here’s how to design a research poster presentation with PowerPoint Templates . Open a new project and size it to the standard 48 x 36 inches. Using the outline, map out the sections on the empty canvas. Add a text box for each title, headline, and body text. Piece by piece, add the content into their corresponding text box.

Transform the text information visually, make bullet points, and place the content in tables and timelines. Make your text visual to avoid chunky text blocks that no one will have time to read. Make sure all text sizes are coherent for all headings, body texts, image captions, etc. Double-check for spacing and text box formatting.

Next, add or create data visualizations, images, or diagrams. Align everything into columns and sections, making sure there’s no overflow. Add captions and legends to the visualizations, and check the color contrast with colleagues and friends. Ask for feedback and progress to the last step.

Step 5: Last touches

Time to check the final touches on your poster presentation design. Here’s a checklist to help finalize your research poster before sending it to printers or the virtual summit rep.

• Check the resolution of all visual elements in your poster design. Zoom to 100 or 200% to see if the images pixelate. Avoid this problem by using vector design elements and high-resolution images.
• Ensure that charts and graphs are easy to read and don’t look crowded.
• Analyze the visual hierarchy. Is there a visual flow through the title, introduction, data, and conclusion?
• Take a step back and check if it’s legible from a distance. Is there enough white space for the content to breathe?
• Does the design look inviting and interesting?

An often neglected topic arises when we need to print our designs for any exhibition purpose. Since A0 is a hard-to-manage format for most printers, these poster presentations result in heftier charges for the user. Instead, you can opt to work your design in two A1 sheets, which also becomes more manageable for transportation. Create seamless borders for the section on which the poster sheets should meet, or work with a white background.

Paper weight options should be over 200 gsm to avoid unwanted damage during the printing process due to heavy ink usage. If possible, laminate your print or stick it to photographic paper – this shall protect your work from spills.

Finally, always run a test print. Gray tints may not be printed as clearly as you see them on screen (this is due to the RGB to CMYK conversion process). Other differences can be appreciated when working with ink jet plotters vs. laser printers. Give yourself enough room to maneuver last-minute design changes.

Presenting a research poster is a big step in the poster presentation cycle. Your poster presentation might or might not be judged by faculty or peers. But knowing what judges look for will help you prepare for the design and oral presentation, regardless of whether you receive a grade for your work or if it’s business related. Likewise, the same principles apply when presenting at an in-person or virtual summit.

The opening statement

Part of presenting a research poster is welcoming the viewer to your small personal area in the sea of poster presentations. You’ll need an opening statement to pitch your research poster and get the viewers’ attention.

Draft a 2 to 3-sentence pitch that covers the most important points:

• What the research is
• Why was it conducted
• What the results say

From that opening statement, you’re ready to continue with the oral presentation for the benefit of your attendees.

The oral presentation

During the oral presentation, share the information on the poster while conversing with the interested public. Practice many times before the event. Structure the oral presentation as conversation points, and use the poster’s visual flow as support. Make eye contact with your audience as you speak, but don’t make them uncomfortable.

Pro Tip: In a conference or summit, if people show up to your poster area after you’ve started presenting it to another group, finish and then address the new visitors.

QA Sessions 

When you’ve finished the oral presentation, offer the audience a chance to ask questions. You can tell them before starting the presentation that you’ll be holding a QA session at the end. Doing so will prevent interruptions as you’re speaking.

If presenting to one or two people, be flexible and answer questions as you review all the sections on your poster.

Supplemental Material

If your audience is interested in learning more, you can offer another content type, further imprinting the information in their minds. Some ideas include; printed copies of your research paper, links to a website, a digital experience of your poster, a thesis PDF, or data spreadsheets.

Your audience will want to contact you for further conversations; include contact details in your supplemental material. If you don’t offer anything else, at least have business cards.

Even though conferences have changed, the research poster’s importance hasn’t diminished. Now, instead of simply creating a printed poster presentation, you can also make it for digital platforms. The final output will depend on the conference and its requirements.

This guide covered all the essential information you need to know for creating impactful poster presentations, from design, structure and layout tips to oral presentation techniques to engage your audience better . 

Before your next poster session, bookmark and review this guide to help you design a winning poster presentation every time. 

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Presentation Strategies

Effective communication is essential in the classroom and in the real world. Good presentation skills, including public speaking and the design of visual materials, can be learned. Following the best practices outlined in the videos and resources below will help you become more effective at communicating your ideas in a professional way, while developing your own personal style.

Quick links:

Videos on Presenting

Videos on design principles, narrated presentations in powerpoint, best practices for effective presentations - video.

This video provides strategies for planning and delivering an oral presentation.

Creating and Presenting Your Poster - Video

This video gives tips on what to consider when planning the content, structure, and presentation of a poster.

PowerPoint Design Concept - White Space

White space is a basic design concept that will help clarify information in your PowerPoint presentations and other forms of visual content.

PowerPoint Design Concept - Visual Hierarchy

Visual hierarchy is an important design concept that will help you communicate your main message more effectively.

  Designing Effective Presentations - Fonts

Fonts can set the tone for your presentation but it is also important to understand how to make them as legible as possible while communicating your main message.

  Designing Effective Presentations - Color

Making thoughtful color choices in your presentation not only helps to set the appropriate feel or style for your presentation but can also help to improve the clarity of your message.

After reviewing the materials above about presentation strategies and design principles, practice those ideas by creating a narrated presentation in PowerPoint. The newer versions of PowerPoint allow you to record yourself giving the presentation (just your voice). The result adds audio objects for each slide, which makes it possible to redo a slide or two if you make mistakes. The PowerPoint file can then be exported to a movie file, complete with slide transistions and animations, to be easily reviewed or shared. This can serve as great practice for your presentation before showtime. 

Create a Narrated Presentation

The following link provides a helpful tutorial for both PC and Mac versions of PowerPoint: Recording a slide show with narrations and slide timings

Export a Video File

To export your slideshow as a MP4 file (or other video file) with your audio narrations, please review the following help page, which describes both the PC and Mac versions method: Save a presentation as a Movie file or MP4

NOTE : Not all versions of PowerPoint have the features mentioned above. Hopkins Affiliates have access to a Microsoft Office 365 license which will allow you to download the newest version of Office including PowerPoint. Please visit the following page for how to download Microsoft Office 365: Office 365 Communication Hub, Microsoft Office

• Effective Poster Presentation - Handout
• This PDF presents strategies to consider in determing poster content, structure, and graphic design. It includes tips on presentation logisitics

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• About Climb

Oral Communication Skills

A key skill for any scientist is communicating ideas orally to your mentors and peers. Throughout your career you will be faced with the challenge of speaking in front of groups small and large – to explain a paper in journal clubs, to present a poster, to give a talk at conferences, and so on.

These resources are designed to help you master the craft of giving oral presentations in various settings. The links below lead to PowerPoint or video files used for our workshops for first year CLIMB students when we focus on oral communication skills.

Click below to view videos or to download the pdf files of PowerPoint presentations.

A four-part series on oral presentations skills:

Creating a 10-15 Minute Scientific Presentation:

• Part 1 - Creating an Introduction (video):  Creating an introduction  (large pptx file of slides in video with an audio clip of the speaker)
• Part 2 - Creating the body of the presentation; design/methods; data/results; conclusion s (video); Creating the body of the presentattion  (large pptx file of slides in video with an audio clip of the speaker)

Designing PowerPoint slides for a scientific presentation

Delivering a presentation

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Poster presentations

Browse through our advice and resources to help you produce effective posters and present them.

Visual communication

Because University courses focus on communication through the written word, it is easy to overlook the importance of other ways to get your message across.

Visual aspects of your communication are relevant to all forms of work, from the font you use and how you layout text on the page to the use of graphs, figures and diagrams.

Images and illustrations can be used in many forms of written work and oral communication, and help you to get your ideas across to an audience in a way that is more immediate and impactful than is possible through text alone. 

It is important to think hard about how best to convey your information to your audience and to weigh up the relative advantages of text, visuals and other forms of media.

Posters are a great way to present data and information in a clear and accessible way to allow audiences to get a quick overview of a complex research project. They are commonly used as a way to communicate work at conferences and other events, providing an accessible window into a complex research area. 

301 Recommends: 

Have a look at this  interactive example of a research poster  to find out more about the principles of good poster design.

Our Research Posters workshop will explore the specific challenges of designing and disseminating research at poster presentations. It will introduce the principles of good poster design, including opportunities to engage critically with research posters, to develop your own key messages and to plan and prepare for the presentation itself.

Working with text and layout

The key thing to remember is that regardless of whether it is to be printed, projected, or displayed on a website - text is intended to be read!

Your choice of font, text size, line length and layout should always help to guide your reader through the text and make it as easy as possible to find and understand the information.

Your design should always be guided by your content, so first ask yourself what are the main messages that you would like to get across. 

You don't need to become an accomplished graphic designer to improve the presentation of your text. There are some simple principles that you can follow to ensure that you make life as easy as possible for your reader:

• Use headings and subheadings for your sections
• Use bullet points where possible to convey more complex information
• Use a single font if possible and keep the use of different font sizes to a minumum
• Use text that is readable from at least two metres - that is probably bigger than you think!
• Don't justify your text; although it may look neater, it is often more difficult to read
• White space is your friend, so avoid the temptation to fill every spare inch!

When you have a draft of your poster ready, try the A4 text: if you can read your poster when it is printed at A4, then it will probably work OK when it is reproduced at A1.

Use of images and other visual material

It is often claimed that 'a picture paints a thousand words', but only if you use the right image in the right place. Images – photographs, illustrations, charts, figures, diagrams, screenshots, animations and much more – can add detail and depth to an argument.

Images can convey complex information in a relatively accessible way, so long as they are clear and well integrated into your overall design, and offer audiences a different way of engaging with your ideas.

Just like the words that you choose, it is essential to think carefully about any images that you use in your work. Pay particular attention to the following questions:

• What does this image add to my argument or discussion?
• Is it presented in such a way that it does what I need it to do?
• Will it be clear enough for the audience to be able to see it, and get from it what I want?
• Do I need to include extra information to ensure my audience can make sense of what they are looking at?
• Does it have a caption and is it explained in the text of my poster?

How should I reference my image?

You will need to reference images, to make sure their sources are fairly acknowledged.

There are a number of places that you can go to find images that are in the public domain. You can find some recommended image databases here . 

Image referencing can also work a little differently from other sources, so be sure to check the Library referencing pages here . 

Posters and presenting screencast

For more information and ideas on putting together your research poster and presenting it on the day, watch our screencast.

Top tips and resources

• Know your audience: how familiar with viewers be with jargon and terminology?
• Identify your key message and make sure it is clear from the structure of your poster.
• Have a clear narrative and make sure that your structure guides the viewer through it in a logical way.
• Keep it as concise as possible!
• And finally, make the most of the opportunity to tell your story in a visual way.

Useful resources

University of Sheffield Library -  Communicating with Infographics  Tutorial

Think Ahead: Poster Presentations -  videos and resources

Scribd -  Design and Layout

Related information

Online group work

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21 Poster Presentations

Read time: 8 minutes

This section will outline how to communicate your scientific research in the format of a poster presentation, and provide guidance on designing your poster.

Sections in this chapter

Environment and audience, poster vs. talk, verbal aspect, poster design, virtual posters.

Many conferences have poster presentation sessions along with oral presentations. The poster presentation is a format introduced into the American Chemical Society meetings in the 1970s. This format allows more people the opportunity to present their work since many posters can be scheduled for the same time period and in one large room.

The format of a poster presentation allows for a one-on-one and in-depth discussion between the presenter and viewer. For this reason, poster sessions are often combined with social mixers, where people can walk around and browse the posters.

Theoretically, the poster audience is more broad and diverse, since many disciplines present in one large room. For this reason, your poster should be readable or understandable in less than 5 minutes by someone not in your field, who has only general knowledge of the research area. People browse posters and look for something that interests them, and on average spend around 90 seconds viewing a single poster. However, the people who actually attend your poster will likely be those who are interested in your work or work in a similar area.

Attaching business cards and one-page copies of your poster allow viewers to contact you later and get the information without having to take notes.

Table 21.1. Differences between posters and oral presentations (talks)

Posters are mostly non-verbal and visual, so most of this chapter will discuss poster design. However, the verbal aspect of the poster presentation is where many presenters struggle! The most common mistake is for presenters to launch into a detailed overview of the slides, starting at the introduction and working their way through the poster all the way to the acknowledgements. Even a 5-minute overview is too long at a poster! The issue with this approach is that the viewer cannot listen to you and think critically at the same time, and they lose the autonomy of exploring your visuals at their own pace. Follow these tips for a successful poster presentation:

• If someone shows interest in your poster, smile and introduce yourself, then wait.
• If they start to intently view your poster, let them do this silently without interruption.
• If they turn to you, ask if they would like a short overview of your work.
• Start with the key finding, from your conclusion, and state it in a single sentence.
• Then move on to your motivation and methods and details about the results.
• Make sure to pause and make eye contact, which will let viewers ask questions.
• Ask your viewer questions to gauge their interest and background, and encourage discussion
• Point to relevant things on your poster as you present.

There are some aspects of etiquette to giving poster presentations. First of all, you should be at your poster during the specified times. Socializing with friends should be a lower priority, so if your lab members are hanging around your poster you can politely ask them to give you some space. Stay tuned to social cues from your viewer, and let them view the poster silently if they seem to want that. Lastly, consider waiting until after the presentation for drinks.

Format and Size

Posters should be concise, organized, and self-explanatory: the best way to achieve this is to have a central and obvious message. Beyond that, a poster should be easy to view from 1-2 meters away, which means you should limit text to short paragraphs (<20 lines) or bullet points. Remember that you are not writing a full paper! Any text should be in a simple Sans-Serif typeface ( e.g., Arial, Verdana, Calibri) with adequate spacing, and large enough to easily read. Consider using a different font style for the title and headings than the main text. Follow this guide for minimum text sizes:

Title 100 pt (Verdana, bold)

Authors 36 pt (Arial, bold)

Headings 54 pt (Verdana, bold)

Main text 32 pt (Arial)

References 28 point (Arial)

Instead of text, use figures, graphs, and charts to visually communicate of your work. Make sure the text labels and axes are large enough to easily read, following the guide above.

Check the conference website for instructions on the acceptable dimensions for posters. The typically allowed dimensions are 90 cm (36”) high x  122 cm (48”) wide. There are two ways to create your poster (Figure 21.1): 1) print 12-20 regular slides on 8.5″ x 11″ pieces of paper, and arrange them; 2) create a single large poster sheet, either printed on paper or fabric, to fill the whole space.

Posters have all the components of a paper, organized into sections. These sections are not always separate on your poster (see below ‘Layout’), but they should be present in one way or another. See Table 21.2. for a list of sections and their descriptions.

Table 21.2. Poster sections

Sections in your poster are outlined by headings. Instead of using section titles like “Introduction”, use descriptive headings that tell the viewer the key message of the section (Table 21.3).

Table 21.3. Replacing poster headings with descriptive headings

Layout & design.

A thoughtful layout will provide a natural flow that guides people through your poster.  It is best to arrange your poster in blocks of columns, so that the audience reads from left to right, top to bottom using “reader’s gravity”. You can number each section block or heading to help the reader to follow the flow of the material. 

Posters with symmetric layouts and plenty of ‘white space’ are more visually pleasing, and can also help with flow. Also, place graphics and text to create a symmetrical balance.

Instead of headings like “Introduction”, use descriptive headings to clearly communicate your main points. A lack of headings, plus an asymmetric layout of the material, makes it difficult for the viewer to follow the flow or find a particular section of the poster.

A popular traditional poster format (see Figure 21.2) has a landscape layout and three columns: 1) Introduction and Methods, 25% width; 2) Results arena, 50% Width; 3) Conclusions and Acknowledgements, 25% width. A more modern landscape layout (Figure 21.3) was designed by Mike Morrison , [1] which features a large takeaway sidebar with the key message, and a QR code that links to the paper or a website. This modern poster format also works well in a portrait format (Figure 21.4).

Stick to a theme of 2 or 3 colours, using an accessible colour scheme , and be consistent with the use of colours that have meaning (e.g.,  in legends). Don’t be afraid to use b right colours to attract attention, but if you overuse them you will wear out readers’ eyes. For the body of your poster, use a light coloured background and dark coloured text. Dark backgrounds with light letters can become tiring to read but are often used for headings.

Don’t start from scratch

There are many poster templates available online! Here are some PowerPoint templates and guides:

BetterPosters.blogspot.com landscape template

BetterPosters.blogspot.com portrait template

BetterPosters.blogspot.com Twitter template

Queen’s Chemistry Landscape Poster Template

Queen’s Chemistry Portrait Poster Template

Online conferences and symposia are becoming more common, including virtual poster sessions. Virtual posters can have animations, videos, and audio narration. These posters can take many formats, but one common format is for the RSC Poster  Day on Twitter. They published this guide to creating a version of your poster on Twitter, and how to identify your work using the right hashtag ( e.g., #RSCOrganic, #RSCAnalytical).

Here are some links to the 2020 winners of #RSCPoster Day.

Super excited to share my research on the use of electrochemistry as a tool for drug detection in complex matrices as a #comicsforscience for my first #RSCPoster #RSCAnalytical #RSCPhys #electrochem @DennanyChem @PamelaAllanChem @CarnegieUni @StrathChem @StrathForensics pic.twitter.com/ISzJ55Hbqh — Kelly Brown (@kellybrown_94) March 3, 2020

Excited to share my first #RSCPoster and looking forward to interact with all the #chemtweeps to discuss magnetic photocatalysis 🧲💡 #RSCCat #RSCNano #RSCMat pic.twitter.com/XzwxnIYJyh — Julio Terra (@terra__julio) March 3, 2020

Here we go again! NEON can deny, oops I mean no-one can deny Hydrogen's BRIGHT future for renewable energy! Here is my fun twist on my LIGHT weight hydrogen storage for mobile fuel cell applications research at @lborouniversity @LboroScience #RSCEnergy #RSCPoster pic.twitter.com/8DzRUHobiA — Lizzie Ashton (@LizzieRAshton) March 3, 2020

• " Critique: The Morrison billboard poster ", Zen Faulkes, April 11, 2019, Better Posters. Accessed 2020-08-31 ↵

Principles of Scientific Communication Copyright © 2020 by Amanda Bongers and Donal Macartney is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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The Art of Effective Poster Presentations at Conferences

Conference poster presentations are a vital platform for researchers to share their work, exchange ideas, and engage with fellow scholars. A well-executed poster can effectively communicate your research findings, captivate your audience, and spark meaningful conversations. In this article, we will delve into the art of crafting and delivering effective poster presentations at conferences, offering valuable insights and strategies to help you make the most of this opportunity.

Why Are Poster Presentations Important?

In the realm of academic conferences, where researchers from diverse fields converge to exchange knowledge and ideas, poster presentations hold a distinct and essential place. These visual displays of research findings are more than just static images on a board; they are dynamic tools for communication, engagement, and networking. Here, we explore why poster presentations are integral to the conference experience and academic discourse.

1. Accessibility and Inclusivity: One of the primary virtues of poster presentations is their accessibility. Unlike oral presentations that are limited by concurrent sessions, poster sessions typically span longer durations, ensuring that attendees have ample opportunities to engage with the content. This inclusivity allows researchers to reach a broader audience and receive feedback from peers who may not have attended their oral presentation.

2. Ideal for Complex Visual Content: Some research findings are inherently visual, relying on graphs, charts, images, and diagrams to convey complex information. Posters provide an ideal platform for presenting such content effectively. They allow for the integration of visuals that can be absorbed at a glance, enhancing the audience's understanding of intricate data.

3. Engaging Interactions: Poster sessions foster interactive and one-on-one engagements between presenters and attendees. Researchers have the chance to discuss their work, answer questions, and engage in meaningful dialogues. This direct interaction enables deeper dives into the research, encourages brainstorming, and often leads to valuable insights and collaborations.

4. Sharing Preliminary and Ongoing Work: Not all research is finalized and ready for a full oral presentation. Poster presentations offer the flexibility to share preliminary findings, ongoing projects, or research in progress. This openness allows researchers to receive early feedback, refine their methodologies, and make connections that can propel their work forward.

5. Enhancing Presentation Skills: Crafting an effective poster and presenting it succinctly enhance researchers' communication and presentation skills. They must distill their work into a visually appealing and concise format, which is a valuable skill for conveying complex ideas to a broader audience.

6. Opportunities for Early-Career Researchers: Poster sessions often provide an excellent platform for early-career researchers to gain exposure and build their professional networks. It offers a less intimidating setting for them to share their work, receive constructive feedback, and connect with experienced researchers who can offer mentorship and guidance.

7. Showcasing Multidisciplinary Research: Conferences bring together scholars from various disciplines. Posters enable researchers to showcase multidisciplinary projects that bridge the gaps between different fields. This interdisciplinary exchange can lead to innovative solutions and collaborations that transcend traditional academic boundaries.

8. A Visual Snapshot of Research: Poster presentations serve as visual snapshots of research projects. Attendees can quickly scan the content to determine if a poster aligns with their interests, making it easier to decide which presentations to explore further.

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The key elements of a successful conference poster.

Creating a successful conference poster is both an art and a science. It requires careful consideration of design, content, and presentation to effectively communicate your research findings. Here are the key elements that contribute to a successful conference poster:

1. Clear and Compelling Title: The poster's title should be concise, engaging, and instantly convey the essence of your research. A well-crafted title captures the attention of viewers and invites them to learn more. It's often the first impression your poster makes, so make it count.

2. Engaging Design: Visual appeal is crucial. Your poster should have a clean and balanced layout with a logical flow. Use fonts that are easy to read and choose colors that enhance readability. Visual elements like graphs, images, and diagrams should be integrated seamlessly into the design.

3. Structured Content: Organize your poster content in a structured manner. Include sections such as an introduction, methods, results, discussion, and conclusions. Use clear headings and subheadings to guide viewers through your research journey. A well-organized poster makes it easier for viewers to follow your narrative.

4. Captivating Visuals: Visuals are a powerful tool for conveying information. Use graphs, charts, images, and diagrams to illustrate key points and trends in your research. Ensure that visuals are of high quality and directly support your findings. Visuals should be easy to understand at a glance.

5. Concise Text: Keep text concise and focused. Avoid long paragraphs and excessive jargon. Use bullet points and numbered lists to break up information into digestible chunks. Your text should complement the visuals and provide context without overwhelming the viewer.

6. Clear Data Representation: If your research involves data, present it clearly and concisely. Use appropriate data visualization techniques to convey trends and results. Ensure that axes are labeled, units are specified, and data points are clearly defined. Viewers should be able to grasp your findings without confusion.

7. Effective Use of Space: Utilize the available space wisely. Avoid clutter and allow for ample white space to prevent visual overload. Space should be allocated to different sections and visuals in a balanced manner, ensuring that no aspect of your research is overshadowed.

8. Cohesive Visual Theme: Maintain a cohesive visual theme throughout your poster. Consistency in fonts, colors, and overall design enhances the professional appearance of your poster. A well-designed poster reflects positively on your research.

9. Engaging Headings and Captions: Headings and captions should be engaging and informative. Use them to highlight key findings and insights. A well-crafted heading or caption can draw viewers' attention to specific aspects of your research.

10. Contact Information and References: Include your contact information, such as an email address or QR code linked to your professional profile. Don't forget to provide references for your research sources, which adds credibility to your work.

A successful conference poster is a harmonious blend of design, content, and presentation. Clear and compelling visuals, concise text, structured content, and an engaging title are essential elements for effectively conveying your research. By carefully considering these key elements, you can create a poster that captivates your audience and leaves a lasting impression at your next conference presentation.

Preparing for Your Poster Presentation

Creating a stellar conference poster is only part of the equation for a successful presentation. Equally important is your preparation to engage with your audience effectively. Here's how to prepare for your poster presentation:

1. Practice Your Elevator Pitch: Be ready to deliver a concise summary of your research in a minute or less. This elevator pitch should capture the essence of your work and pique the interest of passersby. It serves as the initial hook to draw viewers to your poster.

2. Anticipate Questions: Think about the questions and comments you might receive during your presentation. Prepare concise and informative responses to common queries related to your research. Anticipating questions helps you stay confident and composed during interactions.

3. Rehearse Your Presentation: Practice presenting your poster to colleagues, mentors, or friends. Seek their feedback on your delivery, clarity, and overall presentation skills. Rehearsing your presentation multiple times ensures you can confidently convey your research findings.

4. Set Up Your Space: Arrive early at the conference venue to set up your poster and any supplementary materials. Ensure that your poster is properly affixed and easy to read. Check that your presentation area is well-lit and free of distractions.

5. Organize Supporting Materials: Prepare handouts, business cards, or QR codes linked to your research for interested attendees. These materials provide additional information for those who want to explore your work further. Be ready to distribute them as needed.

6. Dress Professionally: Your attire should be professional and appropriate for the conference. A polished appearance enhances your credibility and professionalism when engaging with attendees.

7. Develop a Presentation Strategy: Decide how you will approach engagement with attendees. Will you actively invite passersby to your poster? Will you use visual aids to guide your discussions? Having a strategy in mind helps you manage interactions effectively.

8. Maintain Eye Contact: When engaging with attendees, maintain eye contact and a welcoming demeanor. A friendly and approachable attitude can encourage more interactions and make attendees feel comfortable asking questions.

9. Share Your Passion: Showcase your enthusiasm for your research. Passion is infectious and can draw attendees to your poster. Explain why your work matters and how it contributes to the field.

10. Be Adaptable: Be flexible and adaptable during your presentation. Tailor your discussions to the interests and knowledge levels of your audience. Some may seek detailed technical information, while others may prefer a high-level overview.

11. Respect Time Constraints: Be mindful of the time available for each interaction. Respect attendees' schedules and avoid monopolizing their time. Concisely convey your research and offer to provide more information if requested.

12. Collect Feedback: Encourage attendees to share their feedback and insights. Constructive criticism can help you refine your research and presentation skills. Consider providing a feedback form or inviting verbal comments.

Effective preparation is the key to a successful poster presentation. Practice your elevator pitch, anticipate questions, and rehearse your presentation. Arrive early, organize supporting materials, and maintain a professional appearance. Develop a presentation strategy, engage attendees with enthusiasm, and adapt to their needs. By preparing diligently, you can confidently showcase your research and engage with your audience effectively at the conference.

Engaging With Your Audience

A conference poster presentation isn't just about displaying your research; it's an opportunity to engage with your audience, foster discussions, and share your passion for your work. Here are strategies for effectively engaging with your audience during your poster presentation:

1. Maintain Eye Contact: When attendees approach your poster, greet them with a smile and make eye contact. Establishing this personal connection creates a welcoming atmosphere and encourages interaction.

2. Use Visual Aids: Visual aids, such as a pointer or your own finger, can help direct attendees' attention to specific sections of your poster. Use them to highlight key findings or data points as you explain your research.

3. Ask Open-Ended Questions: Encourage conversations by asking open-ended questions. Instead of questions with yes-or-no answers, pose inquiries that invite attendees to share their thoughts or experiences related to your research. For example, "What are your thoughts on this approach?" or "Have you encountered similar challenges in your work?"

4. Share Anecdotes and Stories: Weave relatable anecdotes or stories into your presentation to humanize your research. Personal experiences or challenges you've encountered on your research journey can make your work more relatable and memorable.

5. Tailor Your Explanation: Adjust your explanation based on your audience's level of familiarity with your field. Some attendees may be experts, while others may have limited knowledge. Tailor your discussion to their needs, offering more in-depth explanations when necessary.

6. Use Analogies and Metaphors: Complex research concepts can be simplified with the use of analogies or metaphors. Compare your findings to everyday experiences or objects to make them more accessible and relatable.

7. Provide Real-World Relevance: Emphasize the real-world relevance of your research. Explain how your findings can address practical problems or contribute to advancements in your field. Attendees are more likely to engage when they see the practical implications.

8. Listen Actively: Engaging with your audience is a two-way interaction. Listen actively to their questions and comments. Show appreciation for their input, and ask follow-up questions to delve deeper into the discussion.

9. Offer Handouts or Additional Information: Some attendees may want to explore your research in greater detail. Offer handouts, business cards, or QR codes linked to supplementary materials, such as your full paper or additional data. This provides an avenue for further engagement.

10. Be Respectful of Time: Respect attendees' time constraints. If someone is in a hurry, provide a concise overview of your research and offer to share more information later. For those interested in a more in-depth discussion, allocate additional time.

11. Foster a Positive Environment: Create a positive and inviting environment at your poster. Be approachable, patient, and enthusiastic. Attendees are more likely to engage when they feel comfortable and welcomed.

Networking Opportunities

While your primary goal at a conference poster presentation is to showcase your research, it's also an excellent opportunity for networking. Building connections with fellow researchers, potential collaborators, and experts in your field can be as valuable as presenting your work. Here's how to make the most of networking opportunities during your poster presentation:

1. Be Approachable: Approachability is key to successful networking. Smile, make eye contact, and welcome attendees who visit your poster. A friendly and open demeanor encourages interactions.

2. Elevator Pitch: Perfect your elevator pitch—an engaging and concise summary of your research. It serves as an icebreaker and provides a starting point for conversations.

3. Exchange Contact Information: Be prepared to exchange contact information. Business cards, contact cards, or simply sharing your email address can facilitate future communication.

4. Share Your Passion: Express your enthusiasm for your research. Passion is contagious and can make you more memorable to those you meet. Explain why your work matters and how it can benefit the field.

5. Ask About Others' Work: Show genuine interest in others' research. Ask questions about their projects, findings, and interests. Active listening and curiosity can leave a positive impression.

6. Find Common Ground: Seek common ground or shared research interests. Identifying shared research areas can lay the foundation for potential collaborations or further discussions.

7. Attend Networking Events: Many conferences organize dedicated networking events or receptions. Attend these gatherings to meet a wider range of attendees, including keynote speakers and senior researchers.

8. Visit Other Posters: Don't limit your interactions to your own poster. Visit other poster presentations to learn about diverse research topics and meet fellow presenters.

9. Utilize Social Media: Follow the conference's official social media accounts and use event-specific hashtags to connect with attendees online. This can lead to post-conference networking opportunities.

10. Join Discussion Panels: If the conference includes discussion panels or forums, participate actively. Sharing your insights can help you connect with others who share your interests.

11. Attend Workshops and Symposia: Workshops and symposia are great places to meet like-minded researchers. Engage in discussions, ask questions, and explore potential collaborations.

12. Follow Up After the Conference: After the conference concludes, follow up with individuals you met. Send personalized emails expressing your interest in continuing the conversation or collaborating on research projects.

13. Use Conference Apps: Many conferences offer dedicated apps or platforms for networking. Utilize these tools to identify potential contacts, send messages, and arrange meetings.

14. Seek Mentorship: If you admire the work of senior researchers or experts in your field, don't hesitate to express your interest in their work and seek mentorship. Many established researchers are open to mentoring younger scholars.

15. Be Respectful of Time: While networking, be mindful of attendees' time constraints. Respect their schedules and offer to continue discussions at a later time if necessary.

Networking during a poster presentation extends beyond the event itself. The connections you establish can lead to collaborations, research opportunities, and professional growth. Approach networking with an open and enthusiastic attitude, and you'll discover the vast potential for building meaningful relationships within your academic and professional community.

Mastering the art of effective poster presentations at conferences is a valuable skill for any researcher. By focusing on clear design, engaging content, practiced delivery, and active engagement with your audience, you can make the most of this platform to share your research, connect with peers, and contribute to the vibrant academic community that conferences offer.

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Engineering Research Methodology pp 89–94 Cite as

Communicating Research Work: Presentation Skills

• Dipankar Deb 6 ,
• Rajeeb Dey 7 &
• Valentina E. Balas 8  
• First Online: 15 December 2018

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Part of the book series: Intelligent Systems Reference Library ((ISRL,volume 153))

Engineering researchers are tasked with solving increasingly complex and interdisciplinary problems requiring succinct communication and presentation skills. Presenting research at an academic or professional meeting can be intimidating, but can also be a rewarding experience that gives a deeper understanding of one’s own research while developing communication skills. Having experts question about the research undertaken might seem scary, but with proper preparation and resources, one can be earning compliments.

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Department of Electrical Engineering, Institute of Infrastructure Technology Research and Management (IITRAM), Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

Dipankar Deb

Department of Electrical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Silchar, Silchar, India

Aurel Vlaicu University of Arad, Arad, Romania

Valentina E. Balas

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Deb, D., Dey, R., Balas, V.E. (2019). Communicating Research Work: Presentation Skills. In: Engineering Research Methodology. Intelligent Systems Reference Library, vol 153. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2947-0_9

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Poster Development and Presentation to Improve Scientific Inquiry and Broaden Effective Scientific Communication Skills †

Associated data.

We have redesigned a tried-and-true laboratory exercise into an inquiry-based team activity exploring microbial growth control, and implemented this activity as the basis for preparing a scientific poster in a large, multi-section laboratory course. Spanning most of the semester, this project culminates in a poster presentation of data generated from a student-designed experiment. Students use and apply the scientific method and improve written and verbal communication skills. The guided inquiry format of this exercise provides the opportunity for student collaboration through cooperative learning. For each learning objective, a percentage score was tabulated (learning objective score = points awarded/total possible points). A score of 80% was our benchmark for achieving each objective. At least 76% of the student groups participating in this project over two semesters achieved each learning goal. Student perceptions of the project were evaluated using a survey. Nearly 90% of participating students felt they had learned a great deal in the areas of formulating a hypothesis, experimental design, and collecting and analyzing data; 72% of students felt this project had improved their scientific writing skills. In a separate survey, 84% of students who responded felt that peer review was valuable in improving their final poster submission. We designed this inquiry-based poster project to improve student scientific communication skills. This exercise is appropriate for any microbiology laboratory course whose learning outcomes include the development of scientific inquiry and literacy.

INTRODUCTION

We introduced a team poster project into our general microbiology laboratory curriculum over 10 years ago. A team project was chosen for several reasons. Our lab is structured such that students work independently for all but one other exercise during the semester; the team project provides the opportunity to enhance interpersonal relationships and collaboration, important skills for students, whether they are pursuing graduate and professional study or heading directly to the workplace ( 1 , 2 ). Various forms of small-group learning have been shown to improve academic performance and attitudes toward learning ( 3 , 4 ). A team project spanning the semester reinforces laboratory skills and concepts introduced throughout the semester ( 5 ). The poster format for presenting undergraduate research has become quite common, used department- and university-wide, as well as for local, regional, and national conferences. Here we use an “in-class” poster presentation. Laboratory sections have individual poster sessions. Posters are projected one at a time as slides to the class, and student group members give oral presentation of the information. Posters provide an alternative to the lab report for fostering written scientific communication skills, as well as the opportunity to hone oral communications skills ( 6 , 7 ). Poster assignments promote student engagement and help students make connections between lecture information and laboratory work ( 8 – 10 ).

When first introduced, the team poster project tasked students with exploring the factors that influence the growth of microbes in the environment. Students were assigned to groups, and each group was assigned an environmental factor (temperature, oxygen, water activity, nutrient level, pH). We felt that the exercise would be more valuable if it were inquiry-based, so students were challenged to formulate their own research question. The experiment to answer that question they designed within the context of the information provided in our lab manual (11, Appendix 1 ) and pre-lab presentation ( Appendix 2 ). Guided, inquiry-based lab exercises improve science literacy and research skills ( 12 ). Efforts to reform science education curricula at all levels stress the importance of being involved in the research process ( 13 ). As stated in Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action , “learning science means learning to do science” ( 14 ). Course-based research experiences engage students in the scientific process, improving student attitudes toward research and learning, and increasing self-confidence with respect to lab-related tasks ( 15 – 17 ). Providing more-authentic research experiences in introductory courses increases retention of STEM majors and improves critical thinking ( 18 , 19 ).

Based on our experience with laboratory teaching, students have difficulty writing a purpose, hypothesis, and predictions due to the contrived “cookbook” nature of most lab exercises. Although many of our students have had some experience in presenting research, many have not. We considered revising our original “cookbook” poster project into an inquiry-based one. Such an exercise is among many “old standards” with the potential to be excellent inquiry-based exercises and there are guidelines and suggestions for such revisions ( 20 , 21 ). However, we had piloted an inquiry-based exercise investigating physical and chemical methods for controlling microbial growth during several semesters and decided to make this the basis for the team poster project instead. Students take responsibility for formulating a hypothesis, experimental design, data collection and analysis, and time management. Applying the rubric provided by Buck et al. ( 22 ), the level of inquiry for this project is between inquiry levels 1 (guided) and 2 (open). Our students do formulate the question under investigation; however, student research questions and methods are derived from the information in the laboratory manual ( 11 ).

This change to an inquiry-based project addresses a course learning goal requiring students to “apply the scientific method to collect, interpret, and present scientific data in microbiology and related fields,” and aids in implementing the following action items in the Vision and Change report : integrating the scientific process into all undergraduate biology courses; stimulating the curiosity students have for learning about the natural world; demonstrating both the passion scientists have for their discipline and their delight in sharing their understanding of the world with students ( 14 ). Curriculum changes in line with Vision and Change improve student scientific literacy ( 23 ).

A recent addition to the poster project is peer review. This feature helps students to engage in a key aspect of professional science—evaluating the work of other “scientists” by giving constructive feedback, while using the feedback they receive to polish their own final posters. The peer review process helps students understand that the scientific process is not just applied by an individual or small group; it is established through a continuous review process by a larger community to share and ultimately advance knowledge ( 24 , 25 ).

Intended audience

We have incorporated this project into our general microbiology laboratory. This is a 300-level, required course for students majoring in the fields of animal science, microbiology, biology, biochemistry, and others. The enrollment during each fall and spring semester is about 200 students divided into 10 lab sections, and, during the summer, about 40 students divided into two lab sections; no lab section has more than 20 students. The instructional team per section consists of one full-time teaching faculty and one graduate teaching assistant. This poster project is appropriate for any lower- or upper-level microbiology courses that include the development of scientific inquiry and literacy in their curriculum learning outcomes.

Prerequisite student knowledge

Before the start of the semester, students are trained in laboratory biosafety regulations (26–28; Appendix 3 ). The lab is a designated Biosafety Level (BSL)-2 laboratory though all organisms provided for students in the general microbiology lab are risk group 1 (RG-1) ( Appendix 4 ). Before introduction of the poster project, students have practiced microbiological laboratory techniques, including aseptic technique, swab inoculations, alcohol and heat sterilization, and preparing dilutions. In addition, we highly recommend that students are computer literate and proficient in performing Internet-based research. We use PowerPoint and MS Word for poster preparation and design. Posters are presented as single PowerPoint slides.

Learning time

Our general microbiology laboratory runs three hours. The scope of the poster project is introduced during the first third of the semester, after students have been instructed in the biosafety rules and regulations of the lab ( 28 ) ( Appendix 3 ) and have learned proper handling of cultures, culture transfer, pipetting, media preparation, and dilutions. The poster project is introduced to the students with a one-hour initial meeting session in which the students form their groups, formulate the research question, and discuss and plan their experiments. The following week, students perform inoculations (one hour) and the rest of the allotted “poster time,” spread out over the semester, is spent collecting and interpreting data, and designing, reviewing, and presenting the poster ( Tables 1 and ​ and2). 2 ). Students are asked to manage their time appropriately so that no or minimal time is spent on the project outside of their laboratory. One related homework assignment requires students to perform guided peer-review of another student poster from a different laboratory section ( Appendix 5 )

Timeline and required materials for poster project.

Suggested outline of topics for the semester.

Learning objectives

After this poster project, students will be able to:

• formulate a purpose, predictions, and hypothesis for an original research question
• design and execute an experiment
• collect and interpret results
• effectively communicate research findings in a scientific poster

Materials are summarized in Table 1 .

Student instructions

Instructions for the poster project are detailed in Appendix 2 . A detailed outline can also be found in our General Microbiology Laboratory Manual ( 11 ) ( Appendix 1 ).

Faculty instructions

In the weeks leading up to the first group meeting, students should be trained in the appropriate biosafety precautions and become proficient in basic laboratory techniques, including aseptic technique, alcohol sterilization, and inoculations of cultures with sterile swabs to grow bacterial lawns. Table 2 summarizes the semester schedule for the poster project.

Before students form groups and design their experiments, they should be given a brief introduction to the topic of controlling microorganisms ( Appendix 2 ). Faculty can assign individuals to groups or allow students to form their own groups. We suggest that each group have three or four members. We have found that more than four students per group impedes a balanced distribution of work. Feedback from 155 students via SurveyMonkey showed that all preferred three or four students per group. Some comments from students: “It was very appropriate for the amount of work necessary for the assignment,” “I thought this was an efficient number, allowing for the splitting up of the work and allowing for more results to be obtained,” and “…yes, this number was great! Enough to get varied opinions and split up the work, but not too many that it could get confusing. I think groups of two to four are good, but it could get crowded around the lab bench/computers if there are too many people.” One group that only had two students commented “…and no I do not think it was appropriate because other groups had four people, so we had to do more work.”

Course instructors should guide students through the scientific process and support them in writing a testable hypothesis. Disinfectants, antiseptics, antibiotics, a list of available organisms ( Appendix 4 ), and an Internet-connected electronic device should be available so that students can discuss their experiment and research background information. At the end of this initial meeting, each group should hand in an experimental plan containing a hypothesis and a methods section detailing the amount of media and types of organisms needed. This will allow the course instructors to provide specific materials to each group. In addition to their experimental design, each group will be asked to write four or five “group rules” that they will follow throughout the semester. If a member does not follow the rules, they can be “fired” from the group and receive zero points for the project. This decision is made between the group members and the lab instructor after a discussion of the evidence.

In preparation for the next lab meeting, faculty should review all experimental designs and make comments as necessary. All requested media should be prepared. Organisms should be grown according to standard operating procedures of the lab. During the second group meeting, students will get back their experimental designs and follow their methods to inoculate and expose their plates to their microbial control factors and agents. Students should label their plates with specific instructions regarding the length of time and temperature for incubation. Depending on the number of meetings for the lab per week, course instructors may need to remove each group’s plates and place them in a refrigerator until the next lab meeting for data collection. We encourage students to take pictures to be used for their posters. Biosafety regulations prohibit the use of cell phones, thus “lab cameras” should be available for student use.

After data collection, students work on creating their posters. Course instructors should first introduce the purpose and importance of creating posters for the scientific community ( Appendix 6 ). Often, we present our own research posters to show the students a “real-life” research poster. We also display previous student posters in the hallway outside of the teaching lab and encourage students to study these examples. The poster guide ( Appendix 7 ) will help to give an overview of the most important features of a scientific poster. Our teaching lab has 12 desktop computers available, so each group of four (five “poster groups” in total) may use two computers to research background information and design the poster itself. Most of our students are sophomores and juniors and we expect that they have some experience using university library resources and databases. We work on an individual basis with any students who have questions about where to search for information. Our desktop computers have appropriate software and an Internet connection. In addition, students keep an electronic notebook on iPads, which are also available for research. We suggest that posters all be the same size (36 inches by 48 inches). Each individual group makes font, layout, and design decisions.

Once posters are in their final draft phase, faculty should set up a peer review through a course website (such as Canvas or Blackboard) or, if permitted by your institution, a Google site. Feedback can be collected electronically, and faculty should compile the feedback for each poster in a single document if students don’t use an electronic learning platform that does this automatically. Students should then be given time to review the feedback and revise their posters before final submission.

Before poster presentations, students are asked to evaluate each other using the rubric for group member evaluation ( Appendix 8 ). We allow 10 to 15 minutes before presentations begin for students to look over their posters and assign roles to each group member for their final presentations if this has not already been done. We also review the guidelines for presenting posters, which can be found in Appendix 6 . As a fun, “competitive” addition, members of the group with the best poster (as judged by the teaching faculty) each win a “gold” (spray-painted) petri dish. Members of the next-best poster receive “silver” (spray-painted) petri dishes, and the group submitting the third-best poster is awarded “bronze” (spray-painted) plastic inoculation loops. The two best posters from our course are printed and displayed outside our teaching laboratory, serving as guides for students working on their poster project.

Suggestions for determining student learning

We have used the following strategies for grading and both formative and summative assessment:

Formative assessment

The experimental design and group rules developed and submitted by each group are used as formative assessment prompts for initial review of the group ideas and to provide feedback for the students early in the project.

Summative assessment

Appendix 9 offers a rubric for assessment of the completed poster project.

Additional suggestions for grading

Much time is dedicated to this assignment during the lab, and an appropriate number of points or final weight should be assigned to it. For example, it is worth about 13% of our final lab grade ( Appendix 10 ). The rubric in Appendix 9 is used in grade-point assignment as indicated. For students to take the peer review assignment seriously, it is awarded 10, 5, or 0 points based on the following criteria: Thorough, helpful feedback would receive 10 points; some feedback showing lack of effort would receive 5 points; and late/no submission would receive 0 points. Group members are asked to score the other members of their group based on the rubric provided in Appendix 8 .

Sample data

We have included two examples of final posters in the supplemental materials (Appendix 11) .

Safety issues

Although our teaching lab is designated a BSL-2 facility due to the nature of the courses that are taught there, our general microbiology course in which this poster project was adopted only uses risk group 1 (RG-1) organisms ( Appendix 4 ). The RGs of all organisms used in our courses are verified on the database of the American Biological Safety Association each semester to ensure proper handling and biosafety precautions. At the beginning of each semester, our students are instructed in biosafety rules and regulations set forth by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Biosafety Guidelines ( 27 ) and the Rutgers Environmental Health and Safety (REHS) regulations for teaching laboratories ( 28 ). Our faculty also presents a short lecture about the importance of biosafety and reviews all the rules and procedures ( Appendix 3 ), after which students sign an agreement to follow all safety precautions. Students must wear lab coats and lab glasses at all times when present in the lab. These items are stored in the lab for the duration of the semester. American Society for Microbiology and REHS biosafety guidelines for BSL-1 are followed for hand hygiene ( 27 , 28 ). Every student working in the lab uses an iPad to take notes and pictures, as well as keep an electronic notebook to minimize possible contamination ( 26 ). The iPads are provided for our students and remain in the lab. The organisms that we use in the lab are stored as frozen stock cultures at −80°C and freshly quadrant streaked before the start of each semester, and are maintained in tryptic soy agar (TSA) slants throughout the semester. Inoculated and used student cultures are discarded according to standard operating procedure of a BSL-2 laboratory ( 27 , 28 ). No sub-culturing is done from organisms inoculated for the poster project.

Field testing

This poster activity was first developed over 10 years ago and, after many adaptations and redesigns, was introduced as an inquiry-based activity during the summer 2015 semester. We chose the summer semester as we offer a smaller course then—only two sections, with up to 20 students each. Unofficial student feedback showed that students felt they learned a great deal about their topic and had sufficient time to develop a good product during lab hours. Official feedback was collected from subsequent students anonymously—after obtaining approval from the Rutgers Institutional Review Board (IRB#E16-610)—via SurveyMonkey during the spring 2016 (29 students) and fall 2016 (70 students) semesters. Assessment of student learning was collected from poster rubric scores during the fall 2016 and spring 2017 semesters ( n = 155). Faculty members involved in this project had strong backgrounds in microbiology research. Graduate students involved in microbiology-related fields served as teaching assistants (TAs) for this course. Teaching assistants and laboratory instructors meet each week to review learning goals and lab activities for the week as well as practice using rubrics to assess student work.

Evidence of student learning

Student learning was assessed as exemplary (3 points), competent (2.5 or 2 points), or beginning (1.5 or 1 point), over 10 scoring dimensions ( Appendix 9 ). Specific, appropriate scoring dimensions from the rubric provided data demonstrating student achievement of each of the four learning objectives. Laboratory instructors scored poster rubrics for their assigned sections. All instructors were trained on objectively applying the rubrics to student work.

To assess Learning Objective 1 (formulate a purpose, hypothesis, and predictions for an original research question), we used combined weighted scores for the Abstract and Introduction scoring dimensions. The information required for these two sections relates to formulating a purpose, hypothesis, and predictions.

Learning Objective 2 (design and execute an experiment) was assessed using combined weighted scores for the Materials/Methods scoring dimension. The Materials/Methods section of the poster indicates ability to design and execute the experiment.

For Learning Objective 3 (collect and interpret results), we used combined weighted scores for the Results and Discussion/Conclusion scoring dimensions. Achieving this objective requires competence in collecting data for the results section and in interpreting those results in the discussion section.

Learning Objective 4 (effectively communicate research findings in a scientific poster and poster presentation) was assessed using combined weighted scores for all 10 poster rubric scoring dimensions.

For each learning objective, a percentage score was tabulated (learning objective score = points awarded/total possible points). A score of 80% was our threshold for achieving each objective. We chose this threshold because each semester the lab average is approximately 80%, which is our standard for successfully completing the lab portion of our general microbiology course. Overall results are summarized in Table 3 . At least 76% of the student groups participating in this project over two semesters achieved each learning objective. This percentage is well above the Rutgers University threshold that requires at least 65% of students to achieve the learning outcomes for any course ( 29 ).

Summary of assessment of student learning (n = 155).

Student perceptions

After project completion, students were asked to participate in an anonymous survey to provide feedback on their experiences with the project. Almost 90% of students responding indicated they learned a great deal about formulating a hypothesis, designing an experiment, and collecting and analyzing data (89% in each category; see Fig. 1 ). Students agreed or strongly agreed (72% combined) that this project improved their writing skills ( Table 4 ).

Student perception of knowledge acquired throughout the project. Students ( n = 155) were anonymously surveyed about how they perceived their learning about the application of the scientific method and poster design.

Student feedback collected via SurveyMonkey (n = 155).

Data shown in percentages.

When asked about perceived skill gains, 65% of the class had previous experience with poster design and presentation ( Fig. 2 ); 70% of experienced students indicated they had improved related skills from this exercise. Of the students polled, 35% had no prior experience with poster design and presentation and all of these students felt their gained skills they would use in the future.

Student perception of skills gained after the poster project ( n = 155). The statement “I have designed and presented a poster before; however this project did not teach me any new skills” received 20% response.

We were interested in the perceived value of peer review, as peer review was only recently implemented (spring 2017 semester). Most students agreed or strongly agreed (84% combined) that they received valuable feedback from peer review ( Fig. 3 ). Although peer review was not directly assessed in this project, studies have shown that including a peer review component has increased student learning as well as quality of writing and scientific content ( 23 , 24 ).

Student assessment of peer review. Students ( n = 57) were surveyed via SurveyMonkey on whether they thought the peer review process was helpful and provided valuable feedback.

Possible modifications

This project could be adapted for undergraduate microbiology and biology courses, for majors and nonmajors, at all levels. The poster topics can be varied; possible topics include, but are certainly not limited to, the influence of environmental factors on microbial growth (temperature, pH, water activity, oxygen, or nutrients), identification of unknown microbes, or topics on selection and differentiation. The organisms provided may be varied to include organisms in your course collections, or RG-2 organisms. In addition to having students do computer research only during the laboratory, instructors of smaller-size courses could also organize sessions with a research librarian at their school to introduce students to all resources and databases available through their library. This could be scheduled during the lecture portion of the course or outside of classroom time. The poster presentations could be hosted in a larger venue outside of scheduled lab time, either during lecture or as a separate event.

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS

Appendix 1: exercise description in microbiology lab manual, appendix 2: poster project introductions, appendix 3: biosafety introductions, appendix 4: list of rg-1 organisms, appendix 5: peer review guidelines, appendix 6: preparing posters and scientific communication, appendix 7: poster guide, appendix 8: assessment rubric for evaluation of group members, appendix 9: assessment/grading rubric for poster, appendix 10: grade breakdown for semester, appendix 11: sample student work, acknowledgments.

The computer desktops and iPads used in our teaching lab were purchased with grant support from the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences Instructional Computing Funds. We would like thank Jean Katz for the preparation of the media and our teaching assistants for supporting our efforts to provide excellent undergraduate education for our students. We would also like to thank Peter Anderson for his IT support of the computing equipment in our teaching lab. The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

† Supplemental materials available at http://asmscience.org/jmbe

• University Libraries
• Research Guides

Poster Presentations - Designing Effective Posters

Poster presentations - designing effective posters: home.

The poster presentation is a dynamic communication tool evolving over the past four decades, as a means to accommodate the increasing number of researchers, especially graduate students, seeking a means for scholarly presentations of their research. Since then the poster session at many conferences is a major component of meetings of professional associations and societies in many disciplines used to highlight research results and discuss their significance in an informal and interactive setting. Often posters have their own special location and times for presentation; have their abstracts and presenter contact information list in program booklets or proceedings. Recently, dynamic links to the poster itself are provided for full-poster online viewing. The poster presentation is a highly-used communication tool for students (undergraduate and graduate) to display and discuss their research experiences in class and laboratory settings. This guide provides a variety of resources assisting individuals or teams in designing an effective poster and presenting it in a professional, informal, and rewarding setting, whether it is an upper-division undergraduate class or at a local, national or international meeting of a professional association or society. [email protected]

Designing Effective Posters

A. introduction, b. background readings.

• C. Design Tips

E. General Remarks

Disclaimer & Permissions

If you are involved in planning a poster session for a conference, symposium, or meeting, consider posting this site to your own program’s Web site to assist those considering submitting a poster. So, please feel free to create a link from your own pages to this site and suggest this site to others,  especially  those planning or organizing a poster session.

Fred Stoss University at Buffalo Libraries

" It takes intelligence, even brilliance, to condense and focus information into a clear, simple presentation that will be read and remembered. Ignorance and arrogance are shown in a crowded, complicated, hard-to-read poster ."   Mary Helen Briscoe

Colin Purrington provides a remarkable guide, " Designing Conference Posters ." This is the single-best resource for helpful hints in designing effective poster presentations.

The rate at which scientific and technical information grows continues to increase. National and international conferences provide a mechanism to facilitate the rapid communication of scientific ideas in the form of poster presentations. The poster presentation is NOT the pasting of a scholarly article on poster board or foam-core and standing by to defend the results reproduced in miniature on the "poster." However, it is far too often that one attends a conference poster session and finds this format to dominate the method of poster presentations. The poster presentation should represent a “...well-designed, eye-catching, and engaging... display of research or scientific information.” The poster should convey the results of research activities as to promote the scientific achievements of the poster's presenter. There is, unfortunately, a lack of presentation standards or authors' and presenters' lack of adhering to such standards, even when loosely defined. This guide provides an inventory of print and Internet resources that provide guidance and instruction for the presentation of scientific and technical information in the form of a poster presentation. This guide includes information resources in the forms of journal articles, books, book chapters, and Internet sites that focus on the planning, design, construction, and presentation of a scientific poster. If you find a resource you feel would be useful to include on this site, please send your comments to  Fred Stoss .

The origins of this site come from an in-class lecture for a general physiology course taught at the University at Buffalo,  Using Posters in Case Studies: The Scientific Poster as a Teaching Tool.  This case study prepared by Charles R. Fourtner, Mary Bisson and Christopher A. Loretz from the Department of Biological Sciences, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, describes the rationale and mechanics of introducing undergraduate biology majors to actively engage in a project to conduct bona fide library research and to then "express themselves in their own discipline." These researchers/educators "adapted the scientific poster as a mode of learning and instruction for our departmental majors" through a General Physiology course. The specific goals of this teaching strategy are to instruct the students:

• in researching the primary literature and topical reviews on a specified subject
• in the evaluation of the methodologies, technologies, and experiments serving as the basis of the research they have read
• in determining the pertinent data and analyses leading to the conclusions reached by experts in the field
• in concise and logical preparation of data for presentation in a poster format
• in the oral defense of the material they have presented on their posters
• in the importance of group discussions and interactions as they develop their formal presentation

Some resources on the shelves (locations in UB Libraries indicated):

• Block, S.M. Do's and Don'ts of Poster Presentation. Biophysical Journal. 1996. 71 (6): 3527-3529. (Online)
• Briscoe, M.H. Preparing Scientific Illustrations: A Guide to Better Posters, Presentations, and Publications, (2nd ed.). New York: Springer; 1996. Posters; p 131-149. (SEL REF Q222.B75 1996)
• Brown, B. S. Poster Design--Six Points to Ponder. Biochemical Education.1997. July; 25 (3): 136-137. (Online)
• Davis, M. Scientific Papers and Presentations. San Diego, Academic Press: 1997. Poster presentations; p 174-185. (SEL T11 D324 1997)
• Davis, M. Scientific papers and presentations (Rev. ed.).
• Burlington, MA: Academic Press: 2005. Poster presentations; p 181-204. (SEL T11 D324 2005)
• Day, R.A. How to Write & Publish a Scientific Paper (4th ed.). Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press; 1994. How to prepare a poster; p 148-151. (SEL T11.D33 1994)
• Gosling, P.J. Scientist's Guide to Poster Presentations. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Press; 1999. 139 pp. (SEL REF Q179.94 G67 1999)
• Hailman, J.P. & Strier, K.B. Planning, Proposing and Presenting Science effectively: A Guide for Graduate students and Researchers in the Behavioral Sciences and Biology. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press; 1997. How to present research: posters at scientific meetings, p 112-115. (SEL QH315.H25 1997)
• Hartman, K.J. Designing Effective Poster Presentations. Fisheries. 1996 . 21 (7): 22. (SEL Per SH1 .F815). New York :Guilford Press
• Kline, Rex B. “Poster Presentation,” Becoming a Behavioral Science Researcher :A Guide to Producing Research that Matters. New York :Guilford Press. (LML BF76.5.K54 2009)
• Knisely, K. A Student Handbook for Writing in Biology (3rd ed.). Gordonsville, VA: W.H. Freeman: 2009. “Poster presentations,” p. 137-146. (SEL QH 304. K59 2009).
• Koning, R.E. Standards for Effective Presentations. In: Salisbury, FB, editor. Units, symbols, and terminology for plant physiology: a reference for presentation of research results in the plant sciences. New York: Oxford University Press; 1996. p 188-201. (SEL REF QK710.5 U55 1996)
• Pechenik, J.A. A Short Guide to Writing about Biology, 3rd ed. New York: Longman; 1997. Writing a poster presentation; p 258-265. (SEL QH304.P43 1997)
• Salisbury, F.B. editor. Units, Symbols, and Terminology for Plant Physiology: A Reference for Presentation of Research Results in the Plant Sciences. New York: Oxford University Press; 1996. Some suggestions about scientific writing; p 163-187. (SEL REF QK710.5 U55 1996)
• Schowen, K.B. Communicating in Other Formats: Posters, Letters to the Editor, and Press Releases -- Tips for Effective Poster Presentations. In: Dodd, JS, editor. The ACS style guide: a manual for authors and editors, (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: American Chemical Society; 1997. p 27-47. (SEL REF QD8.5.A25 1997)
• Scientifically Speaking: Tips for Preparing and Delivering Scientific Talks and Using Visual Aids. 2005. The Oceanography Society. tos.org/pdfs/sci_speaking.pdf Silyn-Roberts, H. Writing for science and engineering: Papers, presentations and reports. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann; 2000. A conference poster; p 151-166. (SEL T11 .S529 2000)

C. Designing Tips

• University at Buffalo PPT Poster Template . This is the site from which University at Buffalo faculty, students and staff may download a template for a 44" x 36" Research or Informational Poster.
• BIO 801, Scientific Literature and Writing: Poster Presentations . A good guide with very useful illustrations show poster elements and designs.
• Creating Effective Poster Presentations: An Effective Poster
• The Scientists Guide to Poster Design by Katie Everson .This is a new site with many useful tips about posters and poster design. Look for additions in the future.
• How to Make a Great Poster . Design suggestions regarding layout, formatting, and color selection are shared on this American Society of Plant Biologists education site.
• Introduction: Poster Sessions . This university writing guide is a great place to start when faced with a poster assignment. Straight-forward instructions and guidance along with examples and additional resources steer tenderfeet and veterans in effective design.
• Scientifically Speaking . This is a site for effective presentation skills from a sci-tech perspective. It includes a section on designing posters and provides an example of a “good poster” and a “bad poster.”
• Google Images . Google Image search can help locate appropriate graphic images or photographs or other illustrations for your poster presentations. Just enter the topic, concept, or object for which you are seeking an image and review the results. An advanced search is also possible. BE SURE TO PROPERLY CITE THE SOURCES FROM WHICH YOU USE IMAGES & TEXT: Citing an image or copying text "with quotation mark" is not plagiarizing, but you must provide attribution for using tem.
• Preparing Professional Scientific. This poster minicourse provides a bullet list for start-to-finish poster design guidance.
• Society for Technical Communication . A tremendous resource for the science or engineering or health science student interested in pursuing career options as a technical writer, illustrator, editor, or communications specialist.
• Ten Simple Rules for a Good Poster Presentation. In: PLos Computational Biology Full-text article, Erren TC, Bourne PE (2007) Ten Simple Rules for a Good Poster Presentation. PLoS Comput Biol 3(5): e102. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.0030102

F. Examples

• EPA: Community Involvement Conference & Training: Posters and Exhibits, 2007. (scroll down the page)

G. Classes & Tutorials

• Impactful Scientific Posters-The Basics . The American Chemical Society has a VERY good video tutorial about designing a poster for presentation
• Designing an Academic Poster (Prezi)
• Poster Presentations: Tips, Tricks, and Planning
• Making an Academic Research Poster Using PowerPoint
• Make Poster - Design a Poster like a Pro in PowerPoint 2010 Part 1
• Make Poster - Design a Poster like a Pro in PowerPoint 2010 - Part 2

If you know of sites, especially from professional associations and societies providing examples of posters send me the URL - [email protected]

Subject Librarian

FredStoss  is the subject librarian for  Poster Presentations - Designing Effective Posters.  He provides workshops or lectures on effective poster design for 40- to 90-minute and is available for research consultations, instruction, curricular support & purchase requests. Contact [email protected] , phone: 716 645-1337.

Biological Sciences Librarian

JHM Professional Development and Career Office Awareness. Preparation. Development.

Presentation skills.

In any career, clear communication is essential, and in academic research, one must be able to present their work effectively to many audiences. The resources below will help you create oral and poster presentations for conferences and seminars, scientific pitches for networking, and talks for general audiences.

Oral Presentations

• Dr. Doug Robinson provides tips on how to craft slides that are informative and complement your oral presentation.
• The Carey Business School’s Presentation Skills Workbook: A guide to preparing powerful presentations has advice on verbal and non-verbal presentation skills .
• Best Practices for Effective Presentations
• Creating and Presenting your Poster
• PowerPoint Design Concept-White Space
• PowerPoint Design Concept-Visual Hierarchy
• Designing Effective Presentations-Fonts

Poster Presentations

• The NIH presentation Creating and Presenting Dynamic Scientific Posters will guide you through making and presenting a poster, and includes examples.
• Ten simple rules for a Good Poster Presentation , PLoS Computational Biology

Empower Your Pitch

Empower Your Pitch is a doctoral communication competition that develops the research communication skills of participants, enabling them to deliver diverse pitches to diverse people. The competition empowers presenters to communicate the value of their research at any stage of development and across all disciplines – including STEMM, Humanities, Education, and Social Sciences – in a maximum time frame of three minutes. Presenters may rely on assorted strategies to capture the audience’s attention, convey the essence of their research, and explain its relevance to their listeners.

Unlock the power of communication to share the full potential of your ideas – click here to learn more and register!

Scientific Pitches - 1-minute talks

Drs. Damani Piggott and Caren Freel Myers share their tips for crafting short, persuasive talks about one's research—without the use of slides or visual aids!

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Preparing a Poster Presentation

Posters are a legitimate and popular presentation format for research and clinical vignettes. They efficiently communicate concepts and data to an audience using a combination of visuals and text. Most scientific meeting planners take advantage of the popularity and communication efficiency of poster presentations by scheduling more poster than oral presentations. Poster presentations allow the author to meet and speak informally with interested viewers, facilitating a greater exchange of ideas and networking opportunities than with oral presentations. Poster presentations often are the first opportunities for young investigators to present their work at important scientific meetings and preparatory for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

Poster Production Timeline

In order to be successful, certain prerequisites must be met. First, you must have a desire to be scholastically effective and be willing to put the time into the design and production of the poster. Second, you need organizational skills. Like any other endeavor associated with deadlines, you must be able to deliver the product on time. Posters are associated with more deadlines than oral presentations, due to the necessary interaction with graphic artists, graphic production, and the needs of the meeting itself. Organizational skills are also needed to create a concise and logically structured graphic and text presentation of the research or vignette. In order to help you achieve these goals, this article addresses poster planning, production, and presentation. It may be helpful to create a poster production timeline .

• Determine if your poster will be judged at the scientific meeting. If so, ask for the judging criteria , which will be immensely helpful for you to plan and construct the poster.
• Know the rules . It is your responsibility to know the physical requirements for the poster including acceptable size and how it will be displayed. A 4' × 4' display area cannot accommodate a 6' × 6' poster and a 3' × 3' poster will look insignificant in an 8' × 8' display area. All scientific programs that sponsor a poster session will send you information on the display requirements at the time your poster is accepted for presentation. Review and follow the instructions precisely. However, be warned that not all scientific programs will automatically tell you how the poster will be displayed. Some programs provide a cork/tack-board system that allows you to display your poster by fastening it to a solid display board with stickpins. This gives you the option of displaying your poster as many individual parts (components of the poster, such as abstract, methods, graphics, conclusion, are fastened individually to the display board) or as one piece. Other programs "hang" their posters from a frame by large spring clips. This means that the poster must be created as a single unit and cannot be too heavy for the clips or too light such that it will curl upwards like a window shade. A few programs still use easels to display posters, mandating that the poster be constructed of or placed on a firm backing that can be supported in this way. The point is, find out how the poster will be displayed and engineer a poster that best meets the requirements.
• Determine exactly how the poster will be produced. Will you hire a graphic artist for partial or complete production? Does your institution provide graphic services to your department? Will you need to do this yourself? If payment is required, who will pay for the production? Regardless of who is doing the work and how it will be financed, only you can determine the individual tasks and set the deadlines. Make sure your deadlines include sufficient time to revise the poster if you find mistakes or otherwise need to make changes prior to the scientific meeting. Finally, if you are working with a graphic artist, make your timetable after consultation with him/her so it is realistic and he/she understands your time constraints.
• Compile a list of components that will appear on the poster. There are common elements to all posters, whether they are research presentations or clinical vignettes. At the top center, the poster should display the title, authors, and institutional affiliations. Any necessary acknowledgments can also be placed here. Many scientific programs will insist that the abstract be included on the poster and will specify its location (i.e., upper right corner).

Scientific posters should follow the IMRAD format (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion) .

• The Introduction presents the background and the purpose of the research. The background information typically consists of a statement summarizing the current knowledge in an area, what knowledge is missing, and how this research project addresses the knowledge gap. A hypothesis can be included in the Introduction.
• The Methods section should specifically address the following areas: research design, research setting, number of patients enrolled in the study, and how they were selected. The Methods section should also include a description of the intervention (if appropriate), a description of the outcome variables and how they were measured, and the method of statistical analysis.
• The Results section includes the quantitative data. This section usually begins with a description of the subjects in the study and a description of those who were not included because they failed to meet the inclusion criteria or dropped out. Include the frequencies of the most important outcome variables. Consider comparisons of the outcome variables between various subgroups within the study (treated vs. untreated, young vs. old, male vs. female, and so forth). Numerical results should include standard deviations or 95% confidence limits and the level of statistical significance should be indicated.
• Finally, in the Discussion section, state concisely what can be concluded from the study and its implications. Make sure that the conclusions are supported by the data presented in the Results and do not present unsubstantiated personal opinion.

Clinical vignette posters generally have three components: Introduction, Case Description, and Discussion. A short Introduction typically describes the context of the case and explains its relevance and importance. When describing the case, follow the basic rules of medical communication by describing in sequence the history, physical examination, investigative studies, and patient's progress and outcome. The main purpose of the discussion is to review why decisions were made and to extract the lesson from the case. Be wary of boasting that your case is the "first" to describe a particular phenomenon, since even the most thorough searches often fail to reveal all instances of similar cases. Keep in mind that the best research and clinical vignette posters are those that make a small number of points (even just one) clearly and succinctly.

As you review your content, make decisions on what can be displayed pictorially. Posters that are mainly text discourage others from visiting and reviewing your work. Make your presentation as visual as possible; not only does it make your poster more appealing, but information can be transmitted more efficiently with a picture, figure, or graph. For example, information on patient demographics could be represented as a pie chart, frequencies of outcomes as bar graphs, and comparisons of means and statistical significance as tables. Clinical vignettes offer an excellent opportunity to display clinical photographs that illustrate important points of pattern recognition.

Finally, find out if you are required to be present during the poster session. Most scientific meetings schedule a period of time for the author to stand by the poster during the session. This enables you to answer questions about your work and, in some situations, is part of the judging process. Find out if and when this is scheduled.

A Few Tips on Poster Appearance:

Avoid clutter.

Limit your poster presentation to a few main ideas. It's better to present a few of your findings well than present all of your findings poorly. Arrange your poster components to read from left to right and top to bottom. Emphasize important points on the poster with lines, frames or boxes, and arrows.

Keep the lettering simple.

Use no more than three different font sizes; the largest for the poster title, second-largest for section titles, and smallest for text. For all lettering, use both upper- and lowercase letters. Words composed of all uppercase letters are difficult to read. The smallest font should be large enough so it is easily read from a distance of 3 to 5 feet (usually, 24-point font).

Keep the colors simple.

Too much color can be distracting, while too little color can be boring and lifeless. Use color mainly to highlight important elements.

You will need to decide how your poster will be constructed. Your budget and available graphic art resources will most likely influence this decision. At one end of the spectrum, you can inexpensively produce a poster with a graphics software package (such as PowerPoint) and a color printer. Your output will be limited to individual components that measure 8" × 11" to 11" × 17". These components will probably need to be mounted on a stiff backing, such as poster board or foam core, to effectively display them. At the other, more expensive end of the spectrum, you can work with the graphic arts department at your institution. They can use sophisticated software programs, such as Quark, to design and create a poster. The electronic version of the poster can be sent by e-mail to a printing or service bureau. Service bureaus produce a variety of visual products including posters, slides, signs, and limited print editions of books. They can print any size poster with all its component parts as a single unit usually within 24 to 48 hours. The cost of this service is difficult to estimate because it is dependent on a number of variables including poster size, use of color, resolution of the print (dpi, or dots per inch), whether it is laminated, or backed with foam core. A moderately priced poster may cost from $500 to $600. The staff in your graphic arts department can help you pick the options that are within your budget.

At the time of production, it is your responsibility to review the first draft, or copy, of the poster. This is your best chance to correct errors and make changes to improve the accuracy and visual attractiveness of the poster. Use the Poster Checklist  to aid your review. In addition, have a colleague help you proofread. It's a good idea to have someone unfamiliar with the research or case help you because he or she will quickly identify areas that are confusing or ambiguous. It's a good idea to have someone who is expert in spelling and grammar review the poster as well. As mentioned previously, schedule the proofreading early enough in the process so that you have time to make any corrections or changes prior to the meeting.

As you prepare to travel to the scientific meeting, consider the following tips:

• Arrange for a proper carrying case for your poster. A worthy investment can prevent damage to your poster and your reputation.
• Don't check your poster as luggage. Carry the poster with you at all times. Better your clothes get lost than your poster.
• Come with some basic equipment. Although these items are typically provided at scientific meetings, you may not have quick access to them. Bring with you:
• Push pins, tacks, or stapler
• Know where and when to set up your poster. The room or area reserved for posters is usually noted in the meeting program. Arrive early to set up your poster. This will allow you to adapt to any surprises in the physical layout or unannounced changes in the method of displaying the poster. Additionally, it's easier to put up your poster when there are fewer people competing for space and equipment. Most scientific programs assign a unique identifying number to your poster that corresponds to location of the poster in the display area. Find out what your number is and place your poster in the corresponding spot.
• Know when to "stand-by" your poster. The time will be listed in the meeting program. Arrive on time and stay until the end of scheduled time. Don't wander off; you may miss the judges, your next fellowship director, or your next partner or employer.
• Know when to take your poster down. Meeting rooms turn-over fast. Have a clear understanding when the poster session is over and when the poster must come down. Failure to take the poster down at the appointed time can result in the hotel or convention staff (not so gently) removing it.
• Be prepared to promote yourself. Consider bringing handouts and business cards for those who visit your poster. Use this opportunity to "network" with other professionals who share similar academic interests.

This final section provides examples of what makes a poster effective. As you study the examples, note that they share similar characteristics:

• Organized and easy to follow the flow of information
• Easy to read, using large font size and are not overly dense with text
• Attractive, due to judicious use of colors, use of graphics, and arrangement

Listed below are a number of important poster characteristics and examples illustrating those characteristics:

• Use of a poignant attention getter
• Use of graphics  to communicate data
• Well organized  poster with easy to follow flow of information
• Overly dense  presentation of content

Postgraduates & Researchers

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• Poster Presentation Skills

Introduction to Poster Presentation

Present a poster on your research, structuring your presentation, tips on presentation, poster presentation checklist, presenting your poster, additional information on poster presentations.

• Copyright - Creative Commons
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As part of your degree or when participating in a conference, you may be asked to create and present a poster on your research. This guide aims to explain some general aspects of posters and signpost you to further sources of information and support. However, it is important to remember that if you are creating a poster as part of your degree, you must check your subject’s Moodle site and assessment guidelines (if applicable) to ensure you are fulfilling their requirements. Similarly, each conference will have specific guidelines regarding posters that you need to read carefully. Your tutor may also be able to show you some examples of good posters from your discipline.

This page goes is a step by step guide of what to think about when creating your poster presentation. If you could like to download a PDF copy of it, you can find the attachment below. 

• Poster Presentations for Postgraduates from the Academic Achievement Team

What is a poster?

An academic poster is a visual guide to your research. It is a way of sharing information about your work and a springboard to further discussion with your audience.

Why are they a useful way to share research?

Posters are often used in conferences, seminars or exhibitions as a means of sharing different research projects. They allow you to share your research and can even lead to the creation of new contacts within academia. In addition to the benefits of sharing your work publicly, the process of designing, presenting and discussing your poster can help you to reflect on the key aims, rationale and message of your research, as well as improving your verbal communication skills.  

What are the most important considerations when creating a poster?

The most important thing to remember when designing your poster is  clarity . Your research may be hugely important and compelling, but if you present it in a way that is difficult to read or understand then it will be very challenging to communicate this to your audience. Make sure that you do not cram too much information onto the page. It is impossible to include every detail of your research effectively on a poster, so instead consider the core messages you want to convey or focus on one aspect of your research that most closely relates to the conference type or assessment brief. Mention at what stage of the research process you are at, as it helps to pre-empt the question.

The  design  of your poster is also essential. Again, clarity and accessibility are vital to this. You need to ensure that your poster is easy to read even from a distance by leaving visual space and ensuring the text is large enough, that the information is structured in a logical order (subheadings can help with this) and that it is visually appealing.

Adding a touch of  creativity  will also attract an audience, so consider the use of colour and the inclusion of images to make your poster stand out. Remember though that the information is the most important part of the poster and that conveying your research clearly should be the central consideration.  

You also need to reflect on who will be your  audience . If the poster is intended for non-specialists you will need to ensure that you explain the context and content of your research very clearly, and that you remove unnecessary jargon.

Like many other assignments, a presentation should include:

• An introduction that explains what you are going to talk about: your key message, or argument and an outline of the presentation
• A main body where you discuss the most relevant and interesting points in a logical and coherent order.
• A conclusion that gives a brief review of the purpose of your presentation, reiterates the key message and sets your discussion in a wider context
• References to the evidence you have used.
• Thanking the audience for listening and an invitation to ask questions.

During your presentation, help your audience follow your thoughts and understand how your ideas link together by giving them verbal cues.

Adapted from Leeds University Poster Presentation’ https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/1401/academic_skills/130/presentations/5

Tips on Poster Presentation

• Focus on the key points of your research rather than trying to cram in all the minor details. Remember this is just a starting point for discussions and that you can provide more details verbally.
• Be prepared to welcome critiques about your research processes and acknowledge feedback that can help inform your work. To alleviate nerves, practice some of the Q&As that you believe an audience might ask so that you are prepared for any eventuality. If you disagree with a comment from a participant thank them for their contributions and offer to discuss at another time. If you do not know the answer to a question be honest and take the participants’ details or ask them to get in touch so that you can have a further conversation.
• Practise what you are going to say when approached by attendees. Be able to sum up your work clearly and concisely, so that you can communicate the essence of your research effectively.
• It is normal to feel nervous before a poster presentation. Remember that this is your research and your opportunity to share it and try to enjoy it! Postgraduate study can sometime feel isolating but presenting your work can help generate useful conversations and lead to new associations.
• Make the most of the hard work you have put into creating your poster. Remember to share images of your poster on social media and add details of your poster presentation to your CV.

Poster presentations

Adapted from Imperial College London, Poster Presentation , https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/study/graduate-school/public/helpsheets/Poster-presentation-handout---October-2017.pdf

Presentations can be nerve wracking, but the best way to ensure that yours goes well is to practise repeatedly. Make sure that you know how much time you are allowed and then rehearse your presentation aloud first to yourself and then to friends or family. Practising your talk for other can allow you to receive useful feedback on key areas such as pace, volume and clarity. You should also consider how can you make your poster more accessible. For example, by describing the images you use for the visually impaired. Having a clear structure to your presentation will also help, as you will have definite sections that you need to cover in a logical order. It is fine to have cue cards to remind yourself of the key points you want to make but be careful not to simply read the poster or a transcript of the information. Instead you should aim to know the information well enough to be able to talk fluently around your key points.

Below are some useful websites that provide additional information on poster presentations.

• Loughborough University, Doctoral College Blog Useful tips on producing excellent posters written by a postgraduate student
• University of Leeds, Poster Presentations. A useful overview of the key aspects of poster delivery

Find general information on  Presentation Skills  on The Learning Skills Hub on Moodle or contact the AA Team at [email protected].

• Learning Skills Hub on Moodle Wide range of online resources, interactive tutorials, and lecture recordings from the Academic Achievement Team.
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Top 7 Slides on Communication Skills- Free PPT

Mansi Gawri

Think of flying back to a time when humans lived in caves and conveyed their thoughts, feelings, and expressions through incredible artwork on the walls of these caves. Since they lacked a written language, they communicated ideas and told tales through these paintings.

But have you noticed one thing? If not, let me tell you.

People's ability to interact has been vital throughout history as they have discovered distinct methods to connect and share from pre-historic cave drawings.

As we think about how important communication is over time, it's essential to think about how we can get better at communicating in today's world.

So, let’s discuss some essential aspects to be kept in mind to enhance communication skills:

• Clear and concise: It is important to note that while interacting with others, one needs to express their thoughts clearly and in a simple, short way so the listener does not get confused.
• Body Postures and Facial expression: Despite being transparent, one needs to express their words and non-verbal language, i.e., through gestures.
• Good Listener: One must be open-minded while hearing others to improve communication skills. Apart from that, one must be open enough to adapt to those new ideas and perspectives.
• Provide remedies and resolve issues: Despite being a good listener, one needs to be open enough to present their views on the ongoing problems so that they are solved without having any deep impact within a firm or interpersonal relationships.

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# Types of Effective Workplace Communication Skills

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• Conferences
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Download this PPT, as the distinct kinds of abilities mentioned in the slide assist in building relationships and ultimately accomplishing aims. Further, this leads to improvement in the efficiency and productivity of the firm.

# Types of Non-Verbal Communication Skills

This slide renders distinct kinds of oral interactive abilities to spread information.

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• Communication through gestures
• Interacting through eyes
• Presenting information by showing distinct changes in the body posture
• Interacting abstractly

Download this PowerPoint Template; as this slide shows, this kind of interaction is more effective than the verbal one as it enables one to express the messages or thoughts concisely, leading to positive outcomes in a firm.

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# Training to Build Effective Communication Skills

The slide highlights the training required to build efficient interactive abilities, leading to smooth working. Ultimately, increasing the productivity and profits of the firms.

Moreover, the strategies that are taken into consideration so that powerful communication is built are as follows:

• To give space so that questions can be asked
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• Undertake training beyond book learning
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This slide is essential as it enables the individuals and groups in the firm to present their perspectives properly, be good listeners, and interact effectively with others. Therefore, leading to improved productivity and enhanced relationships both personally and professionally.

# 7 C’s of Communication Skills Checklist 

The slide describes the Interactive abilities checklist that plays a vital role in the organization and public relations.

Further, the 7 C’s of the Communication Skills Checklist mentioned on the slide are as follows:

Adding this slide to the presentation is essential as this checklist enables individuals and firms to keep the 7 C’s in mind, leading to better and clearer understanding. Ultimately, it improves relationships both at a personal level and at the workplace.

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How can I communicate assertively without being aggressive?

Assertive communication involves expressing your thoughts and feelings confidently while respecting the rights of others. To communicate assertively:

• Use "I" statements to express your perspective without blaming or accusing others.
• Maintain a calm and respectful tone of voice.
• Listen actively to others' viewpoints and acknowledge their feelings.
• Set boundaries and assert your needs without being confrontational.
• Practice assertive body language, such as maintaining eye contact and standing or sitting upright.

How can I adapt my communication style to different situations?

Adapting your communication style involves understanding the context, audience, and purpose. To adapt effectively:

• Assess the preferences and communication styles of your audience.
• Modify your tone, language, and level of formality based on the situation.
• Pay attention to non-verbal cues and adjust your body language accordingly.
• Be flexible and open to feedback on your communication style.
• Practice empathy and consider the perspective of others when communicating in diverse settings.

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120 Presentation Topic Ideas Help You Hook Your Audience

Updated: January 15, 2024

Published: August 09, 2023

Cooking is easy. The puzzle is figuring out what to eat. As soon as you know that, you can get started. The same holds for presentations. The sooner you can whip up a good, informative, and catchy topic, the easier the rest of the process becomes.

Pick a good topic that resonates with you and your audience to set a strong foundation. But select the wrong topic, and it becomes difficult to connect with your audience, find mutual interests, or hold their attention.

So, let’s learn how to develop thought-provoking and relevant topics for your presentations. You’ll also find some best practices to make your presentation memorable.

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Table of Contents

How to Choose a Great Presentation Topic in 5 Steps

120 presentation topic ideas, 5 presentation tips.

4. Choose an appropriate presentation style.

There are many ways to present a topic. Your personality, the topic at hand, and your audience’s personas will help you determine which style would best fit you and your audience.

Select a presentation style that will communicate the main idea clearly and have a lasting impact on your audience.

For instance, explore a freeform style presenter by Sir Ken Robinson.

5. Engage with your audience.

Work on your presentation skills to make a strong connection with your audience, get through to them and leave a mark.

Think of the presenter as the link between the topic and the audience. A strong or a weak presenter can make a difference between a presentation being a thriving success or a boring failure.

Hone your skills by engaging and interacting with your audience. Make them feel like a part of the presentation and not just spectators. 70% of marketers have found presentations with interactive content to be more effective than those without.

Here are a few ways you can make your presentation interactive:

• Start your speech with uncommon questions to your audience. Involve them from the get-go, like ask to raise their hands if X.
• Make eye contact to build credibility and show confidence. Don’t stare at your slides or notes. Smile occasionally and talk to the audience directly.
• Have an active and confident body language. Don’t stand in the same place the entire time. Move around the stage.
• Don’t be monotonous. Speak as you would to a colleague — with enthusiasm.
• Ask close-ended questions in between to keep the audience engaged without losing time. Address them using their names to keep things interesting.
• Share personal experiences and stories that your audience will find fascinating and relatable.
• Practice thoroughly before you present so you’re fluent with the material and delivery.
• Energy and excitement can be quite contagious. Make sure you exude enough to spread some to your audience.

Feeling Inspired Yet?

Now you have all the right ingredients for choosing amazing topics and a hundred ideas to drive inspiration from. So, go ahead and start cooking presentations that will blow your audience away.

Don’t forget to choose a super-relevant topic and add meaty information. Do it with excitement to make it enjoyable for you and your audience. Best of luck!

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