Overview
Welcome to our Poster Presentation Basics video. The goal of this video is for you to learn
the basic steps for planning and presenting a poster about your undergraduate research
project.
Planning
Your first step is to identify important logistical details for your poster presentation.
Size: First, you need to find out the exact size of the poster that you need to print. The
conference you are attending should give you these dimensions, and you should try to stick
to the size they give you.
Where to print: Next, you need to find out what your options are for printing your poster.
Some academic departments will print posters for undergrads, so check there first. If they
can’t print it, your cheapest option will probably be Jayhawk Ink in the Kansas Union.
Timeline: Next, you need to work out a timeline for getting your poster done. Count back
from the conference date. You’ll want to have your final poster file ready to send to the
printer one week prior to your presentation date. You’ll want to have a first draft of your
poster ready for your mentor to review about two weeks before this printing date so you
have time to make revisions.
Determine your message
Once you have the basic logistics out of the way, you can focus on the most important task
at hand: determining your message. What is the most important point you want a visitor to
your poster to remember? Try to keep your message simple; people aren’t going to be able
to remember more than two or three points.
It’s important to keep your audience in mind when you’re thinking about what your
message should be. Talking to a group of experts in your field at a conference is very
different from presenting your work to a community group. Your audience will greatly
impact the language you use, the focus of your poster, and how much contextual
information you’ll need to include.
Once you’ve identified your main message, consider how to break this message up into
manageable pieces. What subsections in your poster will help you tell your story?
Let’s look at an example & talk about some basic questions that your poster should address.
Thinking about these questions should help you identify what subsections will be best for
someone in your discipline and at your stage of the project.
First, your poster should answer the question: “What is this poster about?” Be sure to give
your audience enough context for them to understand your project.
Next, your poster should answer the question: “Why is this research important?” Giving a
clear answer to this question will motivate your audience to read through the rest of your
poster.
Third, your poster should answer the question: “What did you actually do for your
research?” Whether you looked at historical documents or conducted an experiment, your
audience should leave your poster knowing exactly what you did for your research.
Next, your poster should answer the question: “What are the main conclusions of this
project? ” You should clearly state what your learned from doing this research and how
this study contributes to the big picture. You also might want to address the limitations of
your project and any further research that might be done.
Finally, make sure to give credit. Include acknowledgements for any financial or academic
support you’ve received in conducting your research and a list of references if you cite
anything in your poster. You also want to make sure that you include your name,
department, and university.
Making your poster
Now that you have a list of the things you’ll want to include on your poster, let’s start
putting one together.
Most students put their posters together in Powerpoint.
First you’ll need to set up your poster size. We do this by selecting the File menu, then Page
Setup. From the dropdown menu, select “Custom” and enter in the size of your poster. If
you’re using a PC, you’ll click on Design, then “page setup” to get to this screen. For KU’s
Undergraduate Research Symposium, posters are 4ft wide by 3 ft tall, so we’ll enter that in
inches here. Make sure the slide is set up in landscape format. You may get an error
message that the slide is outside the printer area, just say OK.
The next step is to place your subheadings and content into the poster. There are a few
things you should keep in mind:
First, use your titles and headings to guide the viewer through the poster. The text should
be easy to read, so use larger fonts. Titles should usually be at least 72 point, and heading
should be between 30 and 60. Avoid using any font smaller than 16 pt.
Next, consider how your audience will move from section to section. Will it be obvious to
them where to look next? Set up your subsections so there is a logical flow.
When possible, use images, charts, and graphs to visually represent your project. Your
viewers will be skimming the poster as they talk to you, and visuals are easier for them to
understand quickly.
Finally, don’t get carried away with colors or make your poster too busy. White space can
be very effective for making your main message stand out.
Once you have a first draft of your poster, open up the rubric posted next to this video and
evaluate your work. Make some revisions, and send the next draft to your mentor for
comments. When you’ve got your final version, save your file as a pdf and send it to the
printer.
Prepare to Present
As you prepare to present, remember your audience and practice what you’ll say to your
poster visitors. You should have a short 2 minute explanation of your poster ready and
also be prepared for longer discussions with people who are especially interested in your
topic. You also might come up with a list of questions that someone might ask about your
project and practice answering them. Typical questions at poster sessions are things like
“How did you get interested in this topic? or “Could you explain this section in more
detail?” Practicing these answers ahead of time will help you feel prepared to talk about
your research.
At your poster
On the day of your presentation, be sure to arrive early so that you can set up your poster.
The conference will usually provide binder clips or tacks to hang it up. When someone
walks by your poster, introduce yourself and offer to explain your work. Stick with your
brief, 2-minute explanation unless your visitor asks you to explain a section in more detail.
When you’re answering questions, keep in mind that it’s totally fine to respond that you
don’t know the answer to a question. A great response is “I don’t know, but that’s an
excellent question.” Or “I don’t know, but that would be a great follow up project.”
Remember: you’ve spent more time thinking about your research topic than anyone else in
the room, so feel confident that you can answer any questions that come your way.
Learn more
Now you know the basics of preparing a poster presentation. To learn more, visit our
webpage at ugresearch.ku.edu or contact the Center for Undergraduate Research.