Effective Attractive
Informative
Easy to Understand
Academic Research Posters and
Presentations
Greater marketing for your work
Robin Adams, Agricultural Communications and Technology School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences N.C. A&T State University Most Wanted: Creating Engaging, Attractive, Informative and Easy to Understand Academic Research Posters Why create research posters? •
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Opportunities to have discussions about your research Opportunities to market you, your work and your institution Allows presenters to have more time with audience members What do I do first? •
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Determine your audience – faculty, researchers, students, general public o Create for the audience, not for you Think about the different kinds of people who will examine your poster o The skimmer – walks by and reads the headlines, glances at the pictures, gets a basic understanding o The reader – converted skimmer or very interested in your subject matter, spends more time with you and reads all the text, may not interact with you o The chatter – can be aggravating or the most interesting person, asks lots of questions, may or may not read the poster, wants to quiz you. If you are prepared this can be the most rewarding audience member. What story do you want to tell? o What information do you want to include How can you tell that story in words and pictures? o What text is needed o What images/artwork is needed to tell the story How can you make your information inviting, attractive and informative? •
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Writing o Use short sentences and simple words o Avoid jargon o Use active voice o Proofread, proofread, proofread o Sections – think of them as you would a paper ƒ Title ƒ Author ƒ Author’s institution affiliation ƒ Introduction/abstract – 300 word maximum ƒ Methods – 300 word maximum, supplement with graphics ƒ Results – 300 word maximum, supplement with graphics ƒ Conclusions – 300 word maximum ƒ Acknowledgements ƒ References – optional o Outline your poster first in a word processing program Design o Decide what information you can transfer to a visual format o Use tables, graphics, drawings and photographs Create a storyboard. Sketch your poster on a sheet of paper, marking space where you will place each item o Aim for a text/graphics balance 20‐40 percent text, 40 percent graphics, 20 percent white space o Make sure your graphics are self‐explanatory – they shouldn’t need captions o Label the data on your charts and graphs Select appropriate fonts and colors o Use simple bold fonts that are legible from 6 feet away o Sans serif fonts (without feet) are the easiest to read for headlines, titles – Helvetica, Arial, Verdana and Tahoma o Serif fonts are best for body text – Garamond, Book Antigua, Bookman Old Style, or Times New Roman o Suggested sizes o
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point in bold 84 point size 32
point size • Make sure the font size for each section is the same DON’T USE ALL CAPS FOR ANY PORTION OF YOUR POSTER. IT’S HARDER TO READ AND LOOKS LIKE YOU ARE SHOUTING. Be conservative in selecting fonts. The poster will be printed from a different machine so try to use fonts that are common. If it’s absolutely necessary to use a creative font, save the poster as a PDF so the printer will print what’s on the screen. Use color judiciously • 2‐3 colors is generally best • Muted colors are best for the background since text will be on top of the color. Generally light background and dark text works better than dark background and light text. If in doubt, look at traffic signs. They have researched the color combinations so they are most readable. • Fluorescent lighting may intensify colors, making bright colors unpleasant to view Dark text, light background Light text, dark background •
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Watch the use of gradated color for the background. Takes longer to print. Oftentimes the printer won’t give you the desired effect. Balance the words and graphics Good posters need not be symmetrical Keep items in proportion – try to keep a balance Better Bad •
Remember the Rule of Thirds o Makes things aesthetically pleasing o Visual images can be divided into three sections The Results The Problem The Project •
Use white space, it’s a graphic element Home Tab Using PowerPoint to make your poster •
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Easy to use Readily available Widely acceptable Getting started in PowerPoint o A poster is a single slide o Open PowerPoint o In the Home tab, select Layout and in the dropdown box select Blank Select “Blank” o
To size, select Page Setup from the Design tab One dimension has to be a maximum of 42” In the dialogue box that pops up, select “Custom” under “Slide sized for:” Enter the width and height – remember one dimension has to be 42”. That’s the maximum size paper we have. o Add text ƒ Create your headline by going to the Insert tab, select Text box. Draw your text box and type or paste your text. On the Home tab, select your font, text size and font color. ƒ If you chose to paste your text, go to the program with your text, highlight the text you want to paste. Go back to the poster. Place the cursor in the text box and then select paste. On the Home tab, you can select your font, text size and color. o Add graphics, pictures, charts. – Insert Tab, then select what you are inserting o To align items use the ruler or gridlines – Ruler tab, then check ruler and/or gridlines o To align items automatically, select one element, push “shift” and select a second element. On the menu bar, you should get a tab that says format, select align and determine how you want to align the items. o Add a background by going to the design tab and then selecting a template background or one you create. Once the poster is complete, save it in your My Documents folder. To transfer to the poster folder follow these steps. o
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1. Left click on the Start menu (circle at the left bottom on the machine) and select Run. 2. In the Open box type: \\argyle\poster$ and press return. 3. Now drag your presentation and drop it into the window that appeared from the previous step. 4. Once the poster is in the file call or e‐mail Robin Adams at 5‐4708 or [email protected] to let her know the poster is ready for printing and the name of the file. ƒ
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Posters should be turned in at least a week before they are due. Use the university interlocking A&T on your poster, it’s found in the logo folder in the folder file. Don’t use the University seal. A poster is not an official university document. ACT does not have the ability to laminate or trim posters. Be careful with lamination, in some settings the lighting can make the poster hard to read. Only researchers/faculty have access to the poster folder. Student work has to be placed in the poster folder by a researcher/faculty member. POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS O N P OINT 7 Steps for Preparing Powerful Presentation 1. State the objectives and write them down – at the end of the presentation I want the audience to think… I want her to do …. I want them to say… I want him to feel. 2. Answer the basic questions – Why am I making the presentation? What am I going to say? What does the audience want to hear? Who am I saying it to? Where will I be saying it? 3. Use a clear and logical structure – break your material into manageable “chunks” like the chapters in a book. Share the structure with your audience, it will help them too. 4. Tell the audience what they want to hear, nothing more – They don’t want to hear everything that you know, or have done. They want to hear the parts that are relevant to them. 5. Think of your presentation as telling a story – There should be a beginning, a middle and an end. Each part should flow logically from the previous part and it should be told in your natural style of speech. 6. Spend time on the opening words of the presentation – You need to grab the audience’s attention while you have the chance. Once you have lost their attention it is very hard to get it back. 7. Rehearse with someone who doesn’t know the subject – They can tell you whether or not it is clear, whether you have missed something and most importantly whether it meets the objectives you set in Step 1. Before you get started •
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Don’t get caught up in the gee‐whiz features of PowerPoint. Don’t overwhelm the audience with your flare for animation or a demonstration of every bell and whistle the software contains. The purpose is to present information, not overwhelm the audience. PowerPoint is merely a tool and is singular. PowerPoint helps to make it attractive, readable and understandable. Have a structure. Tell them what you are going to tell them; then tell them what you told them. Have a focus, a main point you are trying to communicate. To design an effective presentation, follow these three basic rules: ƒ
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Match design to purpose o What is your purpose? Keep it simple o Cut the clutter – two font families, no more than one graphic image or chart per slide, excluding logo or recurring element in the design. Be consistent o
Use the same colors and fonts throughout. Select graphics in the same style. Templates help with consistency. Visuals ‐ “If I can’t see it, I don’t understand it.” Albert Einstein ƒ Diagrams, graphs and images are an effective way of communicating information in a memorable way. It is quicker and more effective to demonstrate a rise in sales on a graph, than with a block of text. ƒ Visuals are used to add interest and act as a support to your speech. This is more effective and memorable than reading text from the slide. ƒ They can simplify a complicated process or concept. Arrows or colors can be used to draw attention to key information. Pitfalls ƒ Use the right type of graph for the information. ƒ Make sure the colors in the diagrams reflect those used throughout the presentation. ƒ Visuals should act as a support to your message. Keep it simple. Remove extra details. Text ƒ Make a pact with the devil. Follow the 666 rule. o No more than 6 word slides in a row, no more than 6 bullet points on a slide, no more than 6 words in a bullet point. ƒ Use one or two fonts from the same family – generally Arial, Helvetica Tahoma and Times Roman are plain and easy to read. ƒ Ensure that the text can be clearly seen. Font size should be no less than 18 points if it is to be viewed comfortably on screen. Stay below the 40 point size. ƒ Use phrases rather than sentences. These act as a prompt to the point you are making and will ensure you do not just repeat what is on the slide. ƒ Use the text placeholders set up in your slide master. Your titles and text blocks will always be in exactly the same place on each slide and your titles will not “jump” from slide to slide. ƒ Use clip art, animation, video and audio only if it serves a purpose. ƒ Don’t use the presentation as your lecture notes. Your slides should complement and emphasize what you say, not reiterate it. If you want your audience to have more information, make copies of your lecture notes for them to leave behind. Template Benefit ƒ Clarity and consistency. A well thought out template contains: o Layout o Any recurring elements such as logos or images o Font type and size o Line, font and background colors. Use colors that are appealing without giving a headache. Blues, greens, burgundy and grays convey professionalism. Red and orange are high energy but can be difficult to stay focused on when used excessively. If you get the template right, it will not only save you time but make your presentation look more professional, ensuring consistency throughout. There will be no shifting titles, wrong fonts or clashing colors, however many people work on the presentation. ƒ
Reinforce the corporate brand or image. Custom templates add impact and originality. Company colors and logos can be incorporated into the design thereby, reinforcing the brand. Templates are available on line. ƒ A&T does have a template that you are expected to use. Reviewing the Presentation Take an objective and overall look at your presentation. • One slide – one point • Clean, easy to understand • Consistent in use of fonts, colors and layout • Logical flow to the slides 10 Power Tips for Calming Presentation Butterflies 4.
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1. Arrive early and walk briskly around the room before anyone is there, making it your own. 2. Greet audience members as they come in, shaking hands and building friendship bridges. 3. Go to an out‐of‐sight area and bend from the waist, letting your hands and arms drop to the ground. Take deep breaths, letting the air out slowly. Tense and relax the muscles in your face, arms, stomach and legs. Stretch your neck, arms and legs. Concentrate on your success. Visualize the audience as you want them to act immediately after the presentation. Calm the voices in your head telling you that this is hard or that you won’t be successful. Tell a story or anecdote very early on that will require you to move around, make large gestures or raise your voice – any of which will serve as a release for your nervous energy. Questions/Notes?