What Makes a
Good Poster?
A Good Salesperson
Dr. Jennifer Forbey
BSU Department of Biological Sciences
What makes a good salesperson?
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Good first impression
Well-prepared
Credible (maybe not the shamwow guy…)
Delivers clear message
Provides supportive documentation
Has appropriate endorsements
Has something special to offer
Is persistent!
Why you need to be an excellent
salesperson
• You have a product
– Your idea: sell it to your boss, mentor, funding
agency, tax payers (public), parents, neighbor
– Your solution: sell it to managers, tax payers
(public), media
– Your skills: sell it to an employer
• Others have products too
– Convince “buyers” that they need your product
How do you “sell” your product?
• Convey enthusiasm – love your product!
– Or change your product. It is never too late to
work on something you love!
• Share with clarity, simplicity and compelling
logic – this takes practice
• Be product oriented – tell your audience
(buyer) what they will get and why they need
it
• Don’t make them work to understand what
you are selling
Design your 1-2 minute thesis:
the hour glass approach
Capture broad audience with a big question – think
headlines!
Broad
Provide background
Your specific question
Details
Broad
How you answered the question
What you found/will find and how it will
benefit the audience
Why they need your product to solve big question
Example of 1-2 minute research thesis
big question
What determines what you will eat or won’t eat?
background
Some foods are “riskier” than others: one risk = toxicity
question
Q: How do animals overcome high toxicity risks?
approach
Method: Identify thresholds, mechanisms of tolerance
results
Result: Have upper limits and mechanisms decrease exposure
significance
Explain habitat use, distribution, evolution, predict future
responses
Example 1-2 minute thesis for job interview
big question
Your company focuses on X
background
X is important for A and B within industry or institution
I can offer skill/strengths to facilitate A and B
question
Specific examples of how skills/strengths and how they help
with X
approach
results
significance
Example of how your skills/strengths have benefited others
related to X, A, B (something a recommender might say…)
Take home of how their company will benefit from you
Why your 1 minute thesis is so
important
• If you don’t capture your
audience in first minute of
your proposal, paper, talk or
poster – you have lost
them!
Why your 1 minute thesis is so important
This is essentially the summary of a grant and the abstract of a
paper
If a reviewer or reader does not find interest in the first 3-4
sentences, you are done!
Why your 1 minute thesis is so important
• This is the headline an
interviewer wants to write
• Publicity of your work is
good!
• If you are not interesting
and have a “human
interest” component, they
won’t come back
Why your 1 minute thesis is so important
• This is the “tell us about
yourself” statement in
the interview.
• It is also the chance
meeting of an investor,
potential employer,
funding agency at a
social event
• It sets the stage for
everything else
Why your 1 minute thesis is so important
• This is the statement that makes:
– your grandma brag about you to
her lady friends
– Your neighbor agree that they
should fund higher education
– Your legislator understand that
research is worth the investment
– Your student want to become a
researcher!
HOMEWORK: Work on your 1 minute
thesis
big question
• Decide who your buyer is
background
– What product do they want
– Why you are best to provide that
product?
your question
• What questions/skills would they
care about?
• Design your thesis to sell to them
approach
results
significance
• Search for “3 minute thesis
competition” online
– Outline their talks in the hourglass
format
What Makes a
Good Poster?
Dr. Jennifer Forbey
BSU Department of Biological Sciences
Why a scientific poster?
One of the most common methods of disseminating
scientific information at conferences!
Allows one to convey
more details than in a
talk
Provides an opportunity
for more Q&A exchange
between author and
reader than a talk or
paper
Key features of a poster
Must attract an audience:
Prominent title
Attractive figures (lots)
Clean, open layout
Must quickly orient the reader
to the key points
Should be logically arranged
Should contain all elements
of a good research paper
Should have clearly labeled
sections
What is in a title?
What is in a title?
Tips on titles
• Identify key words
– Inform reviewer of content and mission
relevance
– Arrange in informative, compelling title that is
not too long
• Emphasize the product, not the process
• Be witty
• Make 4-6 titles and ask people which one
is best
Examples of titles
• To grow or defend: investigating physiological
tradeoffs in sagebrush
• To eat or not to eat: Developing biomarkers
for diet selection by herbivores
• Antioxidant Properties of Sagebrush: Could
the “Weed” of North America Contain the
Cure for Cancer
• All leaves are not created equal: Variation
among leaves in chemical defenses and
nutritional quality
Example: - know your story…..
Sage-grouse have a specialized niche
Example: - know your story…..
Sage-grouse have problems
I got 99 problems, but a
niche ain’t one
Key features of a poster
Must attract an audience:
Prominent title
Attractive figures (lots)
Clean, open layout
Should be logically arranged
Must quickly orient the reader
to the key points
How to get started:
Make sure there’s a coherent “flow” in your sections
You’re telling a story, so make sure the reader knows
where to start and end
http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~cainproj/designing.html
Key features of a poster
Must attract an audience:
Must quickly orient the reader
to the key points
Prominent title
Attractive figures (lots)
Clean, open layout
Should be logically arranged
Conclusions
Motivation/Background
Methods
Results
Acknowledgments
Objectives/hypotheses
Should contain all elements of a good
research paper – what are they?
Should have clearly labeled
sections
TIPS FOR RESULTS SECTION
Use figures!
Easy symbols
Clearly define axes
Identify predictor and response variables
No reds and blues (color blindness)
State HOW things
differed
State how things differ
Cineole was metabolized faster in mice than rats
Individual cineole was metabolized faster than
when in a mixture
How to get started:
Poster Layout
Sketch your organizational plan on paper or use a template
Write down the key ideas in each section
Identify the figures/results that best convey your ideas (your STORY)
in each section
Motivation/Background
Intro/Motivation/
Background
main point #1
main point #2
Objectives/hypotheses
Methods
With pictures
Methods
Title
Authors & Affiliations
Results
Conclusions
Results
main point #1
main point #1
main point #2
Conclusions
main point #2
main point #3
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments
Conclusions
Motivation/Background
Results – give
descriptive
headings
Objectives/hypotheses
Methods
Acknowledgments
Posters should have more description than a talk
slide, less description than a paper
Too little description:
Posters should have more description than a talk
slide, less description than a paper
(Way) too much description:
Use lots of blank space around margins to define
sections:
Courtesy B. DeMarco
Not enough blank space around margins to define sections:
Courtesy A. Ulappa
How to get started:
Setting up PowerPoint:
Select “Page Setup” under File Menu
Slides sized for: Custom
Orientation of slides: Landscape
Width of slides: 56 inches
Height of slides: 28 inches
Title: 90-120 pt, sans serif font
Author: 48-60 pt. sans serif
Headings: 70-80 pt. sans serif
Main text: 36-40 pt. sans serif
Other tips: Text
Text and figures should be legible from 3-5 feet away: 36 pt. font size minimum!
Edit excessive text!! Poster should have roughly 20% text, 40% figures, 40% space
Use sans serif (or ARIAL or HELVETICA) fonts: these fonts are more legible than
serif fonts from a distance
Headings and other text having the same level of importance should be the same
font size
Generally, putting information in “bullet” form, rather than in sentences, is better:
Original
The ideal anesthetic should quickly
make the patient unconscious but allow
a quick return to consciousness, have
few side effects, and be safe to handle.
http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~cainproj/designing.html
Revised
Ideal anesthetics should:
• offer quick sedation
• provide quick recovery
• have few side effects
• be safe to handle
Other tips: Color
Use color to define relationships between different areas of the poster
Use color to create coherence and guide the reader through your poster
DON’T overuse color…too much variation will distract from the substance of
your poster
DON’T use color arbitrarily – the reader expects color to mean something, so
they’ll be confused if it’s arbitrarily applied
DON’T use a distracting background, and make sure there’s sufficient
contrast between the background and the text
Beware shading of backgrounds…this sometimes doesn’t show up well
when enlarged to full poster size
Good color
Distracting color
Other tips: Figures
Make sure to label all figures with legible fonts and
font sizes
Include a brief caption for the figure, or explicitly refer
to the figure in the text
Make sure your images and figures are of
sufficiently high resolution to be enlarged
Make sure your figures advance the points you’re
making in the text
Critique these posters:
Critique these posters:
Critique these posters:
Critique these posters:
Homework Assignment
• Walk around the science buildings
– look at and critique the posters you see
– which ones are most effective?
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capture your interest
easily navigable
etc., etc.
How many typos did you observe?
– which ones are hopeless?
• Take a picture, e-mail to another student, discuss
good and bad examples with each other.
Tips for Effective Posters
• Reed over for errrors nd
ommisssions
• Use the cheek sppellling feetures
on youre komputer
Tips for Effective Posters
• Authorship….
– Ask your sponsor
– Rule of “2 of 5”: contribute to 2 of 5 parts:
• Idea
• Funding
• Data collection
• Data analysis (including stats and figures)
• Presentation
– When in doubt, be liberal
• But always ask and give co-authors at least 3 days to
review COMPLETED poster
Tips for Effective Posters
• Make sure to include an approved
acknowledgement statement at the
conclusion of your presentation, such as:
“This investigation was supported, in part, by BSU and the National
Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates
(REU) Sites Program Award DBI-0453294.”
Ask your research sponsor
It is essential for you to ask and receive permission in advance from your
mentor for any and all additional presentations of your research. This is
critical!
Presenting the poster – what to wear?
Presenting the Poster
Dress code:
Business attire
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No jeans
• Tuck in shirts
No baseball caps • Don’t eat
No chewing gum
Hide tattoos
Dress code for women:
• Be conservative
• No tanks, low
cut, or see
through blouses
• Longer skirts
• No high heels
• Wear name tag
high
• Be comfortable!
Presenting the Poster – what to say?
• Prepare your 1-minute thesis to your research to
engage visitors – elevator speech
• Explain why your research project matters, especially
to the general population
• Practice!!!
• Practice!!!
• Practice!!!
Presenting the Poster
• Relax and enjoy the opportunity to share your
research project
• Have a pen and notebook available to write down
information
“Hello (shake hand), my name is Jennifer,
and you are? And where are you from
(you might have something in common).
Mark, would you like me to give you an
overview of my research?
Presenting the Poster
• If there is interest, offer a quick tour of no more than
2-3 minutes and
• Remember to point to relevant poster elements during
the quick tour
– Don’t give detailed methods
• Don’t forget to emphasize your “take-home”
message
Interact with your poster
•Allow them to ask you specific questions
•Don’t go on and on and on
•Be aware of all visitors
•But don’t leave one visitor for
another
•Others can read while you talk to
original visitors – reason to keep it
short
To new visitor: “Feel
free to join in if you
have questions”
What to do when no one comes….
• Stand to the side with
confidence
• If font is too small or too many
words – they won’t come!
• Smile at passers by
• Wait for someone to stop
• Ask neighbor about their work
• But be ready to go back to your
poster when a visitor comes
• Ask friends, peers, family and
teachers to come
• Don’t let them dominate
your poster!
• They are your wingman only
Other etiquette tips
• Eat something small and
healthy before
• Don’t want stomach to
growl
• Don’t want gas!!
• But don’t eat while you are
presenting
• Turn off your cell phone
• Have water available
After the presentation
• Follow-up! (have a
notebook with you)
• Maximize your points of
contact!
– Send email to anyone who
offered suggestions and
thank them
– Send info to anyone who
requested it
– You want to be in their inbox
• Could be future advisor
• Could be link to new contact
Questions?