Poster Guidelines

 

 

Poster Presentation

 

The poster presentation is an interesting way to present your research. It is a good way to make contact with others interested in the same topic or method. It is less formal, allows more time to talk and exchange ideas, offers the chance to meet more people than likely in a formal presentation, and is a chance to make connections with others in your area of interest.

 

Many of those doing Posters for this conference may not have used this format before, so we are providing some information on the format and the process to get you started. If you have questions, please email me [phyllis.harvie@acadiau.ca].

 

Your poster presentation date will be sent to you by email as soon as that part of the program is finalized. There will be poster sessions each morning on Thursday, Friday and Saturday of the conference. There will be 15-20 posters each morning.

 

Location of presentation:

The lobby of the Festival Theatre building. This building is also the location for registration and information when you arrive in Wolfville, and for the plenary sessions.

Each presenter will be assigned one side of a free-standing display board located in the Festival Theatre lobby.

 

Time for poster presentation:

Arrange to be at the site by 8:15 on the morning you are to set up your poster. Bring your poster with you to the conference (do not send it ahead of time). It is best to carry it onboard with you if traveling by plane, in case of luggage delays. Also remember to bring push pins or thumbtacks to affix materials to the board. Staples and tape may not be used.

 

Your poster will be on view from 8:30 until 12:00 noon on the day you are assigned. You are expected to be at your poster from 8:30 to 9:00 and then again from 10:00 to 10:30 that morning. There is a plenary session in the ATF auditorium from 9:00 to 10:00, followed by a coffeebreak from 10:00 to 10:30, so there will be lots of people in the lobby to view posters at those two times. Be at your posters from 8:30-9:00, to answer questions while people arrive for the keynote speaker.  Return after the keynote speaker’s talk, at 10:00, to answer questions during the coffee break from 10:00-10:30.  Then, feel free to attend other sessions.  Return to take your poster down, and answer any remaining questions, at the beginning of the 12:00 lunch break. 

 

Poster Display Space:

Each poster presentation will be assigned to one side of a 4’high x 8’ wide [1.2 metres x 2.4 metres] board. Boards have brown fabric backgrounds with gold trim. Numbers on the display boards correspond to the poster identification numbering the Conference Program. Remember to bring push pins or thumbtacks to affix materials to the board. Staples and tape may not be used.

 

Design Recommendations:

·         Eye catching and logical flow of information.

·         Easy to read at 2-3 foot distance.

·         Only essential information needs to be on the poster.

·         Standard Elements: Header (title, authors and affiliations), Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results (with supporting figures), and a Conclusion or Summary (of course, these elements may have to be modified for more theoretical work).

·         Cover only main points in each section (you can give more detail in a handout).

·          Minimize words.

·         Bullets get a lot of information across in a small space.

·         Use figures, photos and graphs to present relevant information.

·         At least 12pt font is recommended for most of the text (larger is better), with larger font for section or figure titles.

·         Consider flow in vertical columns across the poster board for easier reading by several people at a time.

 

For Example:

Note: More theoretical or applied work, or research in progress, may not fit this exact format.  Figure out what your main, take-home points and present those in a succinct and visually appealing manner for your viewers.

 

Creating Your Poster

Three Possible Formats:

1.      Individual sections: Presentation software, such as PowerPoint, is helpful in producing easy-to-read pages on 8 ½ x 11 sheets. At least 12pt font is recommended for text (larger is better), with larger font for headings and titles. Using coloured paper, coloured printing, or colored poster board backings behind white paper, is generally preferable to plain white 8 ½ x 11 manuscript pages. Adhesive sprays or double-sided tape work well to stick pages to colored poster board. These mounted pages are then tacked to the display board at the conference using push pins or thumbtacks.

2.      Blow up format: You can create your poster to fit all on one page in landscape format in very small font (12pt for title, 8pt for text). Use the "column" option on your word processor to organize your poster, and the "border" options to separate sections. Print out this page on a high quality printer (laser printer), because any small flaws from lower quality printers will be enlarged when the poster is enlarged to size. You can have this page blown-up to size at a local printing/ copying store. You will also want to get a tube to carry your poster while traveling. This one-piece poster is then tacked to the display board at the conference using push pins or thumbtacks.

3.      Large PowerPoint Slide: Another good method is to do it all on a very large PowerPoint slide, which can then be taken on CD or e-mailed to a print shop, who can print it out.  This one-piece poster is then tacked to the display board at the conference using push pins or thumbtacks. We have included an example and a template on the Narrative Matters website; you can download them and modify them to suit your needs.

 

Presenting your information:

A poster should be complete and self-supporting, so it may be read at leisure. However, keep the information to the basics.  You are available to offer more information, answer questions and discuss points raised by viewers. Viewers will have different backgrounds, so make your points as complete and brief as possible.

 

Some conference attendees will want to read your poster and move on; other will want to have a conversation with you about some part of your poster or topic. It is helpful to have a short [about 3-5 minute] oral presentation prepared, that you can use to guide people through your poster.

 

Handouts: Copies of a short summary of your research [about 50 copies], with your contact information included, is useful as a handout. A sign-up sheet (with pen!) for viewers to request more information is a good choice if you are unable to bring handouts, or if you run out of the handouts you bring. On your handout, include poster title, author name(s) and affiliation(s), conference name and date, and whether or not the material can be quoted. Your handout can be a one-page synopsis of your poster or, if you use the blow-up or large slide methods to make your poster, it could be a small version of the poster itself.

 

Attire:

Dress professionally. You can get advice from an advisor or professional colleague.

 

 

 

 

 
Poster File Downloads

Poster Presentation Guidelines

 

Blank Poster Template (Power Point)

 

Example Poster (Power Point)

(c) 2005  KLB Academics