Dr. Jennifer Forbey

BSU Department of Biological Sciences

What Makes a

Good Poster?

A Good Salesperson

What makes a good salesperson?

• 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!

Provide background Broad

Broad

Details

Your specific question

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 What determines what you will eat or won’t eat?

Some foods are “riskier” than others: one risk = toxicity

Q: How do animals overcome high toxicity risks?

Method: Identify thresholds, mechanisms of tolerance

Result: Have upper limits and mechanisms decrease exposure

Explain habitat use, distribution, evolution, predict future

responses

big question

background

question

approach

results

significance

Example 1-2 minute thesis for job interview

Your company focuses on X

X is important for A and B within industry or institution

I can offer skill/strengths to facilitate A and B

Specific examples of how skills/strengths and how they help

with X

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

big question

background

question

approach

results

significance

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

background

your question

approach

results

significance

• Decide who your buyer is – What product do they want – Why you are best to provide that

product?

• What questions/skills would they care about?

• Design your thesis to sell to them

• Search for “3 minute thesis competition” online – Outline their talks in the hourglass

format

Dr. Jennifer Forbey

BSU Department of Biological Sciences

What Makes a

Good Poster?

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

Should have clearly labeled

sections

Must quickly orient the reader

to the key points

Should contain all elements

of a good research paper

Should be logically arranged

Must attract an audience:

Prominent title

Attractive figures (lots)

Clean, open layout

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 quickly orient the reader

to the key points

Should be logically arranged

Must attract an audience:

Prominent title

Attractive figures (lots)

Clean, open layout

How to get started:

http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~cainproj/designing.html

You’re telling a story, so make sure the reader knows

where to start and end

Make sure there’s a coherent “flow” in your sections

Key features of a poster

Should have clearly labeled

sections

Must quickly orient the reader

to the key points

Should contain all elements of a good

research paper – what are they?

Should be logically arranged

Must attract an audience:

Prominent title

Attractive figures (lots)

Clean, open layout

Motivation/Background

Objectives/hypotheses

Methods Conclusions

Acknowledgments

Results

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

Title

Authors & Affiliations

Intro/Motivation/

Background

Methods

main point #1

main point #2

With pictures

Results

main point #1

main point #2

main point #3

Conclusions

main point #1

main point #2

Acknowledgments

Write down the key ideas in each section

Identify the figures/results that best convey your ideas (your STORY)

in each section

Motivation/Background

Objectives/hypotheses

Methods

Conclusions

Acknowledgments

Results

Motivation/Background

Objectives/hypotheses

Methods

Conclusions

Acknowledgments

Results – give

descriptive

headings

Too little description:

Posters should have more description than a talk

slide, less description than a paper

(Way) too much description:

Posters should have more description than a talk

slide, less description than a paper

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:

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

Setting up PowerPoint:

Other tips: Text

http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~cainproj/designing.html

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.

Ideal anesthetics should:

• offer quick sedation

• provide quick recovery

• have few side effects

• be safe to handle

Revised

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

Text and figures should be legible from 3-5 feet away: 36 pt. font size minimum!

Other tips: Color

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

Use color to define relationships between different areas of the 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

Include a brief caption for the figure, or explicitly refer

to the figure in the text

Make sure to label all figures with legible fonts and

font sizes

Make sure your figures advance the points you’re

making in the text

Make sure your images and figures are of

sufficiently high resolution to be enlarged

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? • 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?

Dress code: Business attire

• No jeans

• No baseball caps

• No chewing gum

• Hide tattoos

• Tuck in shirts

• Don’t eat

Presenting the Poster

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 in-box

• Could be future advisor

• Could be link to new contact

Questions?