Poster Experience What comes to mind when you think of… The BEST posters you’ve seen or made? The WORST posters you’ve seen or made?

Posters Captain Marvel, Jabba the Hutt, …and Raphael Aaron Saguil, MD, MPH Department of Family Medicine

Key Points Effective posters  …are visually appealing and succinct  …grab and keep the audience’s attention  …communicate information in a digestible manner

Poster Purposes  Provide format for competition  Present original research findings  Summarize scholarly experiences  Spark further discussion and networking

General Guidelines

The “Six Deadly Sins”  Pointless  Repellant  Boring  Verbose  Abandoned  Incomplete

POINTLESS LOW FAT

Substance  Give your audience “meat”  Declare your hypothesis  Make your findings clear

REPELLANT

Showpersonship  Showcase your topic  Use the title to grab your audience  Be visual

BORING

Stimulate  Generate discussion  Provoke debate  Promote collaboration, networking  Encourage new projects, alliances

VERBOSE

Succinct  Straight to the point  Give a gestalt  Keep phrases crisp  Use lists and bullets

ABANDONED

Supported  Be present at designated times  Supply handouts, business cards  Provide sign-up sheet  Consider a “draw”

INCOMPLETE

Summary  Answer your research question  Emphasize topic’s importance  Lead viewer to conclusion  No new information

The “Six Keys for Success”  S ubstance  S howpersonship  S timulate  S uccinct  S upported  S ummary

Practical Pointers

Content  Tailor poster to situation  Know specific requirements

Text  Use phrases/lists  No more than 25 lines  Three columns  Squeeze white space to outside  Spell check

Body  Read from 6 feet  Highlight key points  Avoid too much detail  Be creative  Balance text and graphics

Graphs and Charts

Composition  Aid comprehension  Visually pleasing  Pictures and text as visual unit

Practical Exercise

Presenting Posters

Before the Show  Recheck spelling  Consider transport in design  Be prepared for emergencies  Trial with colleagues  Conform to conference specifications

Presentation Day Tips  Arrive early  Stay for all discussion times  Be courteous to all interested viewers  Have business cards available  Provide further information (handouts)  Bring plenty of hanging materials  HAVE FUN!

Key Points Effective posters  …are visually appealing and succinct  …grab and keep the audience’s attention  …communicate information in a digestible manner