Poster Presentations

Prepare

• Practice 30-second, 90-second and 3-minute versions of your poster presentation.
  
  

• Make sure you can sum up your poster’s key points and conclusions in 2-3 sentences. Practice starting your spiel from different sections of your poster.
  
  

• Review relevant literature
  
  

• Think about which parts of your poster will be the most challenging to explain.
  
  

• Anticipate people’s questions and plan your answers to them. You will be asked the same questions repeatedly, which can become monotonous for you, but remember that the person who asked the question is hearing your answer for the first time.
  
  

• Produce supplemental handouts (e.g., copies of poster on letter-sized paper, abstract).

Present

• Greet people with a smile and show your enthusiasm for your work. Give people a moment to take in your poster and then find out why they are interested in your work before you launch into your spiel so that you are able to address their needs and expectations.
  
  

• Do not stand in front of your poster where you might block people’s view.  Stand up straight and face your audience.
  
  

• Maintain eye contact with people as you present your poster. Do not read directly from your poster or from a prepared script.
  
  

• Use hand gestures to illustrate and reinforce key concepts and relationships.  As you talk through your poster, use a pointer or your hands to refer to particular parts of the poster so that people can follow your talk more easily. Avoid pairing vague gestures with vague noun referents: “That graph shows . . .“  (accompanied by sweeping gesture in the direction of two graphs). Do not place your hands in your pockets or behind your back.
  
  

• Adjust your volume and pacing to suit the situation. Speak loudly enough to be heard over the din of the crowd. Use your voice to emphasize important points.
  
  

• Spend extra time explaining the figures and tables on your poster if your audience appears interested in the details.
  
  

• Provide summary and forecasting statements as you move from explaining one section of the poster to the next section. For example, “That wraps up my description of the design criteria. Now I’m going to highlight the features of our device.”
  
  

• If people approach your poster after you have begun your spiel, pause to welcome them and identify where you are in the spiel so that they know where to focus their eyes on the poster. For example, “Hi (or nod in acknowledgment), I’m in the middle of describing the hardware apparatus we built to control the lighting in the imaging environment.”
  
  

• Check your audience’s understanding of more complex concepts presented in your poster by paying attention to non-verbal cues or by simply asking: “Were any parts of my explanation hard to follow?”
  
  

• Maintain your professionalism. Thank people for their time and attention. Remember that the people attending the poster session may be your future employers.