Poster Presentation

Equipment Supplied By the Organizing Committee

• Poster boards (8 feet high x 4 feet wide)
• Letter size bins may be attached to the poster boards for handouts and business cards
• Double-sided sticking tape

Set-Up of Poster

Prepare the poster keeping the size within 4x4 feet. If necessary, the height may be up to 8 feet, but it is recommended to keep the height equal to the width because the lower parts of the poster may not be easy to read while standing. Identify your poster board from the serial number written on the boards. Attach the poster with the provided sticking tape. The Help Desk can be asked for assistance.

Why a Poster?

A poster presentation is an excellent way to provide continuing education. The compact format provides a step-by-step explanation of procedures and results of scientific research or multiple case studies. The public display of the presentation allows viewers to examine the information at their own pace. An added benefit is the contact between presenter and viewer that can take place during the formal poster presentation time. Effective posters communicate by the written word, visual illustrations, and the presenter’s personality. Ideally, the poster presentation should have a handout that reflects the research.

Elements of a Poster

The following suggestions may be helpful in planning and preparing a poster presentation:

• The topic should be relevant.
• Data displayed clear and concise, allowing readers to make own interpretation.
• Photos, figures, diagrams, charts to reflect pertinent points.
• Findings and conclusions clearly discernable from the text.
• Useful information for clinical practice.
• Good science - case controlled study.
• Focused - makes a statement, offers proof, draws conclusions.
• Legible - large enough print to be read 4’ to 6’ away.
• Quality - professional, appropriate for national scientific presentation.
• Definition of clinically meaningful problem.
• Hypothesis and purpose.
• Succinct take-home message in conclusion.
• Limited verbiage. Use photos to substitute for words.
• State the problem, the approach to the solution, then, give the work performed and result.
• Conclude only what data supports. Speculation is OK, but let the reader know what you speculate and what your data supports.
• Avoid abbreviations and acronyms without giving their full form.

Artwork and Lettering

• Creative artwork with an uncluttered layout will encourage attendees to stop and examine your poster presentation.
• Use self-explanatory drawings, photos and charts to express ideas.
• When captions are used, limit them to a couple of sentences.
• Avoid USING ENTIRELY CAPITAL LETTERS IN ALL INSTANCES, otherwise the text will be too difficult to read.
• Color is very useful for creating interest and accentuating specific parts of any presentation. Use only a few common colors. Generally, it is best to use light lettering (e.g., white, yellow, golden yellow, ivory, light blue, cyan) on dark backgrounds (e.g., royal blue, navy blue, teal green, forest green or purple). Colors like red, magenta, and orange can work well, as accents, but they are too “hot” for use over large areas of a display. Fluorescent colors, while eye-catching, do not carry the professional image you want to project. Most importantly, make sure the color combinations you select are visually appealing.

Self Critique

One of the best ways to assess the effectiveness of your presentation is to assemble it at your office and critique it yourself as if you were a meeting attendee seeing the material for the first time. Introduce objectivity into this process by making a checklist of the essential characteristics of a good poster presentation. Then, rate your poster. If it doesn’t make the elements of a good poster continue to improve your presentation.

Poster Help Desk

A Poster Help Desk will be located in the Poster area to assist you on-site. The Poster Help Desk will store your poster tubes, provide sticking tape and handout/business card bins. They can also provide you with general information about the meeting.

Poster Awards

Posters will be reviewed by a designated panel for selection of the best poster in each scientific theme. The results will be announced at the end of the conference.