Presentation Skills: Poster Presentations

Two East Asian students looking at a poster presentation

A poster is a concise, attractive visual representation of your work. Your poster will be set up in a public area and viewers will walk through this area, stopping to look at and read your poster. They may ask questions. Posters are sometimes used for assessments as an alternative to presenting. They might be less stressful because you're not speaking in public.

Planning

Before you start, like any other assignment you need to understand the requirements. You should know

the size requirements of the poster
what materials you can use
what apps use can you to design the poster
any formatting requirements
any information that must be included in the poster
the any instructions for printing the poster
due date for the poster
whether you're required to speak about the poster or just answer any questions

Poster Design

The requirements for good poster design arelike to the do's and don'ts for presentation design. But also:

Start with a short summary of your work - for viewers in a hurry
Use headings to separate out sections of the poster.
Use clear, concise and plain language. Consider the audience for the poster when writing the text
Sections should have a clear and logical flow. Number them and display them in order from top to bottom and then left to right
Have some white space between sections so the poster doesn't appear cluttered
You don't need more than two different fonts. Use one for headings and one for text. Use sans serif fonts (e.g., Arial, Calibri, Helvetica and Verdana) - these are easier to read
Use bullet points and numbered lists to identify and display important information
Ask a friend to proofread the poster for spelling, grammar, readability, etc
Don't forget to include references to external work that you use

Other Tips

Make a checklist of you need to bring on the day (poster, pins, blu-tack etc...)
Arrive early to give yourself plenty of time to setup your poster.
Think about creating a script to help you run through the poster with interested viewers
Think about questions people might have and prepare answers for them
Stand at the side of the poster, not in front of it!
Don't spend too much time chatting to your neighbours, be aware of anyone coming to your poster - talk to them, not your neighbours!
Say hello to passers-by and, but only if they seem interested, ask if you can tell them about your poster. Be polite if they decline
Make eye contact and smile at your audience
Don't disappear - stick around. It's your poster and you should give people a chance to see who's responsible for it
Think about bring A4 sized copies of the poster to distribute
Bring a pen and paper to take notes

Printing Your Poster

Your college might have printing facilities or you might have to go to a shop. Having a poster printed professionally shouldn't cost too much (Digital Library staff paid €25 for printing an A0-sized poster in 2022) but shop around and get several quotes. Always find out the requirements before you go to print the poster.

Image: The Web Conference 16th May 2019. Victor Grigas, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons