Elements of a Scientific Poster

On Thursday, June 24, Dr. Michael Wells, Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics gave a presentation to UBRPers and other interested undergraduates on scientific posters –- a vehicle for oral communication. The goal was to teach the new researchers how to develop and present a good scientific poster to the scientific community. The seminar included a sample poster and supporting documents of the standard elements and poster organization. To help describe aspects of an effective poster, Dr. Wells resourced “Developing a Poster Presentation” by Jeff Radel of the University of Kansas Medical Center:

http://www.kumc.edu/SAH/OTEd/jradel/Poster_Presentations/PstrStart.html

The following are some highlights of the points stated by Dr. Wells. Most importantly, you must plan ahead, practice, the title must be easy to see and read, and getting too “fancy” can require a large time investment. Dr. Wells also assigned homework for the next week -- we were to fill out an evaluation form of the qualities we feel are important and/or necessary for a good presentation. Overall, the presentation was useful and informative and recommended for anyone who is unsure of how s/he should prepare a scientific poster.

Nicole Rasmussen, UBRPer in Dr. Scott Saavedra’s lab, Chemistry

How to Give A Good Presentation

Dr. Michael Wells, Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics imparted some advice on how to give a presentation that won't put others to sleep to a group of interested UBRPers. His first piece of advice: reflect on presentations you have seen other people give. This will give you an idea of what actions to avoid in your presentation (um...) and others that are very effective at conveying your point.

When planning your presentation, Dr. Wells suggested keeping in mind all of these parts: define the purpose, prepare the content, structure the presentation, use visual aids and try to be yourself during delivery. He stressed that the planning part of the presentation is critical; be sure to give yourself enough time to prepare your presentation (at least a week) to get all the information organized and review information you may have forgotten about.

Defining the purpose is important. This is going to be what you want to communicate to the audience by the end of the presentation. When preparing the content, it should all relate to this purpose. You should organize your presentation so that different parts of it support this original purpose: remember that you are making an argument. To keep the audience engaged, you may want to briefly give some background information. It is also helpful to pose questions that you then answer in your presentation. Remember to reference all authors that you mention in the presentation.

A solid and logical structure will make it easy to get your point across. Start with an introduction that explains the purpose and gives a general idea of what you will talk about (it is a good idea to outline the structure of your talk). The body of the presentation should develop your arguments and make it clear how they are related. The end should contain a general overview of the presentation and remind the audience what the purpose of the presentation was.

PowerPoint can be a valuable tool in giving a presentation...but there are some things to avoid when using it. For instance, you should use a large, readable font and shouldn't put too much information on a slide. Stick to the main points, and use them as a guide for your presentation. If you feel it is necessary, you can make handouts to supplement your presentation. Also, be familiar with PowerPoint and the equipment you will use during your presentation. A laser pointer can also be a useful tool.

Remember that the most important part of the presentation is you. Pace yourself...go slow enough to keep from overwhelming your audience with information, but learn to speed up a bit if you see peoples' eyes start to glaze over. Also, eye contact is essential. Remember to avoid reading off of a piece of paper, or your PowerPoint slides. Pausing is also important...it gives people time to think about what you've just said and is a good way to emphasize your main points. Answering questions is a great way to end the presentation. You are the expert on the information, and therefore should be prepared to answer questions about the material. If you don't know the answer, Dr. Wells suggests complementing the person who asked the question and telling them that you will find out.

Kevin Chandler, UBRPer in Dr. Victor Hruby’s lab, Chemistry