About to give your first poster presentation at a professional group meeting, symposium or conference? No need for stress. Let our academic trainer Laetis Kuipers help you on your way. Laetis has a wealth of experience when it comes to coaching researchers, perfecting their presentations and honing their academic writing skills.
Here are her 7 tips for your first poster presentation:
- Focus on your target group and message
Prepare thoroughly. Who will be interested in looking at your poster? What does your audience already know, and what don’t they know? What do they absolutely need to know, and how do you get that message across?
- Practise the art of omission
Don’t overload your audience with too much detail. Leave out unnecessary information. As Goethe once said: “In limitation the master reveals himself.”
- Pictures paint a thousand words
Posters are a visual communication tool: wherever possible, use images to express the core of your message. Pictures, photos, figures and summary tables often work best.
- Less is more
Limit the amount of reading: nothing is more annoying than having to press your nose to a poster to read reams of text. Use bullet points. Keep it short and simple. Clarity is everything.
- Say it with style
Stick to the house style used by your department or research group and make sure that the layout of your poster is not cluttered. Remember that your audience reads from left to right and top to bottom.
- Seek inspiration
Take a close look at other people’s posters. Analyse what makes them good or not so good. How do they use elements like colour (including white), font size and type? How do they position and format images?
- Mind your language
Make sure your poster is free from typos and language errors. Even the smallest of mistakes can undermine your credibility.
Eager to improve your posters and general presentation skills? Or looking to professionalise the output of your research group?
Take a look at the training course Taalcentrum-VU | Present and pitch your research in English or contact us to find out more.
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