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Unit 11: Oral Communication - Poster presentations

Don't think that a poster presentation is the easy option! There are many things to consider, not just the content; but the layout and design of the poster itself. Before you start to design your poster, read this very helpful short article by Dr Andy Kerr called Presenting your work at conferences in our online journal, Care. The guidance below is general, so you should also check your module handbook which will give the exact specifications on what is required by your tutor for the completion of your assignment. This guidance is adapted from the "Poster Presentations" pages from the EBE Learning Development Centre. If you need more help, then contact the Learning Development Centre within your school.

Layout

Remember that a poster is a visual presentation on your work, so as well as using text, you should include relevant graphs, charts, tables and images. You should select these carefully - read the useful advice in Andy's article. The poster should not just be an enlarged copy of an abstract of your work, the viewer should be able to understnd it without any extra explanation.

  1. Use colours to attract attention (within reason!).
  2. Use graphs or tables to give information.
  3. Use pictures where suitable (remember to search for copyright cleared images available under creative commons license - the rules of plagiarism and copyright apply to images too!).
  4. Focus on major findings.
  5. Summarise implications and conclusions briefly, and in plain language.
  6. For dissertations include major sections: abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion.
  7. Sections should be labelled in a clear order.

General format

  1. Decide on the main message you want to give your audience.
  2. If the poster is about your project, check through your abstract once again - is it still accurate?
  3. Decide on the size of the poster (check the instructions in your module handbook).
  4. Check if you have everything you need for the poster. Do you have the data? How much time will you need to prepare it (tables, photographs, and so on)?

Creative Commons License
SMILE - Oral communication - Poster presentations by EBE Learning Development Centre, modified by Marion Kelt, Glasgow Caledonian University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at http://www.gcu.ac.uk/ebe/ldc/supportforstudents/academicstudiessupport/speakingandpresentations/