Giving an Effective Poster Presentation
Summary
TLDRIn this informative video, George Hess offers essential tips for presenting a poster at academic conferences. He advises against reading directly from the poster, emphasizing the importance of using it as a visual aid and engaging with viewers. Hess also stresses the need to be prepared with a concise presentation and to have supplementary materials on hand for detailed inquiries. He provides guidance on handling common situations, such as answering questions beyond the scope of the research or directing viewers to contact information for follow-up. The video underscores the importance of prioritizing viewer interactions and maintaining a professional demeanor during poster sessions.
Takeaways
- 🗣️ Don't read your poster word-for-word; use it as a visual tool to guide the conversation.
- 🤝 Engage with your audience by pointing to graphs, maps, and other graphics on your poster.
- 📈 Be prepared to answer questions about your poster and have a brief presentation ready in your mind.
- 📑 It's acceptable to bring supplemental material to support your answers if needed.
- 📊 Use your poster to highlight key findings and data, but don't overcrowd it with information.
- 💡 When asked a question you can't answer, offer to follow up after the session or suggest future research.
- 👥 Prioritize your audience over socializing or other activities during the poster session.
- 📝 Have a business card or contact information ready to share with interested viewers.
- 🤔 If a question is beyond the scope of your research, admit it and discuss potential avenues for further exploration.
- 🏆 Remember that poster sessions are interactive and social, but always keep your audience as the top priority.
Q & A
What is the main purpose of a poster session?
-A poster session is a social and interactive event where participants present their research visually through a poster and engage in discussions with viewers.
Why should you not read your poster during a presentation?
-Reading your poster can make the presentation less engaging. Instead, you should use the visual elements of the poster to guide the conversation in a less formal manner.
What is the importance of being prepared at a poster session?
-Being prepared ensures that you can confidently answer questions about your research and effectively communicate your findings to viewers.
How should you interact with your poster during the presentation?
-You should use your poster as a visual tool, pointing to graphs, maps, and other graphics to guide the conversation and maintain viewer engagement.
What is the significance of having a two to three-minute presentation prepared?
-Having a short presentation ready allows you to quickly and effectively summarize your research when asked, which is especially useful for questions like 'What was your poster about?' or 'What were the results?'
Why is it beneficial to have handouts or supplemental material available?
-Handouts and supplemental material provide additional information that supports your main points and can be referred to when answering detailed questions that may not be fully covered on the poster.
What should you do if you don't know the answer to a question about your research?
-If you don't know the answer, it's acceptable to tell the viewer that you will get back to them after the session or suggest future research that could address the question.
How should you handle questions that are beyond the scope of your research?
-For questions beyond the scope of your research, it's best to admit your limitations and possibly discuss potential research directions or collaborations to address the question.
Why is it crucial to prioritize viewer interactions during a poster session?
-Prioritizing viewer interactions ensures that you are available to answer questions and engage with potential collaborators, judges, or grant providers, which can be vital for your research's future.
What is the role of the title in your poster presentation?
-The title should succinctly convey the essence of your research and grab the viewer's attention, setting the stage for the discussion.
How can you make your poster presentation more engaging?
-To make your presentation more engaging, speak informally, maintain eye contact, and use interactive elements like pointing at graphs and asking viewers questions.
Outlines
📢 Effective Poster Presentation Techniques
George Hess introduces the video by discussing the social and interactive nature of poster sessions, which can be loud and chaotic. He emphasizes the importance of being prepared for such an environment. The script then transitions into a scenario where Anthony Franklin presents his poster titled 'Poisson regression analysis of high school football prospects.' Key advice given includes not reading the poster word-for-word but using it as a visual tool to engage with viewers. The presenter should speak informally, pointing to tables, maps, and graphics to guide the conversation. It's also highlighted that being prepared is crucial, especially for contest entries, and having a two-minute presentation ready to answer common questions.
🗣️ Engaging with Viewers and Handling Questions
This paragraph illustrates how to effectively use a poster during a presentation. The presenter, Anthony Franklin, is shown engaging with a viewer by pointing to graphs and speaking informally. The paragraph also addresses how to handle questions that are not directly answered by the poster content. In such cases, it's acceptable to refer to additional materials or even to admit when you don't know the answer and suggest future research or collaboration. The presenter is also reminded to prioritize viewer interactions over socializing or other activities, as these interactions could lead to valuable connections or funding opportunities.
📘 Key Rules for Successful Poster Presentations
The final paragraph summarizes the main points for a successful poster presentation. Rule one is to use the poster as a visual tool and not to read it verbatim. Rule two is to be prepared with a short talk and anticipate certain questions. Rule three encourages the use of handouts for additional information. Rule four allows for following up with viewers after the session for questions that require more thought. Rule five is about admitting when a question is beyond the scope of your work or when you don't know the answer. Lastly, rule six emphasizes prioritizing viewer interactions above all else. The video concludes with a reminder to always be ready to engage with viewers.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Poster Presentation
💡Be Prepared
💡Interactive Environment
💡Visual Tool
💡Engagement
💡Supplemental Material
💡Eye Contact
💡Handling Questions
💡Poster Design
💡Viewer First
Highlights
George Hess introduces the video on presenting a poster
Basic tips for presenting a poster are discussed
Common situations during poster presentations are outlined
The chaotic nature of poster sessions is described
The importance of being prepared for a noisy environment is emphasized
Rule number one: Do not read your poster
Presenters should speak informally and use visuals to guide the conversation
Rule number two: Be prepared with a short presentation
Engage with your viewer by pointing to maps and graphics
Highlight the importance of temperature and spring football in recruit production
Use your poster as a visual tool to answer questions
It's okay to bring supplemental material to support your answers
Rule number three: Handouts are beneficial
Focus your poster on the main point, leaving out extraneous information
Rule number four: If you don't know the answer, get back to the viewer after the session
Rule number five: Admit when you don't know the answer to a question
Rule number six: Put your viewer first, prioritize their questions and engagement
The video concludes with a summary of the main points
Transcripts
hi I'm George Hess that you've created
your poster let's talk about what it's
like to present one in this short video
we'll show you some basic tips for how
to present your poster and some common
situations that you're likely to
encounter and how to handle them but
before we do that let me say a few words
about what poster sessions are like
poster sessions occur in very social and
interactive settings there are often
dozens or hundreds of posters in very
large rooms that have very little sound
absorbing material plus there's lots of
people walking around often with food
and drink and they're all talking to one
another so poster sessions can get
really loud and really chaotic and
they're absolutely going to be exciting
for you especially the first time so you
should be prepared for that kind of an
environment so let's take a look at some
situations and how to handle it can you
tell me about your poster well the title
of my poster is Poisson regression
analysis of high school football
prospects I'm the author Anthony
Franklin and I worked with dr. Thomas
Ryland introduction is successful teams
have elite players in the expanding
business of collegiate sports losing
football programs result in more than
low school spirit from major loss hold
on wait a minute wait a minute wait a
minute rule number one don't read your
poster a poster is a visual tool and you
should use it that way instead of
reading word-for-word what you should be
doing is speaking in a less formal
manner using the tables and the maps and
the other graphics on your poster to
hold the conversation with your viewer
did you notice what happened there the
presenter was staring at his words
rather than engaging with the viewer
that's not the right way to do it if you
avoid reading your poster that's not
likely to happen so again don't read
your poster tell me what you did well I
I worked with California all the way to
Florida including Texas and I looked at
all the major conferences throughout the
country oh and I used the Poisson
distribution as the distribution for my
Poisson regression model and my model I
use the natural
long link function and I noticed that
temperature and spring football hold on
wait a minute wait a minute wait a
minute
okay things are getting better there but
they're not quite there yet rule number
two is be prepared did you notice that
the presenter this time was animated he
was using his poster as a tool he was
pointing to the maps and the graphics he
was engaging with his viewer but didn't
you get the impression that maybe never
even seen this poster before or at the
least that he'd never thought about
anybody coming up and saying what did
you do
be prepared particularly if you're
someone who's entering your poster into
a contest you should expect someone like
a judge to come up and ask you tell me
what you did have a two-minute
presentation ready in your head and be
ready to walk through it when someone
asks that question remember be prepared
so tell me what you found when one is
looking to predict the rate at which
states produce elite football recruits
there in two important factors to
consider one is the temperature of the
state and two is whether the state
offers high school football in the
spring semester not all states offer
spring football in fact not many do but
for the ones that do they often have a
higher rate of recruits that get
produced from the state for instance the
top six are Florida Georgia Mississippi
Texas Louisiana and California nearly 68
percent of the state's produced less
than two prospects per 1000 football
players on their roster in fact Vermont
in the six year span that the study was
done didn't produce any at all awesome
wow that was so much better let's look
at what happened right there so first of
all I want to point out that that
question tell me what you found is
another question that's pretty typical
and you should expect then what happened
after the question was asked was that
the presenter used his poster as a
visual tool notice how he pointed to the
graphs as he was talking to the viewer
notice that they were very very engaged
lots of eye contact lots of interaction
between the two of them he also spoke in
a fairly informal manner and worked
through his poster in a very logical way
a very very nicely done now let's look
at what happens when people start asking
you questions what do you mean by
quantitative verbal well there are two
types of variables
there's quantitative and qualitative a
qualitative variable deals with
categories or levels of a factor like
gender male or female a quantitative
variable deals with something you can
count a numeric value like your height
or you weight I was also looking at your
poster and I noticed this what is it
that is Poisson in fact I used the
Poisson distribution in my regression
analysis you use the Poisson
distribution to count the data in fact I
have some extra information here on this
sheet the Poisson distribution looks
similar to this just depending on what
mean value you give it let's examine
what we just saw there were two
questions the first question was one
that the presenter was able to answer
right on the spot using his poster as a
tool to support his answer the second
question was a little more complicated
because the answer wasn't right on his
poster but notice what happened he was
able to pull out another piece of paper
that had a graph on it that he could use
to support his answer to the question
think about that for a minute
you don't have to put everything on your
poster it's okay to bring supplemental
material that's a really important point
because what it means in terms of design
is again you don't have to put
everything on your poster so you're when
you're in that mode where you're
struggling to think about what should I
put on what should I leave off go back
to the basics and think what is my main
point what's the main thing I'm trying
to get across to my audience
that's what belongs on your poster
everything else you can have on extra
sheets of paper that you can carry with
you and use to support your answers to
questions with graphics and visuals that
are not on the poster itself so how did
the model perform under a different link
function very good question and I do not
know the answer to that question off the
top of my head though I've seen the
answer before so how about you contact
me here's my card and if you would like
you can email
me the question I'll get back to you as
soon as I can okay and how did this
impact specific football teams that's
another very good question unfortunately
that question goes beyond the scope of
what I did for this research but it's
definitely something I'll look forward
to in the future so in these two cases
the presenter was asked questions that
he was unable to answer on the spot in
the first case it was actually work that
he had done but he just didn't have the
material with him and he couldn't recall
what the answer was notice what he did
he gave the viewer a card and asked the
viewer to get in touch with him after
the conference so that he could supply
the answer that's a perfectly reasonable
thing to do and far simpler as a
presenter than standing there with a pad
and a pen and a paper and trying to
write down all sorts of contact
information or collecting a hundred
business cards with this impact specific
football teams that's another very good
question in the second instance the
question was one that was beyond the
scope of the presenters research and he
just admitted it also a completely
reasonable thing to do you can't answer
every question it's great then to talk
about how you might address the question
what kind of research it would take why
it's a difficult question to answer and
what you might do in the future you
might even scope out some collaboration
with the viewer one thing you don't want
to do though when you're asked questions
you don't have an answer to is make
things up just say I don't know and
leave it at that so you guys hear about
that dinner reception thing tonight I
have the food supposed to be primo I'm
thinking about going are you going yeah
I think sir heard you're supposed to be
a band sounds like a plan to me whoa
whoa this is not good
remember what you're here for this is a
poster presentation viewers first yes
poster sessions are social yes it's okay
to chat with people about things other
than your poster but when someone comes
up and wants to talk to you about your
poster you need to tend to them not only
could it be someone who you might want
to collaborate with in the future it
could be the judge or it could be
someone who actually disperses grants
that could take your research further
remember viewers first I thought he was
a really good speaker I heard a one of
the deans
excuse me hi my name is Anthony Franklin
let me know if you have any questions
about the poster that was nice that time
the presenter was having a side
conversation and noticed the viewer come
up to look at his poster he immediately
stopped that side conversation
introduced himself made himself
available for questions and then allowed
the viewer to go back to reading the
poster nicely done
ok so let's review the main points rule
number one don't read your poster use
your poster as a visual tool points of
the graphs point to the maps point to
the charts and talk about what you did
don't read your poster rule number two
be prepared have a two to three minute
talk prepared prior to the session in
fact expect certain questions like what
was your poster about what were the
results and what are the expectations
coming from the poster rule number three
handouts are good you don't have to
squeeze every bit of information onto
your poster the things on your poster
should be restricted to those needed to
make your main point that's all you need
to do there if there are other things
you expect viewers might want to know
about bring them on additional pieces of
paper a manuscript a computer simulation
whatever but just keep them off your
poster have them available so if someone
asks you you can refer to it with them
another neat thing to do is to create a
small handout of your poster that also
has additional information on the
backside so again handouts are your
friend rule number four if you don't
know the answer to the question offhand
and the question is within the scope of
your research it's okay to get back to
the viewer
after the poster session in fact ask the
viewer if they wouldn't mind emailing
you the question and you can get to them
as soon as possible after the session
rule number five if you're asked a
question that's beyond the scope of your
work or you don't know the answer to
just admit it if it's beyond the scope
of your work you might open a
conversation about what research could
be done to answer the question you might
even start talking to your viewer about
collaborative efforts to address the
question but just say it's beyond the
scope of my work
if you don't know the answer the thing
you don't want to do is make things up
instead just say I don't know and leave
it at that and rule number six put your
viewer first the viewer is the number
one priority of your poster session so
before you decide to go into any
socializing or texting or any other side
activities remember your viewer is the
most important part of your poster
session so always be ready to pay
attention to them that's the end of this
video we hope you find it helpful and it
will make you feel more comfortable
giving your poster presentation thanks
so much for your time and have a great
day
you
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