POSTER

PRESENTATIONS
Michael Sjoerdsma
June 2023
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• Types of Oral Presentations
• Logistics:
o Options
o Time for Design & Execution
o Set-up & Evaluation Details

• Poster Considerations:
o Organization
o Layout
o Colour
o Pixelation and Alignment

• Audience Considerations:
o Questions
o Learning Styles (?)

• Questions & References

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
• Posters are becoming more prestigious in academia
• Almost all conferences now have poster sessions
• Excellent way to network (and some have cash awards :-)
• Also, good if you dislike talking to large crowds
• But we have all seen many bad posters (poor organization, layout, and aesthetics are the
biggest problems)
• New technology now enables virtual (electronic) posters in place of paper posters; can now
use animation and 3D
• Advantages: Less expensive for presenters; better for environment (no wasted paper)?
• Disadvantages: Requires multiple large screen monitors; more electronic waste?
ORAL PRESENTATIONS
Informal Formal

teaching speech at a address to

conversation networking training conference the nation?

workplace informal presentation keynote

discussions meeting in a meeting address

Poster Presentations
TYPICAL POSTER SECTIONS
• Heading:
o Descriptive Title: Airplane III: Drone-Based Drug Delivery
o Names of Authors: Ted Striker & Johnny Jacobs
o Name and Logo: Team Crash, Drive-Up Medical Business (DUMB).
o Contact: E-mail address, website (if you have one)
o Affiliation: Simon Fraser University, Engineering Capstone Project
o Date: 07 Dec 2022
• Objective/Purpose/Problem Statement
• Background Information
• Research/Results
• Proposed Solution/Future Work
• Conclusion
• Abbreviated References
THE LAYOUT
Intuitive Layout Less Intuitive Layout

1 2 3
? 1

1
COLOUR
COLOUR

White Space
COLOUR

Contrast
COLOUR

Avoid using colours from the opposite ends of the

spectrum
 COLOUR

photoreceptor response
• Green 20 : Blue 1
• Pure blue should not be used for
text, thin lines, or small objects
• Blue is best saved for backgrounds

photoreceptor response

400 450 500 550 600 650

Wavelength (nanometers)
PIXELATION
 OTHER ISSUES
Faulty Alignment

Too much text – use point form !!

Screen Printed
View View

Full justification – use hyphens !

 OTHER ISSUES
• Background Images
• Font Size
MAXIMIZE DATA-INK RATIO (TUFTE)
Data-Ink
Data-Ink ratio =

More Total Ink than Data Ink Less Total Ink than Data Ink
Example 1 Example 2

45
40
40
35

Voltage (volts)
30
30
Voltage (volts)

25
A 20
20 A
B
15 10
10 B
5 0
0 0 2 4 6 8 10
-5 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Time (sec)
Time (sec)

X ü
FORMAL POSTER 1: THE POSTER WALK
FORMAL POSTER 2: THE PPT POSTER
FORMAL POSTER 3: THE MAZE POSTER
INFORMATION DEPLOYMENT
SYNERGY YES
NO
BODY LANGUAGE

A V O I D
EYE CONTACT AND VOICE

You

Judges
LEARNING STYLES (?)

• Bring demos
• Have a computer
• Interactive elements
GARDNER’S MULTIPLE
INTELLIGENCES
• Gardner’s theory of multiple
intelligences, while virtually
untested after 31 years, is
worth considering in teaching.

• In poster presentations, you

might try some of the differing
approaches illustrated.
 HANDLING QUESTIONS
• Encourage questions/suggestions
from others
• Reiterate the questions if they are
unclear
• Don’t make stuff up – you’ll get
caught. BS kills. Questions
• Remember your audience (level of Improvisation
detail)

Written Presentation Poster

Trifold Board
ê

POSTER PRESENTATIONS
MAKING THE POSTER II

• Start early! You will need to double your

time estimates.
• Creating the poster will help you organize
your thoughts for the journal paper
ENSC 803 POSTERS
• Week 10: July 10 from 11:30 to 13:20 in ASB 9703
• Room has several monitors that you can use to display your poster
• You can also have a printed version

• When printed, posters are 4 feet wide by 3 feet high (122 cm by 92 cm).
• Set the page size in PowerPoint by going to the <File> tab and clicking <Page Setup> and then set
the Width and Height to the appropriate dimensions. You can then import drawings and text (or
simply enter them in PowerPoint). Ensure you set the font sizes appropriately.

• I will have a few guest evaluators

• You will upload a copy of your poster to Canvas
• Some samples are given from previous offerings of ENSC 803 (use your judgement)
QUESTIONS?
More information:
­ Colour:
üM. Livingstone, Vision and Art: The Biology of Seeing. New York: Harry N.
Abrams, Inc., 2002.
üG. M. Murch, “Physiological Principles for the Effective Use of Color,” IEEE
CG&A, pp. 49-54, November 1984.

­ Graphics:
üE. R. Tufte, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. Cheshire,
Connecticut: Graphics Press, 1990.