How to Design & Present an Effective Poster Presentation on One Page
Planning
Goals
Consider the goals you want to accomplish—thinking about your work and your professional development. Taking the time to reflect on your goals can help you make decisions as you design and present your poster.
Questions
- Do you want to inform your audience about a new idea?
- Do you want to persuade your audience to reconsider an established idea?
- Do you want to build your professional network?
- Do you want to establish yourself as an expert in your field?
Audience
Consider your audience and how much technical knowledge they might have about your project. Plan your “take-away” message with your audience in mind. What do you want to leave with them as a final thought?
Questions
- What kinds of questions might they have?
- How can you explain your methods to a non-specialist?
- What terminology will you need to define?
- How can you explain the importance of your work to a non-specialist?
Guidelines
Check that you are following the guidelines provided by the organization hosting the event. Most events will provide guidelines about the size and format of your poster as well as how you will display and present.
Questions
- What is the maximum size my poster can be?
- Where will the poster be displayed?
- Will the poster be displayed when I’m not available to explain and answer questions?
- Should I include information about the event host on my poster?
Effective Design
First Impressions
Posters are typically presented at large events with many other presenters. Your first goal is to capture the attention of the event attendees with an engaging design.
If attendees can read and understand your title from a distance, they’re more likely to approach you and check out your poster.
Consistent design can make your poster more attractive and easier to scan and read quickly.
Pay attention to the contrast between your colors (light/dark), avoid busy patterns in your background, and keep in mind those with visual impairments.
Readability
Make your point in as few words as possible and avoid jargon (discipline-specific words) to help others understand your work quickly.
Avoid putting numbers and other important data in the text of your poster, which can make it difficult to find and understand. Some may not read your text, so they might miss your data.
Bullet points and numbered lists can make it easier to scan and read your poster.
Limit yourself to one or two fonts and be sure to scale your text to the poster size.
Common Elements
Highlights you and the topic of your work
Provides a brief summary of your work
Provides some background for your work
Explains the way you went about your work
Shows the key findings or insights from your work
Highlights insights and the potential for more work
Highlights who supported your work
Lists the sources you cited on your poster
Efficient Design
Presentation Slide
Research posters are typically designed as a single presentation slide using software like Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides, etc. that allows you to save your slide/poster as a PDF for "large format" printing.
Templates
The easiest way to get started on an effective poster design is to download a template. Many templates are available in a wide range of sizes and layouts. Be sure to review the event guidelines before selecting a template. If you are not working from a template, you will need to change the slide size to the dimensions of your poster—before you begin designing.
Visual Aids
When possible, use visual aids instead of text to communicate your ideas. Visual aids, such as graphs, timelines, images and diagrams, can help other quickly make sense of your work while highlighting key insights.
Images
Most images available online are subject to copyright and are likely too small for your research poster. Though images might look good on your computer, they can look blurry when printed at scale. offers medium and high quality images and logos for free to use in your presentations and posters.
Printing
's Imaging Services prints posters and more. Other departments can print posters. Ask around to compare prices, which can vary significantly.
Opening
Be prepared with a short opening statement that introduces your work and highlights key insights. Don’t hesitate to ask people viewing your poster if they want a brief summary, which you can provide with your opening.
Questions
- Are you familiar with this field of study?
- Does this make sense?
- What questions do you have?
Speaking
Anxiety about public speaking is common, but you're the expert in the room on your own work. Practicing with others can help build your confidence and learn new ways of communicating to diverse audiences.
Get Loud & Slow Down
Most poster sessions are noisy spaces with many others speaking, so you should maintain a high volume to be heard. Anxiety often makes us speak faster than normal, so you should also maintain a speed that will probably feel too slow.
Questions
The goal of your poster is to inspire questions about your work. Be sure to listen carefully and don’t hesitate to ask clarifying questions. Though you might hear criticism, try to accept comments as intellectual stimulation.
Avoid “I don’t know.” Try
“That is beyond the scope of this study, but I would be happy to follow up with you by email if you want to exchange information.”
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