Poster & Oral Presentation Guidelines
Abstracts scheduled for presentation in poster sessions will be grouped by topic, numbered and listed in the official meeting program. The official meeting program will also be published in the December issue of The Physiologist.
In planning a poster presentation it is useful to keep in mind the advantages of a poster over oral presentation. Posters are available for viewing for a full day. Authors and interested viewers have more time for discussion. More posters can be presented in the same time and space than oral presentations reducing the number of simultaneous sessions. There is no first or last presentation on the program. For these and other reasons, many societies are switching to poster presentations. Planning and experience will make your poster presentation clear, effective and rewarding.
Posters should be readable by viewers five feet away. The message should be clear and understandable without oral explanation. The following guidelines have been prepared to help improve the effectiveness of poster communication.
1. Initial Sketch: Plan your poster early. Focus your attention on a few key points. Try various styles of data presentation to achieve clarity and simplicity. Does the use of color help? What needs to be expressed in words? Suggest headlines and text topics.
2. Rough Layout: Enlarge your best initial sketch, keeping the dimensions in proportion to the final poster (see diagram). Ideally, the rough layout should be full size. A blackboard is a convenient place to work. Print the title and headlines. Indicate text by horizontal lines. Draw rough graphs and tables. This will give you a good idea of proportions and balance. If you are working with an artist, show him/her the poster layout. Ask associates for comments. This is still an experimental stage.
3. Final Layout: The artwork is complete, the text and tables are typed but not necessarily enlarged to full size. Now ask, is the message clear? Do the important points stand out? Is there a balance between words and illustrations? Is there spatial balance? Is the pathway through the poster clear?
4. Balance: The figures and tables should cover slightly more than 50% of the poster area. If you have only a few illustrations, make them large. Do not omit the text, but keep it brief. The poster should be understandable without oral explanation.
5. Typography: Avoid abbreviations, acronyms and jargon. Use a consistent type style throughout. Use large type, for example UNIVERS. An 82 X 11" sheet of paper photostatically enlarged 50% makes the text readable from five feet.
6. Eye Movement: The movement (pathway) of the eye over the poster should be natural B down the columns or along the rows. Size attracts attention. Arrows, pointing hands, numbers and letters can help clarify the sequence.
7. Simplicity: The temptation to overload the poster should be resisted. More material may mean less communication.
Poster Board Size:
The poster board surface area is approximately 4’ high by 8’ wide. Prepare a 6" high headline strip that runs the full width of the poster. Include the title, authors, affiliations, and program number on the strip in letters not less than 1" or high. Post a large typed copy of your abstract in the upper left-hand corner.
Different Styles of Poster Preparation:
Individual sheets are placed on the poster board in a logical sequence.
Or one large sheet that includes all the information for the abstract (see below).
Oral Presentation Guidelines
Selected oral presentations during an APS conference provide scientists who are attending the meeting a chance to present their abstract orally to a wider audience. Being selected to present an abstract during a session is a great honor as the oral presentation slots are limited and highly competitive. If you have been selected to present your abstract orally you will need time to prepare. Planning and experience will make your oral presentation clear, effective, and rewarding.
Getting your Oral Presentation Ready:
In order to prepare for your oral presentation, follow these handy tips:
§ When you are creating your presentation, use standard fonts such as New Times Roman, Helvetica, and Arial. These basic fonts are included on the computer that will be in the session room. If you use a special font for your presentation it may not translate properly on the session room computer.
§ Once you have created your presentation, review each screen for order accuracy, errors, and check to make sure the font and colors will be seen by others. Test the presentation on another computer to make sure that the fonts, graphics, and movies are still included in your file.
§ When you are satisfied with your presentation save it onto a Windows readable USB Flash Drive, or a CD-ROM.
§ Make a backup presentation to take with you to the meeting in the event of lost luggage, theft, and incompatibility.
§ Practice your presentation before you come to the meeting. Make sure you stay in your allotted time frame for the presentation.
§ Prepare for any questions that may come from the audience.
Session Room Equipment:
All of the APS session rooms will be equipped with a data projector, screen, laptop computer, lavaliere, table, and aisle microphones. There will also be an AV technician in each session room to help with any technical issues.
Presenters do not have to bring their own computer. There will be a laptop computer that will be available in the session room which will have Windows XP Professional installed. There will also be several software programs available on the computer including: Microsoft Office XP, Adobe Acrobat Reader, QuickTime, and Windows Media Player.
Using your own laptop computer for a presentation is allowed in the session room; however there will be a limited amount of connections available. Presenters using their own laptop must make sure that their computer has a VGA HD15 pin female output, so the laptop can be connected to the data projector. If your computer does not have the VGA HD15 pin female output there will be no way to connect to the data projector.
There is no Internet access in any of the session rooms.
There is no Speaker Practice room for presenters.
The Day of Your Presentation:
The day of your presentation has arrived. Follow these handy tips to have a successful presentation:
§ Business casual is appropriate attire for giving a presentation. Being comfortable during your talk is very important.
§ Arrive at your session at least 30 minutes before the session begins. Give your presentation to the AV technician so it can be loaded onto the computer.
§ Get to know the area. Where will you stand during the presentation? Is there enough space to walk around? Is the screen to my left or right? Where is the location of the steps to the stage? Where will the AV technician sitting in case of a problem?
§ Introduce yourself to the Chairs and the other speakers of the session.
§ Sit close to the front of the room so you are close to the stage when it is your turn to speak.