Presenting Your Research

Many presenters standing with their posters hoping to transmit their research to an audience that is wandering around at random through the forest of posters.

Your poster should be visually appealing and spark interest as people walk by it. Your goal is to trigger curiosity in the audience. You can use your poster as an aid for your SHORT talk about your research. 

You want to give them just the right amount of information that they will be able to retain. At a minimum they won’t regret giving you their time, ideally they will remember your research and it will spark a collaboration!

“Poster session 3” by Adam Fagen is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Stand out from the noise:

Use UX principles lower interaction cost

Lower cognitive load:

Use natural language. Save them the step of translating from jargon to natural language (even those in your field will have to spend time thinking about this. Imagine those who aren't!)

Make your point quickly. If they only have 5 seconds of attention for you, teach them as much as you can in 5 seconds. 

Add color and change fonts to help trigger an emotion. This makes it more memorable and can sometimes add a layer of understanding too. Anger = red, Good news = green, calm = blue, etc 

Strong information scent:

They want to learn. So teach them! Make your title a statement that teaches the audience your main point 

Novelty:

Add something fun/ interesting/engaging/ a takeaway or action item. Make the audience feel like they got a reward for giving you their valuable attention!

[1] Mike Morrison, PhD, How to create a better research poster in less time (#betterposter Generation 1), (Mar. 25, 2019). Accessed: Apr. 14, 2025. [Online Video]. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RwJbhkCA58

Step 1: 

Create your canvas and set the size and shape to your requirements. Find the correct size and shape for your assignment (these will vary widely but should be easy to find since they will make or break the whole thing!)

You can use any program you wish to do this. Canva or Adobe Illustrator are designed for this type of use. Some people have success designing posters as a slide in PowerPoint or Google Slides as well. 

Step 2: 

Give away the secret in the title!

Write down your main take away point. 

Then take out any extra words.

Then put it in natural language.

Then see if you can write it even shorter.

Step 3:

Pick a background color. Your college, department, or something related to your subject or the feeling you are trying to evoke are good choices for colors. 

Here is the official UM color palette.  

Step #4:

Add an “Ammo Bar”. This is filled with the things you will need as a presenter to support your statements. This is like your presenter notes and also it is the stuff you may want to show to your audience to backup your claims.

Step #5:

Add a “Silent Presenter Bar”. This is where you put all the information you want people to know about your work in case you are talking with another visitor when they approach. This is where your title and authors and references and methods and conclusions can go. 

Step #6:

Add a QR code. If you have a web address they can go for your contact information, a copy of the poster, or to view the full paper include it right in the center.

Step #7:

Add an image. This will be the main portion of your poster. You want this image to illustrate your key takeaway and incorporate your title. This is your 5 second knowledge transfer opportunity!

Mike Morrison, PhD, How to create a better research poster in less time (#betterposter Generation 1), (Mar. 25, 2019). Accessed: Apr. 14, 2025. [Online Video]. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RwJbhkCA58

Step #8:

Add a delightful surprise. This is your chance to reward your audience and give them something memorable. 

EXAMPLES:

Mike Morrison, PhD, How to create a better research poster in less time (#betterposter Generation 1), (Mar. 25, 2019). Accessed: Apr. 14, 2025. [Online Video]. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RwJbhkCA58

Your poster is not meant to stand alone!

It is intended as a well organized visual aid to spark interest and discussion.

The main reason for a poster presentation is to share your research with others in your field. Ideally this is will increase your reputation and inspire collaborators to build upon your research.

This all means you are going to have to gather up an audience and have those conversations with them!

Build Your Audience

Give away the secret in your opener.

Work backwards to write your presentation. What is the one thing you want your audience to remember? Why would they care to remember that?

People remember what they FEEL!

People remember STORIES not data!

Answer those two questions in a way that tells a story and makes your audience feel a connection to your research...in 10 seconds!

This is often referred to as your "elevator speech". It is the quick bit of info you can tell to that VIP who just happened to get on the elevator with you before you reach their floor. It doesn't need to tell everything about your research, just tell them enough to hook their interest and get them engaged and curious.

Write your "Elevator Speech":

1. Introduction:
2. Headline/question/story:
3. Your research question and conclusion:
4. What do you want from them:

The long presentation:

So you have the attention of your audience and their interest has been piqued...now what??! 

It is time to start your 5-10 minute talk.

Let's remember again the purpose of a poster presentation. Your goal is to transfer knowledge on your topic to the most people possible in the hopes that it sparks something in them leading to further research. The best way to do this is to make your research understandable and memorable to the most people you can. 

Your presentation should be a conversation with your audience. Remember you are telling the story of your research not going into every detail! If they want deeper information they will ask for it.

You will want to pay attention to the level of understanding of your audience. Ask them questions and adjust the information you share based on their understanding. If you can't tell exactly what level of information your audience is prepared to receive start with a very basic level and increase the complexity as you go, if they seem to be following and engaged. 

This is where you can add some details about your research. Some of the questions you might want to prepare answers for (at various levels of understanding) include:

Remember the attendee's goal in attending a poster session is to learn a little about a lot of things. Make sure that you do not monopolize too much of their time. People remember the way a presentation makes them feel, make sure the feeling they leave with isn't annoyance!!

Tips and Advice:

Practice, Practice, Practice! - Talk about your research to anyone in your life who will listen. Practice explaining different aspects of it at different levels of understanding. Explain it to your parents about it, tell your nieces and nephews, tell your co-workers, tell your classmates, tell your librarian!

Be Prepared! - Bring a water, cough drops, tissues, hand sanitizer if those things will make you more comfortable

Dress Professionally - but don't forget to wear comfortable shoes

Bring a take away item -  Bring with you a takeaway item to hand out. This will act as a trigger object later and remind the attendee of your presentation in the future, when they perhaps have the time to think about it more deeply.  Business cards or QR codes work well for this.

Be ready to adjust - Don’t get too attached to a script. Remember your audience may know even more about your topic than you do…or they may not know your field at all!

Warm up with a friend - maybe the presenter next to you would like to hear about your research as you each wait for your audience!

Remember:

• Look at the person, not your poster
• Expect and welcome interruptions - Quickly address newcomers 
• Introduce yourself, listen to what your audience tells you about themselves
• Pay attention to your audience! Constantly gage their understanding (adjust your speed, detail, jargon)
• This is a conversation - remember to ask and encourage questions
• Make sure you give them a way to reach out if they have future interest.