Posters are a nearly ideal method for communicating scientific and technical ideas. Posters promote personal contact and individual exchange of ideas. Such contact cannot easily take place during a plenary presentation, but it comes naturally in a good poster session.
Several authors have contacted me for guidance on preparing and presenting posters. Below, I summarize some of the best tips. Please forward them to your coauthors, and let me know if you have additional comments, questions, or additions. Thanks.
David Jensen ----------------------------------------------------------------- Department of Computer Science jensen@cs.umass.edu Box 34610 LGRC http://eksl-www.cs.umass.edu/~jensen/ University of Massachusetts Voice: 413-545-9677 Amherst, MA 01003-4610 Fax: 413-545-1249 -----------------------------------------------------------------
Below is a summary of highlights from several good articles about preparing, practicing, and presenting posters (see References for complete citations and URLs). The fourth section lists KDD98-specific information, such as poster sizes and details on presentation. After the references, the complete KDD98 poster session schedule is reproduced from an earlier message.
Take advantage of the session -- Design your poster to exploit the interactivity and discussion common to poster sessions. A poster is not a conference paper, so some special attention and preparation is warranted. A poster is a great way to get your ideas across to those conference participants who are most interested in them.
Keep it simple -- Cover the key points of your work, and save the details for individual conversations. The most successful posters: 1) attract attention; 2) provide a brief overview of the work; and 3) initiate discussion. A typical viewer will spend only a few minutes looking at the poster, so maximize the number of informative statements and explanatory graphics.
Tell a good research story -- Make your poster as self-explanatory as possible. First, motivate the work (what problem do you address and why?). Then, present your methods and new results (how did you address the problem and what did you find out?). Finally, explain the main conclusions and implications that viewers should take away (what does this mean to me?).
Make it visible -- Make the text and graphics on your poster easily readable from at least 10 feet away. Conference participants may be browsing titles from across the room and the group of readers around a popular poster may be several people deep.
List the title and authors prominently -- Give the title of your poster in large letters (1" high or 72 point). Below the title, list the authors' names and affiliations in somewhat smaller letters.
Use small text sparingly -- State the main conclusions of your work in six lines or less, in letters about 5/8" high (48 point). The smallest text on your poster should still be large, around 3/8" high (24 point). It is not necessary to write in complete sentences; sentence fragments may be easier to comprehend. Bulleted lists are effective.
Use graphics and color -- Use graphics and color for highlighting and explanation. Use graphs, diagrams, and cartoons wherever possible. A brief textual description of the implications of a graphic, placed just above or below it, is often helpful.
Make the organization obvious -- If you want viewers to follow a particular order when looking at your poster, consider using numbers or arrows to lead the viewer through your poster.
Consider a variety of formats -- A poster is usually formed from several separate sheets of paper, but that paper can be in a variety of formats. Sheets of 8 x 11 inch, A4, or 11x17 inch paper can be posted individually or joined together. Material also can be transferred to very large single sheets via large-format printers and copiers available at many universities, companies, and copy shops.
Test your poster -- Put up drafts of your poster and try reading it from 10 feet away. Bring in colleagues and friends and ask them to read and critique your poster. As with writing, the secret to high quality is critique and revision.
Rehearse a short presentation -- Practice a 2-4 minute verbal presentation to give while you stand beside your poster. Some viewers will want to read for themselves, but many viewers will be most interested in hearing you give a short verbal presentation.
Transporting your poster -- If your poster contains large sheets of paper, transport the poster in a cardboard cylinder. It may be easiest to assemble several pieces on site, but work out the layout beforehand.
Stand by your poster -- At the poster session, stand by your poster to answer questions and deliver your verbal presentation. Stand beside your poster so you don't obscure it from view.
Use your coauthors -- If more than one author attends the session, switch off to give each presenter a chance to rest and to see other posters in the session.
Prepare your poster in advance -- There will not be time or materials available for last minute preparations at the conference. AAAI will provide posterboards that measure 30" x 40" (enough room for 6-8 pieces of 8.5" x 11" paper) and can be oriented either way. They will also provide easels, pushpins, and gluesticks. You should bring pre-prepared sheets of paper to pin or glue to the posterboard.
Prepare a preview -- In addition to the regular poster session, each KDD98 poster presenter will be asked to give a two-minute (maximum) highlight presentation in the session room. This presentation should use one slide to describe your poster to the entire audience of KDD98.
Advertise! -- Use the poster preview sessions as an advertisement for your poster. Don't hesitate to be provocative or controversial. Consider telling people explicitly why they should visit ("Visit my poster if you want to know whether..."). Alternatively, only give the central question of your poster, and promise to provide the answer during the poster session itself.
Ask questions if you have them -- Mail me (jensen@cs.umass.edu) if you have additional questions not answered here. I look forward to meeting you at KDD98!