Although many poster sessions only involve informal oral presentation and conversation with your viewers, some sessions may involve a more formal presentation to an audience. Be sure you know which you need to prepare, although some tips for preparing a regular talk will also be useful for an informal presentation.
Preparing for an informal poster presentation:
- Allow plenty of preparation and rehearsal time
- Identify the main points you want your viewers to take away
- Prepare a brief (1-2 min.) standard talk that explains your poster and the take-away message
- Anticipate questions and prepare answers
- Understand the background behind your work, the methodology, how calculations were made, etc.
- Rrehearse your presentation
During the poster session:
- Stand by your poster, but avoid blocking a view of it
- Be ready to engage with interested viewers; don't get lost in other activities
- Speak to passers-by, but don't corral them into spending time
- Ask an introductory question to gauge how much interest or background the viewer has in your subject
- Don't monopolize viewers' time going into details when they really want the big picture
- Don't allow one viewer to monopolize your time and exclude other interested viewers