Strictly Clinical —

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ORGANIZERS of nursing con-ferences depend on nurseswho have created new pro-grams or are doing researchto submit their work for pres-entation at conferences.Through these presentations, nursing knowledge isdisseminated.If you belong to a professional organization, you’ve

probably received at least one call for abstracts. Arrivingwell in advance of the conference date, this is an invita-tion to submit an abstract for presentation at the confer-ence. You may have the choice of submitting an abstractfor either an oral (podium) presentation or a poster pres-entation. Poster presentations can be a good way to getstarted presenting your work—and they’re a great oppor-tunity to get feedback and suggestions from colleagues.

Congrats! Now get started.It’s exciting to get a letter or e-mail telling you that yourposter proposal has been accepted fora conference. But don’t waste timingresting on your laurels. When askedwhat they’ve learned about doingposters, many experienced presenterssay they wish they’d begun theirposter design earlier because theprocess took much longer than theyanticipated. So to avoid a time crunch,start designing your poster shortly af-ter your abstract is accepted.

Plan the size, content, and layoutUnlike an oral presentation, theposter itself should do most of thetalking about your project. Good de-sign matters. It allows you to tell the“story” of your work more effectively.Begin by carefully reviewing the

poster guidelines for the conference.These guidelines specify what size theposter should be and how it will bedisplayed—tabletop, corkboard, oreasel. Poster size affects how much in-formation you can put on the poster.

Allowable poster sizes for con-ferences vary widely.Poster content should close-

ly follow the format of the ab-stract you submitted. But keepin mind that a poster is not an

abstract. With a poster, your goal is to tell a clear, sim-ple story of your work. If your poster topic is a projector an organizational innovation, see Sample conferenceposter for ideas on what content to put where.In contrast, a poster that presents research findings

should include:• background and significance of the study• aims of the study• methods• results• discussion and implications.Many healthcare organizations and universities

have graphic design resources available to assist withposter design. Some organizations even ask presen-

Strictly Clinical —

How to create an effectiveposter presentationBy Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA

Presenting your project at aconference? Here’s advice thatcan make your poster moreeffective and eye-catching.

Sample conference posterIf your poster is for a project or an organizational innovation, you might want to placethe various content categories as shown in the sample below.

14 American Nurse Today Volume 5, Number 9 www.AmericanNurseToday.com

ters to use a specific template. Today many postersare designed with Microsoft PowerPoint templates,but you can also lay out the sections of your posteron a large piece of poster board (available at art sup-ply or office supply stores) before finalizing it. Oryou might consider using an Internet vendor (such aswww.makesigns.com). Many vendors not only guideyou through poster design but also can print andship your poster.

Use a “less is more” designThe maxim “less is more” is good advice to follow fora poster. Although you may be tempted to includeevery detail of your project or research, you won’thave enough space to do this. What’s more, youshouldn’t do this; it would make your poster too busy.Here are some design tips to follow:

• Leave adequate white space. Some empty space iscritical to readability and legibility. Without it, thereader has no visual pauses.

• Convey your message clearly. The poster shouldcapture the attention of attendees and convey atleast one significant idea they’ll remember. Mostpeople spend 3 to 5 minutes viewing a poster,so use plain, descriptive language that leaves nodoubt what your poster is about. Generally, postersare read from left to right; organize the contentwith this in mind. When possible, lead the viewerthrough the logical flow using bold take-homepoints or arrows.

• Use a visual image. People retain visual imageslonger than the written word, so aim for at least one

visual image—a photograph, an illustration, a graph.• Make it readable. Design the poster so it can beread from a distance of 4' to 6'. To accomplish this,lettering has to be at least 1" high. The title shouldbe readable from 15' to 20' away, with letters 2" to3" high. Try to have high contrast between the back-ground and text. Generally, a lighter backgroundwith darker text is easier to read.

• Pick fonts carefully. Arial and Tahoma are examplesof nonserif fonts that work well for poster titles. Seriffonts, such as Times New Roman and Courier, areeasier to read at smaller sizes and work well forbody text. Having too many font types on a postercan be distracting, so use at most two to three fonts,with bold or italics for emphasis only. Avoid all up-percase letters (capitals) in your poster, as thismakes material harder to read.

• Use color sparingly. Although most presenters wantcolorful posters, color must be incorporated careful-ly. Blue and green are popular because they’re con-

sidered calming.•Ask colleagues for help. If thisis your first time designing aposter, ask an experienced col-league for help. Before theposter is printed, have col-leagues familiar with your sub-ject area review it for clarity andpossible errors. Proofread theposter carefully before youtransport it to the conference.

Transporting and setting upyour posterPosters can be delivered to theconference site by overnightservices, such as FedEx or UPS,but many presenters prefer tohand-carry them in poster can-isters or portfolios. Normally,posters are set up just beforethe conference begins. Youshould receive advance guide-

lines from conference organizers telling you how toset up your poster. If the poster will be attached tocorkboard, find out if you’re expected to bring the re-quired materials (usually pushpins or Velcro strips) toadhere it.Most professional meeting agendas set aside specific

times for poster presentations. Many organizations offercontinuing education credit for poster session atten-dance. Be aware that if your poster is accepted at aconference, a presenter familiar with the project or re-search is expected to be available during poster ses-sions to answer questions.

Presenting a poster is achance to learn from

attendees about aspects ofyour work that particularly

resonate with your audience.

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A networking opportunityPoster presentations are excellent opportunities notjust to showcase your work but also to network withcolleagues who have similar interests. Effective pre-senters introduce themselves to attendees and “walk”them through their poster, often adding informationthat they think will interest them. Some attendeesmay want to take the information back to their or-ganizations, so consider having handouts availableto distribute at the conference. Also, bring your busi-ness cards or written contact information to give toparticipants.

From poster to article?Interest in your poster by conference attendees may in-spire you to take the next step—turning it into an arti-cle. Often, journal editors attend specialty conferencesand visit poster exhibits. This can be a good opportu-nity to query them about their journals’ potential inter-est in your topic.Presenting a poster is a chance to learn from at-

tendees about aspects of your work that particularlyresonate with your audience. This can give you abetter idea of how to present your work in a journalarticle to ensure it’s informative and interestingand provides clear implications for the nursing pro-fession.Poster sessions have become an important part of

most professional conferences and are an excellentway for presenters to share their work. Enjoy the expe-rience of proudly standing next to your poster and dis-cussing your work with interested colleagues. �

Selected referencesBlakesley D, Brizee A. Designing research posters. Purdue UniversityWriting Lab. 2008. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/media/pdf/20080626013023_727.pdf. Accessed July 20, 2010.

Briggs DJ. A practical guide to designing posters for presentation.Nurs Stand. 2009;23(34):35-39.

Halligan P. Poster presentations: valuing all forms of evidence. NurseEduc Pract. 2008;8:41-45.

Keely BR. Planning and creating effective scientific posters. J ContinEduc Nurs. 2004;35(4):182-185.

Moore LW, Augspurger P, King MO, Proffitt C. Insights on the posterpresentation and presentation process. Appl Nurs Res. 2001;14(2):100-104.

Sherman RO. Writing abstracts for podium and poster presentations.In: Saver C. ed. Anatomy of Writing for Publication for Nurses. Indi-anapolis, IN: Sigma Theta Tau International; 2011.

University of Buffalo Libraries. Poster presentations: designing effec-tive posters. http://library.buffalo.edu/asl/guides/bio/posters.html.Accessed July 20, 2010.

Rose O. Sherman is director of the Nursing Leadership Institute and associateprofessor of nursing at the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing at Florida AtlanticUniversity in Boca Raton. She can be reached at rsherman@fau.edu.

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