Lucas NoahYou are required to make a poster presentation. This may be for a conference or could be for a meeting with your company. However, if you have never learned how to make a professional poster presentation, this could be a difficult and even scary task for you. I can’t say that I blame you; it would be for anyone who hasn’t done it before.
What Do You Have To Work With?
Knowing what you have to work with will be the biggest factor involved in the poster. You need to know what kind of space you are dealing with, what other elements you intend to include with the presentation such as materials, brochures, pamphlets, or reports. You will also need to make sure that you review any guidelines on posters that may be dictated by the conference itself.
Decide whether you will be hanging the poster up, putting it on display on a table, or displaying it on a board. This is important because it will help you in determining what type of poster to create and the size you will need.
When It Is Time For Creation
It is a good idea to start working on your professional poster presentation about two or three months before it is actually needed. This will make sure that you have enough time to get things where they need to be. Create several drafts, changing as needed and moving things around.
In the “older” days it was perfectly acceptable to create a presentation on simply a poster board, using stencils, and other such items. However, today this format is not acceptable and deemed unprofessional. Most often a professional poster presentation is done completely with the computer, which allows for better graphics and more attention grabbing colors and techniques.
What to Put
Now, it is important to understand that a professional poster presentation is informative, without having too much or being too cluttered. You want to make sure that you do not overwhelm those looking at the poster. Yes, interest and attraction is your goal, but overwhelming them with too much or having too little is a downfall for your presentation.
You want the poster to take less than five minutes to review and understand. Some key elements of the poster are the Title, the Company, Those working on the poster, and the information you are trying to portray. In other words, a professional poster presentation will provide answers to the 5 W’s, who, what, when, where, and why. You also want it to answer the how as well.
Keeping it simple, yet attractive is a key to learning how to make a professional poster presentation.
