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Strategies for Creating a Conspicuous, Effective, and
Memorable Poster Presentation

Jay P. Zarnetske, Dept. of Geological Sciences, Michigan State
University, 288 Farm Lane, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA,
jpz@cns.msu.edu; Phoebe L. Zarnetske, Dept. of Forestry, Michigan
State University, 480 Wilson Road, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA

GSA TODAY | MAY 2015 INTRODUCTION Figure 1. Number of recent poster presentations for three major geoscience
conferences: GSA Annual Meeting, AGU Fall Meeting, and EGU General
Many of the major geoscience conferences are experiencing Assembly. Data provided by GSA, AGU, and EGU.
increased attendance, making it impossible to feature all oral
presentations. Hence, the number and value of poster presentations greatly benefit your research and career. Thus, posters deserve
are on the rise. For example, during the past 10 years, posters much respect and care in their creation and delivery, and should
consistently comprised ~66% of the presentations at the American not be considered second-class presentations.
Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting, but overall poster
numbers grew rapidly and now represent thousands of presentations PREPARING TO CREATE THE POSTER
each day (Fig. 1). Similarly, the European Geosciences Union (EGU) Choose a Meeting Session Carefully
General Assembly is now made up of 66% poster presentations, also
resulting in thousands of poster presentations each day. Posters at Submit your abstract to an appropriate session by anticipating
the Geological Society of America (GSA) Annual Meeting comprised the audience that you want to attend your poster. Use your knowl-
an average of 37% of presentations during the last decade. edge of the topic and your network (peers, colleagues, and mentors)
to help you choose a session. This can be achieved by searching for
In light of the increasing number of posters at large geoscience keywords and convener names in the session descriptions of
conferences, authors must work hard to give conspicuous, effec- most meetings.
tive, and memorable poster presentations. In all the chaos of the
poster hall at large conferences—socializing, searching for bever- Be Strategic in Choosing a Title
ages and bathrooms, and the hundreds to thousands of simulta-
neous presentations—you have a lot of competition for people’s Your presentation title is very important and should be selected
attention. Here, we provide a “road map” of strategic steps for carefully. Many people will decide to attend your presentation
presenters who want their science to stand out among the rising based upon the title alone. Make sure your title is concise and
sea of posters. We also point out some key open-access resources precise. A title that states the key findings can be a powerful draw
that will further improve posters when paired with these strategies.

CONTEXT: ORAL VERSUS POSTER PRESENTATIONS

Oral and poster presentations are very different formats in terms
of preparation, execution, and professional interaction. Oral
presentations provide an opportunity to disseminate well-
developed scientific findings or hypotheses within a short time-
frame (10–20 min.), followed by a brief question and answer
period (2–5 min.). The oral presentation format does not allow
much social interaction or opportunity to receive immediate
insights about your research from the community. On the other
hand, posters allow you to give and receive in-depth information
and feedback about your research. The poster presentation is
social and enables extended professional interactions that can

GSA Today, v. 25, no. 5, doi: 10.1130/GSATG228GW.1.

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