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Medical Sciences Library

Poster Presentations

Presenting In-Person and Digitally

An elevator pitch is a 30 second to 2-minute overview of your topic. The pitch typically answers: 

  • What is your research topic? 
  • What have you found? 
  • Why is that important? 

The aim here is to get your audience hooked and wanting further details. 

Source: Scientifica

Check out these examples from students at MIT and see which ones you like the best to mirror your own pitch after. 

 

Expand on the elevator pitch with a narrative of your project, which may last 3-5 minutes. 

The Plot Diagram below is an organizational tool focusing on a triangular shape, utilized to map the events in a story. This mapping of plot structure allows readers and writers to visualize the key features of stories.

Tell a research stroy

The beginning/exposition draws people in: 

  • What is the necessary background information about your research topic that the audience must know? 
  • How did this lead you to your research question, what were you hoping to find out and why?

  • Who are the main characters (e.g. a disease, a drug, a cell type, a brain region, a technique)? What are the relevant parts of their “characteristics” to the story? 

The middle section is the adventure, it answers: 

  • How did you get from your research question to your conclusion? Why did you choose to take that route?

  • What did you find on your way? Were there any interesting twists to your research? 

The end/resolution section is the conclusion to the story: 

  • What is the ultimate consequence of your journey? What does this mean for your characters? 
  • Is this really the end of the adventure or are there plenty more adventures still to come? What might they look like?

Source: Read Write Think and Scientifica

Watch the following video to see how to incorporate data into storytelling. 

Most virtual poster presentations will still follow the information presented in this guide - from design principles to telling a research story. What's different? They typically take one of two formats - synchronous or asynchronous. 

  • Synchronous: Presentations are facilitated with audio/video software (e.g. Zoom) to create a live event where participants present and discuss in real time.
  • Asynchronous/text Q&A poster session: Built or hosted on webpages or blogs. The main page lists the posters, and each has its own page with a space for comments and questions.
  • Asynchronous screencasting: The presenter records a screencast of their presentation while navigating through the poster on the screen. 
    • This form may require additional software, such as ScreenPal. Other software, such as PowerPoint, includes a recording feature. 

ProTip: When presenting your poster digitally, make certain to ZOOM in on the sections of the poster you are speaking to, otherwise your viewers will have a difficult time reading the texts and understanding your visuals.

Watch the pre-recorded sample pictured below here. 

Example of an asynchronous poster presentation

Watch an example here: