Poster and Presentation Information

POSTER PRESENTATION INSTRUCTIONS

Poster dimensions: 48''(122cm) wide by 36'' (92cm) tall in landscape orientation

There may be a small space available on the boards if you want to hang a folder for abstracts, handouts, etc. Materials to mount the posters will be provided. Poster space assignments will be available online once the program is announced as well as at conference check-in on Wednesday. Note that we will have two poster sessions. Session I will be Thursday evening and presenters in this group should mount their posters during the Thursday morning coffee break and remove them at the end of the day. 

APPEARANCE

Overview: Do not simply transfer a written talk to a poster. Posters have less text and figures. Good posters use color and design to communicate. Visual proportion and balance are important.

Flow: Make sure the reader can identify each section in appropriate sequence.

Font: Select fonts large enough to be read from a distance of several feet.

Color: Use appropriate colors that are easy to read. Have a soothing, contrasting background that does not mask text or figures.

TYPICAL COMPONENTS OF A POSTER

Abstract: A concise synopsis of your research in less than 250 words. This is what viewers will read first - make sure that it is complete and has a hook to draw in the reader.

Introduction: Provide an overview of the theoretical framework, context of the question, relevance to the field, and/or rationale. A picture of the study animal is useful.

Methods: Describe procedures necessary and sufficient to enable others to replicate your study or obtain comparable data. Include statistical methods with degrees of freedom and alpha level.

Results: Include figures and tables with appropriate titles and legends. Text including descriptive and test statistics should discuss trends in the data and refer to figures/tables.

Discussion: Interpret your results and conclusions in context of your introduction.

Acknowledgements: Include funding sources, animal care permissions, consultants, advisers, and contributors of time and data.

References: Use consistent format with authors in alphabetical order. Include all publications cited anywhere in the poster.

ORAL PRESENTATION INSTRUCTIONS

All Oral Presentations will be 15 minutes in total duration.  It is highly recommended that presenters use 12 minutes for the presentation and allow 3 minutes for questions and transition. 

Priority is given to presentations from Spallanzani and Villa Awardees and for Student Oral Honors on Thursday.  Student Oral Honors oral presenters may only present in a session designated for student presentations (they may not present in a topical, plenary, or other special session later in the symposium).  

All presentations will be in PowerPoint on a Windows computer, therefore, Mac users should verify that their presentations work well in a Windows environment.  Anyone using video or sound clips should make sure in advance that they will operate seamlessly with the presentation equipment provided – no extra time will be allowed for compatibility issues.  Contact the Program Directors before the abstract deadline if you are requesting specialized media capabilities for your presentation.

Please do read the following documents:

How to Avoid PowerPoint Presentation Problems

Slides should consist of short headings and main points with relevant graphics.  Do not overcrowd information on slides.  Use large fonts that will project clearly and be readable by people in the rear of a large room of up to 400 people.  Avoid complex tables and graphics.  If you have to tell the audience, “you can’t read this,” then please do not include it.  For example a phylogenetic tree can be simplified to show only the major branch points not every branch on a complex tree. 

There are many good resources available on giving effective oral presentations.  We encourage presenters to seek guidance and feedback on the preparation of their presentation.  Some excellent resources include:

Alley, M.  2013.  The Craft of Scientific Presentations: Critical Steps to Succeed and Critical Errors to Avoid.  2nd Edition.  Springer.

Brigham, R. M.  2010.  Talking the talk: giving oral presentations about mammals for colleagues and general audiences.  Journal of Mammalogy 91:285-292.

Langin, J.M.  2017.  Tell me a story!  A plea for more compelling conference presentations.  Condor 119:321-326.

Please NOTE:

• Name your file as Day_Time_YourLastName (e.g., Thursday_1430_Horst).  
  
  
• To ensure that sessions run smoothly and on time, all oral presentations PowerPoint/PDF files should be uploaded to the provided Dropbox link or brought on a flash drive to the registration desk by 5:00 pm the day prior to the presentation. Presentation files will not be accepted the day of the presentation. Failure to submit your presentation file in a timely manner may result in a cancelled or rescheduled presentation.

• NASBR uses a 16:9 (widescreen) projection format. It is highly recommended that you format your slides to be 16:9.  If your slides are in the old 4:3 format they may not occupy the entire screen (black borders on the sides) and will appear small to the audience.