---

The following guidelines, for both oral presentations and poster presentations, have been adapted from those distributed by the Program Committee of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists. These guidelines are reproduced with permission.

---

GENERAL COMMENTS

Oral presentations are greatly enhanced by use of good slides or other visual materials. Good slides convey the essential material of the talk, including verbal points and research results. Slides allow the listener to both see and hear, which enhances understanding. A paper read and presented without slides is difficult to understand because the style of writing differs from the style of speaking and the writing style is more difficult for the listener to understand.

A good oral presentation should : (1) define the problem or state the central question being addressed; (2) indicate its importance; (3) tell what was done; (4) tell how it was done, (5) state what was found; and (6) consider the broader implications of the findings. In a 12-minute talk, it is not possible to cite all previous work, provide detailed descriptions of methods, or include all the data obtained. A good presentation seeks to make a single point, and to make it simply, clearly, and concisely. In order to maximize the effectiveness of your oral presentation, please consider the following guidelines.

SPECIFIC SUGGESTIONS

1. Clear purpose. Effective slides and talks make a single main point.
2. Freedom from non-essential information. Unless the purpose of the talk is to present research methods or technologies, omit all but key methodological details. Save non-essential information for responding to questions in the discussion period.
3. Slide preparation.
1. Plan and design your slide with your audience in mind - an audience less familiar with your work than you are.
2. Use no more than 7 words per line and no more than 7 lines per slide.
3. Title your slide with a single, easily interpretable message.
4. With line graphs, label lines directly, rather than using legends.
5. Use colors with high contrast, including contrast with the background and adjacent colors. Although they might look good on a computer monitor, dark blue, light blue, red, and purple, for example, might not be distinguishable when projected or when appearing next to each other.
4. Graphs, diagrams, and tables. Results are best presented in graphic form. Diagrams can be used to present research designs and study hypotheses. Keep graphs and diagrams simple. Avoid tables when presenting results. Tables tend to contain more information than can be located, read, and absorbed during the time they are projected.
5. Tell a unified story. Organize your talk around a central theme. Develop a clear line of thought that does not get lost in detail. Provide an ending that summarizes the main points, conclusions, and important issues raised by the material presented.

GENERAL COMMENTS

An author may wish to choose a poster presentation for several reasons. There is more opportunity for discussion with interested viewers; several hours rather than 5 minutes are available. More persons can view a poster than listen to a talk. An oral presentation can be heard once, whereas a poster presentation is available over most of a day, and thus its viewing can be tailored to fit the interested person's schedule. Therefore, the opportunity to reach as large an audience as possible and for useful feedback and discussion are greater (or at least as great) for a poster than an oral presentation. Good oral and poster presentations entail equal effort.

SPECIFIC SUGGESTIONS

1. Dimensions and mounting instructions. Poster display boards are approximately 8 feet wide (2.4 m) and 4 feet high (1.2 m). Exact dimensions may vary slightly depending upon the boards provided by the hotel. Bring your own pushpins, thumbtacks, or Velcro. Mount the component pieces on heavy paper ("poster board") that is readily available at office supply or college book stores. Each component piece can be mounted individually or several pieces can be grouped together on a single backing board. Using a different color for the backing board can effectively highlight selected elements. In making your poster, remember that your poster will be travelling with you-think about how you will carry it to the meeting.
2. Organization. Start early! Make an initial sketch of your poster presentation, allocating space for Introduction, Methods and Research Design, Results, Summary, and Conclusions. Focus attention on a few important points. Try different styles of presentation to achieve clarity and simplicity. Graphs and diagrams provide a clearer statement of research results than do tables. Use limited text to convey the essential information concerning the problem under investigation, methodology, results, and salient summary/concluding points.
3. Legibility. The title should be legible 8 feet away; the remaining words should be easily read by viewers 5 feet away. Poster legibility suffers when type is too small. The letter size should be 18 points; 20-24 points is even better. Smaller point size (12-14) is discouraged; for comparison, this text is 10 point. Headings (e.g., Materials, Methods, Results) should be in bold print. Heading letter size should be larger than the text (30-36 point). Use short, informative titles ("headline" style) to state the essential point of each figure. Avoid abbreviations, acronyms, and jargon. Use consistent type styles and letter sizes throughout the text. Some have the misperception that posters are simply mounted papers, as though the author attaches a paper to a poster board that might otherwise be presented orally. Authors should consider having copies of figures, tables, and references for distribution, if not having copies of the full text of the poster available.
4. Balance between figures, tables, and text. Figures and tables should occupy approximately half the viewing area. If you have only a few illustrations, make them large. Use text to state the problem, frame the problem in the appropriate context, summarize results, and state major conclusions.
5. Eye movement. The pathway travelled by the eye should be natural - either down the columns or along the rows.

In addition to these suggestions for effective presentations, other recommendations and tips can be found in:

Fink, A. HOW TO REPORT ON SURVEYS. Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage Publications, 1995.