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Posters

A poster can be used in many settings as a visual communications tool. Most of us have made posters for a science fair back in the day and still use them today in the business world. Posters are used to help your audience focus on main points and engage people in conversation. They can function as a source of information, conversation starter, an advertisement or a summary of your work.

Relevant topics:
Poster Design Tips
Make Effective use of your Posters

 

Poster Design Tips

Here are some tips to ensure that your poster communicates your message effectively to your desired audience:

 

Define Your Audience:

• The first thing you need to contemplate before designing your poster is to define your target audience. Who are you presenting to and what is the best way to get your message across to that specific audience?
• Keep in mind how much you think your audience knows about the topic. If you are unsure of the breadth of your audience's knowledge, it is better to include something and clarify it then to leave it out entirely.
• Adjust the size of your writing to make sure that it is clear and visible for everyone.

Gather and Arrange the Content for Your Poster

• After you have analyzed the audience, done all the research, and narrowed down the content, your next step is to organize your material into a presentable format.
• Here is the format suggested by Teaching Support Services ( http://www.tss.uoguelph.ca/resources/tt/epd/epd6.html )

 

Edit! 

• After you have arranged each section, edit very carefully keeping in mind your desired audience. Remove things that aren't relevant and add things which will enhance your target audience's understanding of the presentation.
• Try to incorporate as many pictures and graphs as possible. They are attention grabbers and will enhance the visual quality of your poster.
• Make sure the phrase, picture or graph you want to emphasize the most appears the largest on the poster. If people can't see something clearly, they will often lose their focus without bother asking for a clarification.

Making Effective Use of Your Poster

While you might have the perfect argument to convince your audience, how you present your content might be more important than its legitimacy. People are often able to convince others of total lies by the clarity and persuasiveness of their argument and visuals. Here are some additional tips for enhancing your poster presentation:

• Make sure you have in mind the exact message you want to get across and tailor your entire poster to presenting that message. Stress that point at the outset and make sure to return to it at the end.
• For enhanced retention use visual images wherever possible. They grab the audience's attention and are retained for longer than the written word.
• However, don't overuse images. Place them to hammer in a crucial point or to clarify a complex issue. If it merely duplicates written material it is preferable to leave out the image or graph.
• Color is a vital communication tool so use it to your advantage! People often retain something a lot better if it is in color. Color can give something symbolic meaning so try and choose the color that best illustrates your mood.