Are you a scientist and do you ever communicate with a poster?
Then I have something for you today.
Mike Morrison’s better poster videos. This one and this one.
According to Morrison, a lot goes wrong with classic scientific poster sessions.
For the presenter, it’s stressful to make the poster. And in the end, the session usually doesn’t lead to a lot of conversations.
Poster sessions are also frustrating for the audience. Mostly, it takes much time to understand the posters. They are walls of text, copied directly from a paper.
The threshold for reading such a poster is high. That’s why the audience views only a small proportion of all posters, and the learning outcomes are limited.
Morrison makes simple – but radical – suggestions to improve the poster experience, for both parties. He bases his advice on scientific insights, in particular on User Experience Design.
For example, Morrison advises the following:
- Give little information: remove everything that’s not necessary.
- Formulate your conclusion in everyday words and put it large on your poster.
- Use images and colors that support your conclusion.
- Add a QR code for people who want to read the full paper.
Morrison’s better poster templates have been downloaded 250,000 times. Also something for you?
Regards,
Arnaud
PS I wrote this email in response to a question from Can Özkan. Thanks, Can!