Academic Presentations and Posters
Reccomendations and Resources
Last updated: August 2023
- General Presentation Advice: (presenting academic research, communicating to a lay audience)
- Presenting with PowerPoint
- Academic Poster Design Advice
- Poster Design Software
- UNC Computer Labs with Design Software
- Poster Templates
- Poster Examples
- Printing Resources
General Presentation Advice: (presenting academic research, communicating to a lay audience)
- Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science (Stony Brook University)
- 12 Tips for Scientists Writing for the General Public (American Scientist)
- Presenting in the Sciences : A Guide (Tulane University Library)
- Houston, We Have a Narrative- Why Science Needs Story (book) - Randy Olson,The University of Chicago Press
- Conference Sessions Do Not Have to Suck (Inside Higher Ed)
- Poster Presentations: Tips and Tricks (Inside Higher Ed: Gradhacker)
- There's a movement for better posters at science conferences (Inside Higher Ed)
- On Research Presentations at Conferences (Inside Higher Ed)
- Communicating Research to a General Audience (Inside Higher Ed: Gradhacker)
- Making Data Talk: A Workbook (Communicating Public Health Data to the Public, Policy Makers, and the Press) - National Cancer Institute
- How to write for a non-academic audience: Communicating about research is more important than ever - American Psychological Association
- Quick Guide to Science Communication
(Brown University Science Center) - How to Prep for a Presentation (Lifehacker)
- Art of the Conference Paper- advice from a graduate student (Inside Higher Ed)
- Giving a Good Scientific Presentation (American Society of Primatologists)
- Effective Presentations for Chemists and Other Scientists (Lab Manager Magazine)
- Preparing Effective Oral Presentations (University of Kansas)
- Informative Speaking (Colorado State)
- Dos & don'ts of giving a good 15 minute talk (Australian National University)
- Ten Secrets to Giving a Good Scientific Talk
- Dazzle 'em with Style: The Art of Oral Scientific Presentation (Book)
- How to Give a Bad Talk- Oral Presentation Advice (UC Berkeley)
- How NOT To Give a Scientific Talk (York University)
- Presentation Zen (Garr Reynolds)
- Presentation Skills (Decker Communications)
- Presentation Tips (Garr Reynolds)
Presenting with PowerPoint:
- Effective Virtual Presentations
- Effective Hybrid Presentations
- How to build a slide deck in PowerPoint that isn’t god awful
- PowerPoint Accessibility Tips - Penn State Accessibility Group
- 48 Effective PowerPoint Presentation Tips
- Tips for Making Effective PowerPoint Presentations
- 5 Ways to Make PowerPoint Sing! (And Dance!)
- Simpler is Better in Presentation Slides
- PowerPoint Does Rocket Science--and Better Techniques for Technical Reports (Edward Tufte)
- How to Make a Great Talk
(American Society of Plant Biologists) - Oral Presentations and Writing for PowerPoint (George Mason University)
- Some Tips for Preparing a Research Presentation (Swarthmore)
- Learning from Bill Gates & Steve Jobs (Presentation Zen)
- Life After Death by PowerPoint (Funny video clip: How NOT to do PowerPoint)
- 14 Tips for Better Presentation Slides (Viget Labs)
- PowerPoint Is Evil (Edward Tufte in Wired Magazine)
Visual Communication & Design
- 11 Design Tips for Beautiful Presentations
- 10 tips on how to make slides that communicate your idea, from TED's in-house expert
- Selecting the correct font size for slides
Academic Poster Design
- #betterposter: There's a movement for better posters at science conferences. But are they really better? - Inside Higher Ed
- Better Posters - A resource for improving poster presentations
- Create a More Impactful Scientific Poster with UX Design Tips - Mike Morrison, YouTube
- How to Create a Better Research Poster in Less Time - Mike Morrison, YouTube
- Visual and UX design principles can improve the effectiveness of poster sessions - Derek Crowe
- How to Choose the Best Layout for Your Scientific Poster (Animate Your Science)
- A Graphic Design Revolution For Scientific Conference Posters (Forbes)
- How to make an academic poster (Annals of Medicine and Surgery)
- How to design an award-winning conference poster (Animate Your Science)
- Poster Perfect- How to drive home your science with a visually pleasing poster (The Scientist)
- How to design an effective scientific poster - The Planetary Society
- Designing conference posters- excellent tips and examples (Colin Purrington)
- Better Posters: A resource for improving poster presentations (Blog from DoctorZen) How to Choose the Best Layout for Your Scientific Poster
- Conference Posters (Organizing Creativity)
- Creating Effective Poster Presentations: An Effective Poster- excellent overall (NC State)
- Designing Effective Posters- online tutorial (Kansas University)
- Intro to Designing Conference Posters (University of Minnesota)
Designing Posters for Specific Disciplines
- Neuroscience Poster Design
- Presenting Conference Papers and Posters in the Humanities (Texas Tech University)
- Developing Poster Presentations in the Social Sciences (George Mason University)
- Poster Presentations in the Natural Sciences (George Mason University)
Poster Design Information from UNC Sources:
- Designing Effective Posters (Health Sciences Library)
- Elliott Moreton, UNC-Chapel Hill Posters
- Poster Design and Printing Resources (UNC School of Pharmacy)
- Creating an Effective Poster Presentation for Graduate Students (Center for Teaching & Learning)
Poster Design Software
- Using PowerPoint to design posters
- How to create beautiful and effective academic posters in PowerPoint (BrightCarbon)
- Creating a research poster in PowerPoint (Indiana University)
- Designing Effective Posters Using Powerpoint (UNC-Health Sciences Library)
- Designing Effective Posters Using Powerpoint 2016/2011 for Macintosh (UNC-Health Sciences Library)
- Creating Posters with PowerPoint (Northwestern University)
- Using InDesign or Illustrator to design posters
- Designing Effective Posters Using InDesign (UNC-Health Sciences Library)
- Designing a Poster with Adobe Illustrator (Whitman College)
UNC Computer Labs with Design Software:
- UNC Library Data Services
- Medical Campus/Health Sciences Library Computer Labs
- SILS Lab Facilities and Equipment
- House Undergraduate Library Design Lab
- University Libraries Media Resources Center Media Lab
- School of Journalism Park Multimedia Lab
- School of Education Technology Services
Poster Templates:
- Poster Templates (UNC-Health Sciences Library)
- Google template search
- Poster Example Files (UC Davis)
- PowerPoint Poster Templates (Wake Forest University)
- PowerPoint Poster Templates (Penn State)
- PowerPoint Poster Templates (Rice University)
Poster Examples:
- Poster Sessions Flickr Group (Colin Purrington)
- Academic Poster Examples (UC Davis)
- Pimp My Poster Flickr Group
- Poster Examples (NC State)
Printing Resources:
- At UNC-Chapel Hill
- UNC Print Stop and Copy Center
- Health Sciences Library Media Design Studios: Poster Printing
- UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy- Poster Printing
- UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center Digital Imaging Facility
- UNC Computer Science - large format color printer (plotter and 11×17 printer)