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South Carolina Cooperative Extension Conference
Cooperative Extension Conference

Posters and Lightning Talks

Poster Requirements

Posters shall be written only in English, with a type font and size that allows ease of reading at a normal poster viewing distance of 1-2 meters.

The following sections are required of all abstracts and are to be included in each poster presentation:

  1. Descriptive title, with authors and institutions
  2. Hypothesis or objective
  3. Experimental design (or description of the problem for a non-statistical presentation)
  4. Materials and methods
  5. Statement of statistical analysis (e.g. one-way ANOVA)
  6. Results, indicating statistical differences, where applicable
  7. Conclusions
  8. Five keywords for indexing

Presenting authors should be prepared to be by their poster to explain the research during the social/dinner on December 5 at the Garrison Arena Cattle Complex. This will be the only time allotted for posters because of the number anticipated. Please bring your own easel to display your poster.

Accuracy, efficiency, and ease of communication should be the main criteria in designing posters. Secondary criteria include aesthetic appeal and variety (such as mixing graphs with tables, use of color, etc.). Some helpful suggestions are:

  • It should be possible to read and understand a poster within 5 to 10 minutes.

  • Titles and conclusions should quickly and effectively communicate the key results of your research.

  • Graphs and tables, where appropriate, are preferred means of communicating data.

  • Color adds immensely to posters, particularly graphs

  • Photographs are permitted on the poster, if applicable to the experiment

  • A small portrait of the presenting author will greatly assist viewers in locating or identifying the author during the meeting.

Lightning Talk Requirements

An example for a 3-slide presentation format:

  • Slide 1: Title and one or two main objectives
  • Slide 2: picture, table or graph and brief description of methods
  • Slide 3: Describe two major outcomes; include goals for addressing new opportunities (especially collaborative ideas) and challenges.

Here are a few additional resources that may help hone your talk: Principles of Scientific Communication ; The learning Institute.

Poster Template

We have developed co-branded poster templates that you may use. The PowerPoint file has several design options to choose from.

Download the Template