In the Classroom1152 Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 77 No. 9 September 2000 • JChemEd.chem.wisc.eduIn 1998 I attended the 15th ICCE meeting in Egyptand was concerned that several potentially good presentationswere marred by easily remedied errors. The ACS Handbookfor Speakers points out that “presenting a paper before anyaudience is a privilege which entails an obligation to com-municate to the best of one’s ability” (1). The potential forgood communication is attainable but not always realized atconferences and I suggest that stringent requirements similarto those for publication in journals should be given andrigorously adhered to for presentations at conferences. Keepingto time is especially important when several sessions are beingheld in parallel!I put forward the following suggestions for oral andposter presentations at conferences, to improve overall com-munication and in the hope of moving towards greater pro-fessionalism. The ACS Handbook for Speakers contains fur-ther excellent advice for authors, especially on the produc-tion of slides (1). (Point 2 below is specifically for overheadtransparencies; refer to the Handbook (1) for font size require-ments for slides.)Preparing and Presenting a PaperDOs1. DO write only 8–10 points per slide or overheadtransparency.2. DO use a font size between 18 and 24.3. DO keep the font simple (e.g., Times New Roman,Universal, or Arial). Flowery scripts are difficult to read,especially if one is not familiar with the words.4. DO use color with care. Yellow, green, and pastel shadesfade to nothing on a white background. Normally, no slideshould contain more than three colors: one for the background,one for the writing or figures, and one to highlight the mainfeatures on the slide. Computer-generated slides with a back-ground picture often are too busy and should be avoided forall but the title and final acknowledgments slides.5. DO keep abbreviations to a minimum. Excessive useof them may render a talk unintelligible to people not work-ing in the field. If abbreviations are used, DO use footnotesto explain them each time they are used.6. DO speak slowly and clearly enough that people at theback of the room can hear you. If you have a quiet voice, DOuse a microphone, especially if you are a plenary speakergiving your talk in a large theater.7. DO start with a brief outline of your talk. Its helps orientthe audience to why information is being given.8. DO give only an overview of research undertaken, thereason for doing it, a few examples of tools used and/orchemical pathways involved, important results, and possibleimplications of the work. One cannot coherently presentmore in 20 minutes. The “emphasis should be on significance,rather than detail” (1).9. If you present a diagram, spectrum, or table DO keep itsimple and show trends rather than actual data. For tables, DOeliminate all data not relevant to the major thrust of the talkand round off numbers where possible (e.g., 50 is easier toread than 49.87). Both these suggestions enable the audienceto see trends more easily.10. DO go over your talk prior to the conference to determinewhether it fits into the time available. If it does not, DO cutit down and DO remember to leave some time for questions.11. DO check the quality of slides and overheads well inadvance of the conference. If they cannot be seen easily fromthe back of an average-sized lecture room, DO somethingabout it!DON’Ts1. DON’T write every word of your talk on the slides. You’regiving a talk, not a reading, of your work.2. DON’T present a paper if the language to be used at theconference is not one in which you are fluent or confident. Rather,offer a poster, where less talking is required in a less threat-ening environment.3. DON’T whip transparencies on and off the overheadprojector at a breakneck pace. If you use a transparency, then givethe audience time to orient themselves to the data presentedbefore you proceed further.4. DON’T photocopy tables or text directly from theses, jour-nal articles, etc., onto transparencies without first enlarging them.Two successive 1.414× enlargements is usually sufficient toensure that the resultant text can be read from the back ofan average-sized lecture theater.5. DON’T write transparencies by hand if at all possible.Few people have handwriting that can compete with computer-generated copy.6. DON’T think that saying “sorry about the quality of thisslide” or “you won’t be able to see this properly, but…” exoneratesyou from presenting bad transparencies. Modern technology makesit so easy to generate high-quality overhead transparenciesand slides that this is no longer an acceptable excuse.7. DON’T move a laser pointer arrow all over the slidewhile you are talking. Use the arrow to highlight a point orvalue on a slide and then switch it off.DiscussionIf all papers at conferences met the above criteria, wewould be moving a long way towards “communicating to thebest of our ability” (1). Further advice and actual examplesfor the preparation of effective graphs, tables, and schematicdiagrams as well as how to prepare clear, legible slides aregiven in the ACS Handbook for Speakers, which can be accessedon the Internet (1). Bunnett’s article “Techniques for Spoilingyour own Scientific Talk” highlights further common errorsmade by speakers (2).How to Present a Paper or PosterP. A. HuddleDepartment of Chemistry, University of Witwatersrand, P O Wits 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa;[email protected] the ClassroomJChemEd.chem.wisc.edu • Vol. 77 No. 9 September 2000 • Journal of Chemical Education 1153Preparing and Presenting a PosterPosters give the researcher an opportunity to present newideas in a less formal setting. At the 15th ICCE meeting,among the best posters were one showing the use of ordinarybeads to make models of organic compounds (3) and anothershowing various setups for demonstrating electrochemicalreactions (4). Neither of these lent themselves to formal pre-sentations. Posters are also the ideal way for foreign delegatesto present their work if they not yet mastered the languageof the conference. Points 1–5 for presenting papers applyequally to posters. What follows are further guidelines forpresenting an effective, professional poster.1. The poster should be eye-catching. You want people tostop and read it!2. It must be easily readable from 1.2 meters (about 4 feet).3. Double line
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