Presentation Resources

Choosing a Presentation Format

  • Students may present their research as either oral or poster presentations at the conference, depending on their own preferences or those of their Department. The same project may not be submitted as both oral and poster format.
  • Students should first check with their research advisor to determine if there is a preferred format.
  • In general, particularly if this is your first research presentation, if you are completing your work in the semester in which the conference occurs or the work is not in its final stage at the time of the URC, posters are a great way to synthesize your work and ensure that you have covered all aspects of your research.
  • Oral presentations require a very polished and finished synthesis of ideas and conclusions and so typically are reserved for more extensive work (a thesis vs a class-project) that is in the very final stages.

Oral Presentation Instructions

  • Prior to the conference date, students will upload their presentation slides to a shared Google Drive folder by the due date in the emailed instructions. Power point slide templates are available from University Communications.
  • On the day of the symposium, students should bring in a USB thumb drive with their presentation saved on it. This will ensure there are multiple ways to access the presentation.
  • Each student will have 10-12 minutes to speak with 2-3 minutes for questions depending on how many presentations are scheduled per hour. (A good rule of thumb for written speeches is 120 words per minute)
  • Each room will be supplied with a computer with PowerPoint software and a projector. If you need additional AV equipment or other special accommodations for your presentation, you must inform the conference staff no later than one week before the conference.
  • Students will be informed of the schedule including their presentation time and location by email.

These are links for pointers on giving a good conference oral presentation:

Poster Presentation Resources

  • Posters should be no larger than 32 inches tall x 40 inches wide in size. Students are responsible for mounting their own presentation on a foam board that can be placed on an easel. Foam boards will be available for the participants on the day of the event. Students may download and use this template for their poster presentation.
  • Each student should be present at their poster during the published presentation time on the day of the conference.
  • Students will be informed of their presentation location by email.
  • Presentations of posters should be no longer than 5-7 minutes and traditionally they are more conversational with a back and forth dialogue between presenter and the audience. Each session will last 60-90 minutes and students will repeat this dialogue multiple times.

​Poster formatting tips:

  • The title of your poster should appear across the top in large letters.  Titles in a 80-pt. font will stand out and be easy to read.  The minimum font size for poster titles should be 40-pt. The recommended font size for the body text is 24-36-pt. There is a max. 10 MB file size limit. You can access a UNC Charlotte-approved poster template here: https://our.charlotte.edu/resources.
  • Below the title, put the name of the student presenter, co-presenter(s), faculty mentor(s), and the school or institution.
  • Use at least a 24-pt. font or larger for the main text.
  • Posters generally read from left to right and top to bottom in columns.
  • Use color for highlighting and to make your poster more attractive.  Use pictures, graphs, diagrams, and graphics rather than text whenever possible.
  • Limit the text. Your audience will be reading through many posters. Most of your audience will likely not read large blocks of text, so use bullets instead of paragraphs whenever possible.
  • The ideal poster is designed to attract attention, provide a brief overview of your work, and initiate discussion.

Click here for additional resources for presentations.