Through the process of trial and error, scientific societies and veteran poster presenters have come up with the following rules of thumb for effective poster presentations.

1. Prepare a banner in very large type containing a descriptive title, the authors, and their affiliations. This banner should be situated high up on the poster so it can be seen above people's heads from a distance of 15 to 20 feet.

2. Bracket the poster with an introduction at the beginning and a list of conclusions at the end. Remember that many people will read only these two parts of your poster.

3. Make the flow of information in a poster explicit with the use of inch-high numerals. The flow of information should be organized in columns running down the poster, not in rows running across it.

4. The poster should be self-explanatory, so that its main points will be communicated even...

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