• Each presenter (or set of presenters) will be given 15 minutes. Typically, these minutes are split between a 10 minute presentation of the research followed by a 5 minute questions period.
• The presentation should be a clear, concise (but not rushed) summary of your study.
• It is recommended that presenters answer the following basic questions:
1. What is the major issue under investigation?
2. What methods were used (and "why" - if appropriate)?
3. What were the basic (most important) findings?
4. What were the major conclusions derived from your research, and, what implications and recommendations follow appropriately from your study?
• Please leave some time for questions.
• Things to AVOID in your presentation.
• LOTS of text on your slides.
• READING your presentation from notes (or the slides themselves).
• RUSHING through your explanations.
• FORGETTING to ask for questions at the end of your presentation.
• INTERRUPTING one another (if multiple presenters) during the talk.
• Participants may use standard technologies for their presentations (i.e., PowerPoint, projector slides, transparencies/overheads, TV/DVD/VCR).
• Note that the modal computer platform currently in use at RMU is PC. Mac users may need to provide appropriate transitional technologies, etc. (Please coordinate with the conference staff ahead of time; we may be able to accommodate your resource needs).
• Please arrive early to your presentation room so that appropriate equipment needs can be confirmed. It is also a good idea to pre-load your talk on the presentation computer.
• Also, we recommend over-preparing for catastrophe. For example, if you are presenting via PowerPoint, have two (or more) files on different media (USB drive, CD, on-line, etc.) each with your talk saved in case a file or drive becomes corrupted. Consider having handouts of your slides, or transparencies of your slides, for peace of mind.
• Finally, and although it is not a traditional behavior, we nonetheless recommend that students consider preparing handout summaries of their presentations (about 30 or so) for people to take with them. Be sure to include the same critical information that you would provide for any professional publication (for example, title, author names, affiliation, and contact information).

For students planning to deliver poster presentations:

• Presentations should be mounted on standard 3'x4' tri-fold poster presentation boards available at office supply stores, arts-and-crafts or hobby stores, and probably most department stores as well. Tri-fold presentation boards come in different colors and range in price anywhere from about $5.00 on up (depending on quality). The reason we request that poster presentations be mounted on these foam or cardboard tri-fold boards is that there will only be tables provided for posters. The tri-fold boards are ideally suited for table surfaces.
• We recommend that students also prepare and bring copies (about 30 or so) of their presentations for people to take with them. Be sure to include the same critical information that you would provide for any professional publication (e.g., title, author names, affiliation, and contact information).
• Please try to set up your poster a few minutes before the scheduled starting time for your poster session. Your poster will have a unique number assigned to it which will be indicated both in the conference program as well as on the poster tables.
• Please consider the hypothetical layout provided below as a possible organization scheme for your poster. However, because there are no requirements for organizing the poster, you are free to decide how best to arrange your presentation.
• Words of advice:
• Keeping information in vertical chunks (columns) makes it relatively easy and efficient for people to move through the information in your poster without obstructing others' views or stepping on toes.
• Avoid small print (i.e., use 20 point or greater) as well as lengthy chunks of text (you can always include longer explanations in the handout as well as in your conversations with viewers). Ideally, people should be able to read, understand, and enjoy your poster from a few feet away.
• Three-dimensional figures may look neat-o, but have been shown to reduce comprehension and increase the difficulty of extracting specific information from graphs.

The format below is based on using standard 8 ½ x 11 inch paper. The title, however, reflects an 11 x 17 inch printout. An approach to consider is to create PowerPoint slides of the poster presentation then simply print and adhere the "slides" to the poster-board in an arrangement similar to the one below. Using these dimensions, the figure reflects a maximum "comfortable" such arrangement. Presenters should not feel obligated to meet (or exceed) this maximum. That is, fewer "slides" would likely be preferred by conference goers. Also, students may opt to vary the organization, shape, and size of the inserted "slides" as they see fit to best accommodate their presentation. Ultimately, the goal is to convey your research to conference attendees as clearly as possible. To that end, use whatever format best accomplishes the goal.