<p>I'm doing research (molecular biology) for the first time this summer and recently I got to participate in a national poster competition on August.
In the past, I never attended a poster competition, conference, or any formal event where I have to present my research/poster, nor have I participated in it, so I don't know what it's going to be like and how I should approach it.
For those of you with experiences on such an event, I would appreciate any advice you have to offer.
Thanks!</p>
<p>Not sure if this means you've never presented a poster before period, but my advice would be to not make it too wordy. A picture tells a thousand words applies to posters. I've seen too many that were all words and it's a bit off putting to have to read that much to figure out what's there. As for the presenting, my experience has been standing by the poster, people check it out and ask questions or give comments on your research. Much less formal than a powerpoint presentation or something like that, but you really have to know your project well. I'm leaving for a conference in Mexico this week, so I'll chime in with more advice if it's any different from the smaller forums i've presented at.</p>
<p>Thanks for the post, BearsBeetsBSG. How was your conference in Mexico?</p>
<p>The conference was a crazy amount of information in a small amount of time, but still a great experience. I noticed very little difference in the poster part from previous experience at my university. Pretty much I'd still say know you're project inside out. Also, be open to hearing new ideas about your research while presenting your poster. I got a lot of great suggestions from people in slightly different fields that had another angle to look at. I'll also add that having a brief somewhat rehearsed (but not too much so) talk ready, running through your poster, is a good idea. Some people just have you walk them through it, and it's best to be prepared for that.</p>