Use this as a tool to guide you in creating an effective board presentation for your projects.

1. Creating an Effective
Board Presentation
Mercer Science and Engineering Club
3 Creek Rim Drive
Titusville , NJ 08560

2. Overview
• The starting point: good research
• Why is the presentation important
• What needs to be included
• Laying out the board
• Choosing fonts and figures
• Simplify, simplify, simplify
• Construction Tips
KISS (Keep it simple, stupid)

3. Good Research: It’s a start
• You can’t hide bad research with a
fancy presentation
• Good research does not sell itself
• Not all details are equally important
• You will know what should be
presented. It is simply a matter of how.
• A research paper and research
documents complement a presentation

4. Why The Presentation Is Important
• It helps sell your project and results
• Elementary and Junior Division
– Entries are judged exclusively on the
presentation
• Senior Division
– Judging includes both the presentation and
an oral defense
– The presentation is the backdrop for the
oral defense

5. Presentation Components I
• Required
– Board
– Abstract (can be on its own stand)
• Recommended
– Research paper
– Research documents
– Detailed results
– Abstract handouts

6. Presentation Components II
• Optional
– Audio/video presentation if it augments the
static, board presentation
– Project artifacts if useful for oral presentation
(senior division)
– Artifacts built by student (photos recommended)
• Not Recommended
– Project artifacts not used for oral presentation
– Tools used for experimentation

7. What The Presentation Does
• Attracts attention to the project
• Provides the initial introduction to viewers
of the project (i.e. judges)
• Provides organized overview of the project
• Visual aid when describing a project
• Helps students organize their thoughts
when describing their project to judges
• A picture is worth a thousand words

8. Target Your Audience
• Decide who is the target audience
– Judges, teachers, parents, students
• Design presentation to use terms
familiar to the target audience
• Explain unfamiliar terms or procedures
• Use drawings and explanations that
target the audience’s level of
understanding

9. Presentation Tells A Story
• The board should speak for itself
• Photos and drawings should enhance
the story, not the way the presentation
looks
• The sequence of the story should be
obvious

10. What needs to be included
on the board
• Title
• Problem • Recommended items
• Hypothesis • Benefits
• Materials • Optional items
• Methods • Future plans
• Data • Photograph
• Analysis acknowledgements
Photograph taken by …
• Conclusion
• Abstract (may be free standing)

11. What NOT to include on the board
• Your name
• Name or logo of school or affiliation
• Sponsors
• Photos of identifiable people
– Remember, it is the experiment that is
important
– Caveat: photos relevant to the experiment
can be included

12. More on Photos
• Photos of researcher can be included only if
they are showing something relevant to the
research that could not be shown otherwise
• No photos showing identifiable people
• Any photographs showing identifiable people,
other than the student investigator(s), must
have a signed release form
• No photographs of body parts or tissue,
except those allowed by ISEF rules

13. Laying out the board
Model it first. It’s easier
Project Title
Problem
Data Photos
Analysis
Hypothesis
Materials Methods
Conclusion

14. Where The Eye Goes
Decide what, when and where a viewer should look
Project Title Title 1st
Problem 2nd
Data 3rd Analysis 4th
Problem
Data Photo
Analysis
Hypothesis
Materials Methods
Conclusion

15. Choosing fonts and figures
• Dont’s
– MiXiNg Fφητs IS nφt α gσοδ Iδεa
– Too many colors are bad
• Do’s
– Fonts tips
– Figures and Photos
– Constructing a complex page

16. Font Tips I
• Use as few fonts as necessary
• San serif fonts like Arial work best on
presentations
• Use serif fonts in research paper
• Use fonts like Cooper for titles
• Look for free fonts on Internet (www.1001freefonts.com)
• NEVER USE ALL CAPS
– It is hard to read
– Use Bold, Italic or Color instead

17. Font Tips II
• Use same font and color for similar uses such as
explanations of the Problem or Conclusion
• Choosing font size
– Must be readable from at least 3 feet away
– Size should be related to surrounding text
– Size should indicate the text’s importance
– Titles should not giant while explanations are
microscopic

18. Figures and Photos
• Should be viewable from at least 3 feet away
• Figures should be as simple as possible
– Use thick, not thin lines
– Use colors judiciously
– Use legends when necessary
• Scan and print photos
– Allows captions and acknowledgements to be
included on same piece of paper
– Annotations like arrows can be added

19. Taking Photos
• Take lots of photos of the same thing
– Choose the best
– Different angles can eliminate glare and highlight
aspects of the project
– Try close ups, multiple items in photo
– Where does the photo fit in the story
• Scan and edit photos
– Crop: allows larger images, eliminates extraneous
details
– Print and try adjustments: a printed image looks different
from it viewed on a display
• Digital cameras: Always use highest resolution

20. Constructing A Page
• KISS – use a single page of paper for
each item if possible
• Generate pages using a word
processor, presentation or drawing
program
• Use color printer to add borders and
background
• Don’t forget to try landscape page
orientation

21. Simplify, simplify, simplify
• KISS – Less is better. Clutter is bad.
• Eliminate redundant or unimportant
information
• Keep titles and sentences short and
concise
• Only show figures or photos that help
explain key points
• Leaves more space for other
information

22. Construction Tips I
• KISS
• Double sided tape for mounting paper/photos
• Always use a paper cutter
• Borders
– Print borders on paper
– Use a matte or colored paper to back paper
• Colored board background
– Highlights items placed on board
– Buy colored background
– Spray paint

23. Construction Tips II
• Maximize white background on paper
– Minimizes print time and cost
– Simplifies combining multiple pages
• Use photo matte or glossy paper
– Thicker paper, nothing shows through
– Works well with double sided tape
– Best for photos and figures
• Use same type of paper throughout
presentation. Differences stand out.

24. Gotch ya’s
• Always use a spell checker
• Use a grammar checker
• Read the rules !!!
• Catch errors early: get multiple critiques
from the initial layout design to the final
product
• Remember the ISEF abstract

25. Video Presentations
• The board should not require the video
presentation
• Do not duplicate board contents in presentation
• Video presentation should show something that
is more easily explained using a movie or
animation versus a figure or photo
• Do not include video presentation if it is
unnecessary
• Keep video presentation simple and short
• Video presentation should run automatically

26. More Suggestions
• Peer review
– Have students critique boards for extra credit
– Rate boards on how well they explain a project
– Use simplified judging forms
• Involve other teachers
– Make them aware of the projects and goals for
improving the student’s presentation skills
– English: effective text descriptions
– Math and science: methods of presenting data
– Computer: use of tools to create complex pages

27. Summary
• Good research means good artifacts (results)
• Presentation is important because it is selling
your project and its results
• Include all relevant information
• Board layout catches the eye and explains
the details
• Text and figures must be readable from a
distance
• Remember KISS but complexity is relative