Call for Abstracts

Regardless of the format, a successful presentation is based on having relevant, interesting information to offer. Proper methodology, meaningful comparisons, and well-documented work are just as important for a presentation as for a published work.

Sufficient preparation is another key element. Plan to take several weeks to gather materials, prepare graphics and photos, and (if applicable) design your slides or poster.

In addition, be mindful of what you do and do not need to make your points. It is not necessary to tell the whole story, but tell enough of the right parts so the audience understands the significance of your work. At a minimum, your talk or poster should include:

• What the subject or problem is
• Why you studied it
• What you did (methods)
• Your results
• What conclusions were drawn

Remember that Symposium 2011 will draw a wide audience from both business and science backgrounds. There will be researchers, jewelers, gemologists, appraisers, miners, and students attending. If you are presenting information on a specialized topic, be sure to explain its practical application or relevance to a wider audience.

Handouts
1. It is recommended that all presentations, whether oral or poster, be accompanied by a printed handout summarizing the work and including additional, in-depth information that might not fit into the time or space available, or be included in the Proceedings Volume. This provides attendees with a tangible record that will be more valuable than the published abstract alone. This is an excellent place to include detailed references and suggested additional reading. Poster presenters should consider providing a reduced-size version of their poster as part of their handout.

2. Be sure to bring plenty of handouts so you do not run out. For oral presentations, handouts should be made available in the conference room beforehand. This allows attendees to follow along, as well as refer back to previous information as necessary. For poster handouts, check their availability regularly and re-stock throughout the viewing period. Consider displaying them in a Lucite stand, which will keep them neat when you are not at your poster.

3. Handouts should contain all of your contact information and, for posters, the location of your poster presentation.

Designing Your Slides or Poster
The fundamental rule for scientific communication is that design must be subordinate to efficiently communicating information. Your design elements—fonts, colors, backgrounds, templates, etc.—should not be competing for attention with your message; rather, they must work with it. The use of templates in which significant portions of a slide or poster are wasted by official legends and logos is discouraged for this reason.

Photos and Graphics
1. Make sure that all graphic elements are large enough for pertinent details to be legible and clearly evident. The impact of an important graph may be lost if the labels and legends are too small to read.

2. Remember that all important elements need to be labeled, even if they seem obvious to you—don’t leave viewers guessing as to basic information such as scale, direction, etc. Show your graphics to your colleagues beforehand and ask them if your point is clear without any explanation.

Text
1. In general, serif fonts such as Garamond and Times tend to be more readable than sans-serif fonts such as Arial. However, sans-serif fonts are usually better for information in tables and in titles. Experiment with different fonts to see which is best. Once you have selected a font, be consistent with it throughout your presentation.

2. “ALL CAPS” text should not be used for anything other than titles and headings, and is not necessary even there. Likewise, too much bold or italic text makes for a confusing, overly busy slide or poster.

Color
1. Careful use of color can create an attractive, memorable presentation. However, some of your visitors may be color-blind—make sure your work is legible for them as well.

2. The use of cool or cool-neutral colors (muted blues, greens, and grays) will usually cause that element to recede into the background; bright, warm colors will usually cause that element to “pop” out. Be sure this is what you intend.

3. The color contrasts you create between text and background, or between graphic elements, are just as important, if not more so, than the colors you choose. Some combinations are attractive, while others may be jarring or hard on the eyes. Take the time to experiment with different color choices—you may find that your first instincts are not the best ones.

Drafting Your Talk
However important your message or research is, the impact will be lost if it is not presented in an orderly, logical way. When you have settled on a specific subject, it can be helpful to step back and decide what exactly you are trying to teach the audience. Your presentation should begin with a brief discussion of who you are, what you are going to talk about, why it is important, and why your approach is a worthwhile one. If you have difficulty drafting such an introduction, this is a warning sign that the presentation you have in mind may have flaws.

Once you feel that you have a solid introduction, build an outline around it so that everything flows from it in a well-organized fashion. Reinforce your message by repeatedly tying specific data and information into your overall theme. Note that one easy way to prepare your handout is to adapt it from your presentation outline before you begin condensing it to fit within the time allotted.

Don’t forget to end your presentation by summarizing the key points you wish to make.

How to Use Presentation Software
The key to effective use of presentation software such as Microsoft PowerPoint is recognizing its limitations. In general, PowerPoint is not well-suited for presenting purely textual material, especially on complex subjects. Since your audience members can read much faster than you can speak, using slides for presenting large amounts of text has the result of forcing your audience to slow down too much and making everything you say familiar before you’ve said it.

Another problem is that the limited size of a projected screen places severe limits on the amount of text that can be presented and still be easily readable. Many presenters make the mistake of oversimplifying their material rather than recognizing that the medium itself is the problem.

The best approach with PowerPoint and other presentation software is to use your slides as visual reinforcement for the audience, not note cards for your talk. Photographs, charts, graphs, and the like should make up the large bulk of your slides; leave long stretches of textual material for audience handouts.

General Slide Tips
1. The audience needs time to comprehend and think about the things you are presenting. In general, each slide should appear for no less than 30 seconds, and preferably at least 60. In a 20-minute talk, this means you should have no more than 20–25 slides.

2. Anything—text especially—that you put on a slide will receive some audience attention. Thus, if it is not strictly necessary, it acts as a distraction from what is important.

3. If you have the opportunity to test your slides on a projector beforehand, do so. You may find that things that appear clear and legible on your computer screen are not so clear when projected.

4.  Avoid reading off your slides. Your slides are support for your talk, not the talk itself.

A poster presentation is neither a supporting exhibit for a spoken talk nor a printout of a written report. Rather, it is a means of communication in its own right. The least effective posters require the presenter to be on-hand to explain the research. A well-designed poster stands on its own without the presenter’s assistance. There is a balance of text and illustrations, with a precise and easy-to-read layout; brief, legible text; and thorough, careful organization.

Poster Design
1. The use of design software such as Adobe Acrobat, Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, or PowerPoint to create your poster is strongly recommended.

2. At first glance, from 3-4 m (10-15 feet) away, the viewer should see an easy-to-read title and a neat, uncluttered arrangement of illustrations and text. The title should be oriented toward a strolling audience. Once the viewer has come to take a closer look at an interesting-looking display, all aspects of the design and concept should work together to keep the viewer's attention.

3. Title lettering should be the largest, about 5–7 cm high (2-3 inches; about 250–300 pt type) with subheadings 1–3 cm high (0.5-1.0 inches; 48–72 pt). All lettering should be legible from about 1 m (3 feet) away. For text, type size should be no less than 18 pt, with less important details in 16 pt. Your titles and subtitles should give viewers a good general idea of your work.

4. It should be obvious where to start reading the poster and where to look from there. The natural impulse is to read left to right, top to bottom, so your poster should follow this. The component parts should either be numbered to facilitate eye movement or have arrows that graphically lead the viewer through the display. Remember that more than one person may be viewing your poster at a time, so don’t create a layout that forces readers to move back and forth.

5. Begin by presenting the subject or problem you are addressing. Supporting text is then presented in brief segments along with appropriate illustrations. Emphasize your results, not your methodology.

6. Be sure to clearly identify yourself and your affiliation somewhere on the poster (preferably under the title). Your contact information (including email address) should be included. However, avoid cluttering your poster with large, bold logos.

Printing, Packaging, and Mounting
1. To ensure a professional, polished appearance, the use of commercial printing services, or high-quality color laser printing, is strongly recommended. If you do not have a color laser printer in-house, commercial printing and copying stores can usually print your poster elements for a fee.

2. The best results are obtained by having your poster professionally printed as a single element, banner-style, from a PDF or similar file. The poster can then be rolled in a tube for safe transport. Make sure the tube is labeled with all of your contact information, especially where you will be staying during Symposium 2011.

3. If your poster consists of separate elements, all of them should be mounted on poster board or 1 cm foam-core board so that they lie flat. A cleaner look will usually be achieved if captions appear on the same board as their associated illustrations. Be sure to prepare a sketch of your layout, with key components numbered so you know where to place them.

4. If you will be traveling by air, make sure the poster tube or separate elements are small enough to pack within carry-on luggage dimension limitations (within the U.S., these are currently 55 x 36 x 23 cm [22" x 14" x 9"], or about 115 cm [45"] for map tubes).

Presentation Hints
1. Have a 3–5 minute presentation prepared for people who want you to walk them through your poster. Give them the big picture; don’t just read the text and figure captions.

2. Be prepared to answer common questions (such as those that arose when showing the poster to your peers before the conference). However, be courteous and wait until questions are asked—don’t interrupt your viewers while they’re reading.

3. If possible, step to the side of your poster when conversing with your colleagues, so that others can view your research.

4. Have a way to collect business cards for communication with visitors wanting more information.