poster presentation word count

How to Create a Research Poster

• Poster Basics
• Design Tips
• Logos & Images

What is a Research Poster?

Posters are widely used in the academic community, and most conferences include poster presentations in their program.  Research posters summarize information or research concisely and attractively to help publicize it and generate discussion. 

The poster is usually a mixture of a brief text mixed with tables, graphs, pictures, and other presentation formats. At a conference, the researcher stands by the poster display while other participants can come and view the presentation and interact with the author.

What Makes a Good Poster?

• Important information should be readable from about 10 feet away
• Title is short and draws interest
• Word count of about 300 to 800 words
• Text is clear and to the point
• Use of bullets, numbering, and headlines make it easy to read
• Effective use of graphics, color and fonts
• Consistent and clean layout
• Includes acknowledgments, your name and institutional affiliation

A Sample of a Well Designed Poster

View this poster example in a web browser .  

Image credit: Poster Session Tips by [email protected], via Penn State

Where do I begin?

Answer these three questions:.

• What is the most important/interesting/astounding finding from my research project?
• How can I visually share my research with conference attendees? Should I use charts, graphs, photos, images?
• What kind of information can I convey during my talk that will complement my poster?

What software can I use to make a poster?

A popular, easy-to-use option. It is part of Microsoft Office package and is available on the library computers in rooms LC337 and LC336. ( Advice for creating a poster with PowerPoint ).

Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign

Feature-rich professional software that is good for posters including lots of high-resolution images, but they are more complex and expensive.  NYU Faculty, Staff, and Students can access and download the Adobe Creative Suite .

Open Source Alternatives 

• OpenOffice is the free alternative to MS Office (Impress is its PowerPoint alternative).
• Inkscape and Gimp are alternatives to Adobe products.
• For charts and diagrams try Gliffy or Lovely Charts .
• A complete list of free graphics software .

A Sample of a Poorly Designed Poster

View this bad poster example in a browser.

Image Credit: Critique by Better Posters

• Next: Design Tips >>
• Last Updated: Jul 11, 2023 5:09 PM
• URL: https://guides.nyu.edu/posters

• Research & Collections
• Borrow & Request
• Computing & Technology

Creating Scholarly Posters in PowerPoint: Sections of a Poster

• Sections of a Poster
• Design Tips
• Background Shapes & Colors
• Dealing with Objects
• Do's & Don'ts
• A Visual Summary
• Campus Logos

What is a research poster?

"A large-format poster is a document that can communicate your research at a conference, and is composed of a:

• short title
• an introduction to your burning question
• an overview of your novel approach ( methods )
• your amazing results
• some insightful discussion of aforementioned results ( conclusions ) 
• a listing of previously published articles that are important to your research  
• and some brief acknowledgement   of the tremendous assistance and financial support conned from others"

Colin Purrinton, Swarthmore College

Not all posters have each section - it depends upon what you are communicating.

If you get close to the word counts listed for each section (not counting the title, references, & acknowledgements) you will have about 900 words .  Therefore, brevity is a must as you convey the most salient points about your research.

Section I: Title & Authors

The title of your poster should be:

• Meaningful enough to create interest in your project
• Not so long that it is difficult to fit in the space
• Avoid acronyms and jargon

Goal:  be catchy so as to draw in the passer by's eye and be no longer than 2 lines long.

Title:  about 7 0 pt

Authors should be listed just under the title.

Authors:  about 55 - 60 pt

Section II: Introduction

Your introduction sets the stage for the project and serves to give the reader an overview.  It should peak their interest.  Best practices include:

• Put your topic within context of published literature
• Provide description and justification of experimental approach
• Hint at why your subject is ideal for such research
• Give a clear hypothesis
• Minimize the background information and definitions - include just what is highly relevant
• Don't repeat your abstract

Approximate word count goal:   200 words  

Font size:  

Headings: about 40 - 44 pt

M ain text:   about 30 - 36 pt

Section III: Materials & Methods

As it sounds, this is the place to describe your experimental equipment and the research methods you used - but in brief.  In addition to the text, you might want to add:

• Figures or tables to help describe the design
• Flow charts to describe the experimental procedures
• Photographs or labeled drawings of the organism or the equipment used

Shoot for about 200 words in this section.

Headings:  about 40 - 44 pt

M ain text:   about  30 - 36 pt

Captions:   about 24 - 28 pt

Section IV: Results

Did it work or not?  Cut to the point and add additional details about what was observed as well as the data that support your hypothesis.  Key items to include are:

• Data analysis
• Supporting charts, figures, images, or tables - don't forget to refer to them in the text
• Legends that can stand on their own - assuming that the reader skips to the pictures first

This is the largest section of your poster.  Your images & charts will speak volumes so the goal here is to keep the text to approximate 200 words .

Headings:  about  40 - 44 pt

Captions:   about  24 - 28 pt

Section V: Conclusions

This is the place to sum up and remind readers of your hypothesis and the results.  A few things to cover include:

• Focus on the take home message
• Was your hypothesis supported
• Why the results are conclusive & interesting
• Relevance of the findings to other published work
• Future directions

For this section, you may have lots to say.  The text of this section will be a little longer - shoot for about 300 words .

M ain text:   about  30 - 36 pt

Section VI: Literature Cited

Your research is based on what is already known.  You may have a long list or a short one.  The poster whould have a concise list of extremely pertinent articles.  If it is a long list - have a reference list as a handout to your poster.  Keep in mind:

• Be consistent and be precise
• Follow the format exactly - pick one you know or you may need to use a specific one (like with a manuscript)
• Consider using a handout if you have more than 10 citations   

Citations:   about  24 pt

Section VII: Acknowledgements

Not always necessary.  You may not have been funded or used anybody's assistance, but it is nice to comment when you have.  Include:

• Thanks for any individual who made specific contributions to your project (mentor, professor, etc)
• Thanks for research subjects
• Mention funding source

Be brief, keep it sincere and a tad formal.  Content varies, so no specific word count for this one.

Thanks:   about  24-28 pt

• << Previous: Home
• Next: Design Tips >>
• Last Updated: Mar 13, 2024 12:52 PM
• URL: https://ucsd.libguides.com/posters

Home Blog Design How to Design a Winning Poster Presentation: Quick Guide with Examples & Templates

How to Design a Winning Poster Presentation: Quick Guide with Examples & Templates

How are research posters like High School science fair projects? Quite similar, in fact.

Both are visual representations of a research project shared with peers, colleagues and academic faculty. But there’s a big difference: it’s all in professionalism and attention to detail. You can be sure that the students that thrived in science fairs are now creating fantastic research posters, but what is that extra element most people miss when designing a poster presentation?

This guide will teach tips and tricks for creating poster presentations for conferences, symposia, and more. Learn in-depth poster structure and design techniques to help create academic posters that have a lasting impact.

Let’s get started.

Table of Contents

• What is a Research Poster?

Why are Poster Presentations important?

Overall dimensions and orientation, separation into columns and sections, scientific, academic, or something else, a handout with supplemental and contact information, cohesiveness, design and readability, storytelling.

• Font Characteristics
• Color Pairing
• Data Visualization Dimensions
• Alignment, Margins, and White Space

Scientific/Academic Conference Poster Presentation

Digital research poster presentations, slidemodel poster presentation templates, how to make a research poster presentation step-by-step, considerations for printing poster presentations, how to present a research poster presentation, final words, what is a research poster .

Research posters are visual overviews of the most relevant information extracted from a research paper or analysis.   They are essential communication formats for sharing findings with peers and interested people in the field. Research posters can also effectively present material for other areas besides the sciences and STEM—for example, business and law.

You’ll be creating research posters regularly as an academic researcher, scientist, or grad student. You’ll have to present them at numerous functions and events. For example:

• Conference presentations
• Informational events
• Community centers

The research poster presentation is a comprehensive way to share data, information, and research results. Before the pandemic, the majority of research events were in person. During lockdown and beyond, virtual conferences and summits became the norm. Many researchers now create poster presentations that work in printed and digital formats.

Let’s look at why it’s crucial to spend time creating poster presentations for your research projects, research, analysis, and study papers.

Research posters represent you and your sponsor’s research 

Research papers and accompanying poster presentations are potent tools for representation and communication in your field of study. Well-performing poster presentations help scientists, researchers, and analysts grow their careers through grants and sponsorships.

When presenting a poster presentation for a sponsored research project, you’re representing the company that sponsored you. Your professionalism, demeanor, and capacity for creating impactful poster presentations call attention to other interested sponsors, spreading your impact in the field.

Research posters demonstrate expertise and growth

Presenting research posters at conferences, summits, and graduate grading events shows your expertise and knowledge in your field of study. The way your poster presentation looks and delivers, plus your performance while presenting the work, is judged by your viewers regardless of whether it’s an officially judged panel.

Recurring visitors to research conferences and symposia will see you and your poster presentations evolve. Improve your impact by creating a great poster presentation every time by paying attention to detail in the poster design and in your oral presentation. Practice your public speaking skills alongside the design techniques for even more impact.

Poster presentations create and maintain collaborations

Every time you participate in a research poster conference, you create meaningful connections with people in your field, industry or community. Not only do research posters showcase information about current data in different areas, but they also bring people together with similar interests. Countless collaboration projects between different research teams started after discussing poster details during coffee breaks.

An effective research poster template deepens your peer’s understanding of a topic by highlighting research, data, and conclusions. This information can help other researchers and analysts with their work. As a research poster presenter, you’re given the opportunity for both teaching and learning while sharing ideas with peers and colleagues.

Anatomy of a Winning Poster Presentation

Do you want your research poster to perform well?  Following the standard layout and adding a few personal touches will help attendees know how to read your poster and get the most out of your information. 

The overall size of your research poster ultimately depends on the dimensions of the provided space at the conference or research poster gallery. The poster orientation can be horizontal or vertical, with horizontal being the most common.  In general, research posters measure 48 x 36 inches or are an A0 paper size.

A virtual poster can be the same proportions as the printed research poster, but you have more leeway regarding the dimensions. Virtual research posters should fit on a screen with no need to scroll, with 1080p resolution as a standard these days. A horizontal presentation size is ideal for that.

A research poster presentation has a standard layout of 2–5 columns with 2–3 sections each. Typical structures say to separate the content into four sections; 1. A horizontal header 2. Introduction column, 3. Research/Work/Data column, and 4. Conclusion column. Each unit includes topics that relate to your poster’s objective.  Here’s a generalized outline for a poster presentation:

• Condensed Abstract 
• Objectives/Purpose
• Methodology
• Recommendations
• Implications
• Acknowledgments
• Contact Information 

The overview content you include in the units depends on your poster presentations’ theme, topic, industry, or field of research. A scientific or academic poster will include sections like hypothesis, methodology, and materials. A marketing analysis poster will include performance metrics and competitor analysis results.

There’s no way a poster can hold all the information included in your research paper or analysis report. The poster is an overview that invites the audience to want to find out more. That’s where supplement material comes in. Create a printed PDF handout or card with a QR code (created using a QR code generator ). Send the audience to the best online location for reading or downloading the complete paper.

What Makes a Poster Presentation Good and Effective? 

For your poster presentation to be effective and well-received, it needs to cover all the bases and be inviting to find out more. Stick to the standard layout suggestions and give it a unique look and feel. We’ve put together some of the most critical research poster-creation tips in the list below. Your poster presentation will perform as long as you check all the boxes.

The information you choose to include in the sections of your poster presentation needs to be cohesive. Train your editing eye and do a few revisions before presenting. The best way to look at it is to think of The Big Picture. Don’t get stuck on the details; your attendees won’t always know the background behind your research topic or why it’s important.

Be cohesive in how you word the titles, the length of the sections, the highlighting of the most important data, and how your oral presentation complements the printed—or virtual—poster.

The most important characteristic of your poster presentation is its readability and clarity. You need a poster presentation with a balanced design that’s easy to read at a distance of 1.5 meters or 4 feet. The font size and spacing must be clear and neat. All the content must suggest a visual flow for the viewer to follow.

That said, you don’t need to be a designer to add something special to your poster presentation. Once you have the standard—and recognized—columns and sections, add your special touch. These can be anything from colorful boxes for the section titles to an interesting but subtle background, images that catch the eye, and charts that inspire a more extended look. 

Storytelling is a presenting technique involving writing techniques to make information flow. Firstly, storytelling helps give your poster presentation a great introduction and an impactful conclusion. 

Think of storytelling as the invitation to listen or read more, as the glue that connects sections, making them flow from one to another. Storytelling is using stories in the oral presentation, for example, what your lab partner said when you discovered something interesting. If it makes your audience smile and nod, you’ve hit the mark. Storytelling is like giving a research presentation a dose of your personality, and it can help turning your data into opening stories .

Design Tips For Creating an Effective Research Poster Presentation

The section above briefly mentioned how important design is to your poster presentation’s effectiveness. We’ll look deeper into what you need to know when designing a poster presentation.

1. Font Characteristics

The typeface and size you choose are of great importance. Not only does the text need to be readable from two meters away, but it also needs to look and sit well on the poster. Stay away from calligraphic script typefaces, novelty typefaces, or typefaces with uniquely shaped letters.

Stick to the classics like a sans serif Helvetica, Lato, Open Sans, or Verdana. Avoid serif typefaces as they can be difficult to read from far away. Here are some standard text sizes to have on hand.

• Title: 85 pt
• Authors: 65 pt
• Headings: 36 pt
• Body Text: 24 pt
• Captions: 18 pt

If you feel too prone to use serif typefaces, work with a font pairing tool that helps you find a suitable solution – and intend those serif fonts for heading sections only. As a rule, never use more than 3 different typefaces in your design. To make it more dynamic, you can work with the same font using light, bold, and italic weights to put emphasis on the required areas.

2. Color Pairing

Using colors in your poster presentation design is a great way to grab the viewer’s attention. A color’s purpose is to help the viewer follow the data flow in your presentation, not distract. Don’t let the color take more importance than the information on your poster.

Choose one main color for the title and headlines and a similar color for the data visualizations. If you want to use more than one color, don’t create too much contrast between them. Try different tonalities of the same color and keep things balanced visually. Your color palette should have at most one main color and two accent colors.

Black text over a white background is standard practice for printed poster presentations, but for virtual presentations, try a very light gray instead of white and a very dark gray instead of black. Additionally, use variations of light color backgrounds and dark color text. Make sure it’s easy to read from two meters away or on a screen, depending on the context. We recommend ditching full white or full black tone usage as it hurts eyesight in the long term due to its intense contrast difference with the light ambiance.

3. Data Visualization Dimensions

Just like the text, your charts, graphs, and data visualizations must be easy to read and understand. Generally, if a person is interested in your research and has already read some of the text from two meters away, they’ll come closer to look at the charts and graphs. 

Fit data visualizations inside columns or let them span over two columns. Remove any unnecessary borders, lines, or labels to make them easier to read at a glance. Use a flat design without shadows or 3D characteristics. The text in legends and captions should stay within the chart size and not overflow into the margins. Use a unified text size of 18px for all your data visualizations.

4. Alignment, Margins, and White Space

Finally, the last design tip for creating an impressive and memorable poster presentation is to be mindful of the layout’s alignment, margins, and white space. Create text boxes to help keep everything aligned. They allow you to resize, adapt, and align the content along a margin or grid.

Take advantage of the white space created by borders and margins between sections. Don’t crowd them with a busy background or unattractive color.

Calculate margins considering a print format. It is a good practice in case the poster presentation ends up becoming in physical format, as you won’t need to downscale your entire design (affecting text readability in the process) to preserve information.

There are different tools that you can use to make a poster presentation. Presenters who are familiar with Microsoft Office prefer to use PowerPoint. You can learn how to make a poster in PowerPoint here.

Poster Presentation Examples

Before you start creating a poster presentation, look at some examples of real research posters. Get inspired and get creative.

Research poster presentations printed and mounted on a board look like the one in the image below. The presenter stands to the side, ready to share the information with visitors as they walk up to the panels.

With more and more conferences staying virtual or hybrid, the digital poster presentation is here to stay. Take a look at examples from a poster session at the OHSU School of Medicine .

Use SlideModel templates to help you create a winning poster presentation with PowerPoint and Google Slides. These poster PPT templates will get you off on the right foot. Mix and match tables and data visualizations from other poster slide templates to create your ideal layout according to the standard guidelines.

If you need a quick method to create a presentation deck to talk about your research poster at conferences, check out our Slides AI presentation maker. A tool in which you add the topic, curate the outline, select a design, and let AI do the work for you.

1. One-pager Scientific Poster Template for PowerPoint

A PowerPoint template tailored to make your poster presentations an easy-to-craft process. Meet our One-Pager Scientific Poster Slide Template, entirely editable to your preferences and with ample room to accommodate graphs, data charts, and much more.

Use This Template

2. Eisenhower Matrix Slides Template for PowerPoint

An Eisenhower Matrix is a powerful tool to represent priorities, classifying work according to urgency and importance. Presenters can use this 2×2 matrix in poster presentations to expose the effort required for the research process, as it also helps to communicate strategy planning.

3. OSMG Framework PowerPoint Template

Finally, we recommend presenters check our OSMG Framework PowerPoint template, as it is an ideal tool for representing a business plan: its goals, strategies, and measures for success. Expose complex processes in a simplified manner by adding this template to your poster presentation.

Remember these three words when making your research poster presentation: develop, design, and present. These are the three main actions toward a successful poster presentation. 

The section below will take you on a step-by-step journey to create your next poster presentation.

Step 1: Define the purpose and audience of your poster presentation

Before making a poster presentation design, you’ll need to plan first. Here are some questions to answer at this point:

• Are they in your field? 
• Do they know about your research topic? 
• What can they get from your research?
• Will you print it?
• Is it for a virtual conference?

Step 2: Make an outline

With a clear purpose and strategy, it’s time to collect the most important information from your research paper, analysis, or documentation. Make a content dump and then select the most interesting information. Use the content to draft an outline.

Outlines help formulate the overall structure better than going straight into designing the poster. Mimic the standard poster structure in your outline using section headlines as separators. Go further and separate the content into the columns they’ll be placed in.

Step 3: Write the content

Write or rewrite the content for the sections in your poster presentation. Use the text in your research paper as a base, but summarize it to be more succinct in what you share. 

Don’t forget to write a catchy title that presents the problem and your findings in a clear way. Likewise, craft the headlines for the sections in a similar tone as the title, creating consistency in the message. Include subtle transitions between sections to help follow the flow of information in order.

Avoid copying/pasting entire sections of the research paper on which the poster is based. Opt for the storytelling approach, so the delivered message results are interesting for your audience. 

Step 4: Put it all together visually

This entire guide on how to design a research poster presentation is the perfect resource to help you with this step. Follow all the tips and guidelines and have an unforgettable poster presentation.

Moving on, here’s how to design a research poster presentation with PowerPoint Templates . Open a new project and size it to the standard 48 x 36 inches. Using the outline, map out the sections on the empty canvas. Add a text box for each title, headline, and body text. Piece by piece, add the content into their corresponding text box.

Transform the text information visually, make bullet points, and place the content in tables and timelines. Make your text visual to avoid chunky text blocks that no one will have time to read. Make sure all text sizes are coherent for all headings, body texts, image captions, etc. Double-check for spacing and text box formatting.

Next, add or create data visualizations, images, or diagrams. Align everything into columns and sections, making sure there’s no overflow. Add captions and legends to the visualizations, and check the color contrast with colleagues and friends. Ask for feedback and progress to the last step.

Step 5: Last touches

Time to check the final touches on your poster presentation design. Here’s a checklist to help finalize your research poster before sending it to printers or the virtual summit rep.

• Check the resolution of all visual elements in your poster design. Zoom to 100 or 200% to see if the images pixelate. Avoid this problem by using vector design elements and high-resolution images.
• Ensure that charts and graphs are easy to read and don’t look crowded.
• Analyze the visual hierarchy. Is there a visual flow through the title, introduction, data, and conclusion?
• Take a step back and check if it’s legible from a distance. Is there enough white space for the content to breathe?
• Does the design look inviting and interesting?

An often neglected topic arises when we need to print our designs for any exhibition purpose. Since A0 is a hard-to-manage format for most printers, these poster presentations result in heftier charges for the user. Instead, you can opt to work your design in two A1 sheets, which also becomes more manageable for transportation. Create seamless borders for the section on which the poster sheets should meet, or work with a white background.

Paper weight options should be over 200 gsm to avoid unwanted damage during the printing process due to heavy ink usage. If possible, laminate your print or stick it to photographic paper – this shall protect your work from spills.

Finally, always run a test print. Gray tints may not be printed as clearly as you see them on screen (this is due to the RGB to CMYK conversion process). Other differences can be appreciated when working with ink jet plotters vs. laser printers. Give yourself enough room to maneuver last-minute design changes.

Presenting a research poster is a big step in the poster presentation cycle. Your poster presentation might or might not be judged by faculty or peers. But knowing what judges look for will help you prepare for the design and oral presentation, regardless of whether you receive a grade for your work or if it’s business related. Likewise, the same principles apply when presenting at an in-person or virtual summit.

The opening statement

Part of presenting a research poster is welcoming the viewer to your small personal area in the sea of poster presentations. You’ll need an opening statement to pitch your research poster and get the viewers’ attention.

Draft a 2 to 3-sentence pitch that covers the most important points:

• What the research is
• Why was it conducted
• What the results say

From that opening statement, you’re ready to continue with the oral presentation for the benefit of your attendees.

The oral presentation

During the oral presentation, share the information on the poster while conversing with the interested public. Practice many times before the event. Structure the oral presentation as conversation points, and use the poster’s visual flow as support. Make eye contact with your audience as you speak, but don’t make them uncomfortable.

Pro Tip: In a conference or summit, if people show up to your poster area after you’ve started presenting it to another group, finish and then address the new visitors.

QA Sessions 

When you’ve finished the oral presentation, offer the audience a chance to ask questions. You can tell them before starting the presentation that you’ll be holding a QA session at the end. Doing so will prevent interruptions as you’re speaking.

If presenting to one or two people, be flexible and answer questions as you review all the sections on your poster.

Supplemental Material

If your audience is interested in learning more, you can offer another content type, further imprinting the information in their minds. Some ideas include; printed copies of your research paper, links to a website, a digital experience of your poster, a thesis PDF, or data spreadsheets.

Your audience will want to contact you for further conversations; include contact details in your supplemental material. If you don’t offer anything else, at least have business cards.

Even though conferences have changed, the research poster’s importance hasn’t diminished. Now, instead of simply creating a printed poster presentation, you can also make it for digital platforms. The final output will depend on the conference and its requirements.

This guide covered all the essential information you need to know for creating impactful poster presentations, from design, structure and layout tips to oral presentation techniques to engage your audience better . 

Before your next poster session, bookmark and review this guide to help you design a winning poster presentation every time. 

Like this article? Please share

Cool Presentation Ideas, Design, Design Inspiration Filed under Design

Related Articles

Filed under Design • January 11th, 2024

How to Use Figma for Presentations

The powerful UI/UX prototyping software can also help us to craft high-end presentation slides. Learn how to use Figma as a presentation software here!

Filed under Design • December 28th, 2023

Multimedia Presentation: Insights & Techniques to Maximize Engagement

Harnessing the power of multimedia presentation is vital for speakers nowadays. Join us to discover how you can utilize these strategies in your work.

Filed under Google Slides Tutorials • December 15th, 2023

How to Delete a Text Box in Google Slides

Discover how to delete a text box in Google Slides in just a couple of clicks. Step-by-step guide with images.

Leave a Reply

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• Ann Med Surg (Lond)
• v.11; 2016 Nov

How to make an academic poster

Buket gundogan.

a University College London Medical School, London, UK

Kiron Koshy

Langhit kurar.

b Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, UK

Katharine Whitehurst

Academic posters are an excellent way to showcase your work at conferences and meetings. They can be used in poster presentations and serve as a summary of your project. In this how to article, we demonstrate how trainees can make and deliver a successful academic poster.

• • Academic posters are an excellent way for trainees to showcase their work at conferences and meetings.
• • When done effectively they provide a succinct and attractive summary of your project.
• • This guide aims to provide trainees with a practical and concise method to prepare their academic poster.

Academic posters, when done effectively, are a succinct and attractive way to showcase your work at conferences and meetings. Unlike oral presentations, your audience may not be static so clear design and distilled content are all the more important. Similarly to oral presentations, successful posters can generate discussion amongst the audience members therefore its important to have a clear plan of what to say when stood alongside your poster. In this article, we highlight the important aspects to creating an effective academic poster.

1. Why make an academic poster?

A poster presentation allows you to summarise your project into a concise and aesthetically pleasing format. It is one of the main ways you will present your work when at conferences [1] , [2] . For this reason, you need to make sure your poster is of good quality. This guide will serve to help you with this.

2. How to prepare a poster

There are many computer programs you can use to create your poster. Many use Microsoft Publisher or PowerPoint. It is important that you are comfortable using these programs as you will likely be doing a lot of editing. If you are not familiar with these programs, librarians that are present in most universities will be able and usually willing to help you out.

2.2. Design

It is useful to attend a variety of scientific meetings to collate ideas on how to create an informative and aesthetically pleasing poster. The most important concept for the overall design is not to overly embellish the poster with formatting and pictures, as this may distract from the content. The information should be minimal, as in a slide presentation, stating only key points rather than complete sentences.

The colour system should have effective contrasting backgrounds (e.g. blue and yellow, black and white) to ensure the text is easy to read. The flow of the poster should also be logical and ideally follow a longitudinal algorithm. This should begin with aims and objectives and flow downwards in columns to methods, results, conclusions and finally references. The same format is also adopted when writing scientific abstracts. Once the poster is drafted, it is important to adhere to the instructions provided by the congress you are attempting to submit to. Failure to comply to guidelines may result in your poster not being considered for a poster award, or perhaps even result in expulsion from the meeting altogether.

Prior to submission it is also important ask as many senior colleagues for feedback on your poster as possible. They will be able to provide feedback on the overall readability of the poster, including formatting. Start preparing your poster early – one month is sufficient time to allow for revisions to be made [3] .

3. Information to include in the format – our top tips

3.1. headings.

This should be clear in bold and grab the reader's attention. It is recommended you use a short, sharp heading relevant to your study. Long scientific titles can often bore the reader and distract from the main body of text. The heading should also include the centre at which the study was conducted and the main contributory authors (as per the authorship critera of International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)). Logos for the trust you are working at, as well as the conference/congress you are attending can be placed on either side of the title.

• • Title: this needs to have the largest font size of your entire poster to be eye catching. Keep the title as short as possible – it doesn't need to be a paragraph long [1] , [3] .
• • Type of manuscript: whether systematic review, research article or another manuscript type.
• • Authors: include everyone who has contributed [4] .
• • Affiliations: should come directly under authors. This should show which organisations are represented by the authors and/or where the research took place and also contact details.

3.2. Main body

This should follow a logical structure guiding the reader through the poster. The more concise your poster, the better – approximately 100 words per section is ideal [5] , [6] . It is very important that your poster is not wordy. Too much text can be off-putting for the audience. The structure should follow a simple abstract outline.

These are the following sections we recommend as a rough guide, but do check the requirements at your specific conference:

• • Introduction

This should include a short background of the topic to set the context and state the main aims and objectives of your piece of work. What differentiates your work from your competition? Why is your work novel in the field?

• • Methods

The methods section (poster space permitting) should include basic parameters including target sample, setting, duration of study, inclusion/exclusion criteria, statistical techniques, key interventions assessed and primary outcome measures.

• • Results

The results section should include data analysis and stratification and should only include the results which answer the stated hypothesis. Moreover, essential to the results section is the inclusion of pertinent and key graphs, graphics, images and tables. These need to be large enough for the audience members to see and be as attractive and clutter-free as possible.

• • Conclusion

The conclusions must derive directly from the results section and answer solely what has been proposed at the start of the paper. Obvious confounders and limitations should also be acknowledged. Key improvements as well as potential for project expansion should also be considered.

• • References

Only cite key references integral to your study, as references are wordy and space consuming. Use a smaller font to the main body text to reduce this.

3.3. Templates

Your host institution or the conference may require you to use a specific template for the poster. This may include a logo, colour scheme or a certain layout. You should check this before you start designing your poster.

Numerous templates for designing poster exist online and within your local trust library. Computer software may also have inbuilt templates to assist with the design process.

3.4. Tables and figures

It is a good idea to include graphs/images/tables as this will make your poster look more aesthetically pleasing [1] , [6] , [7] . They can also provide more information without crowding the poster with text. Make them colourful, though avoid colours that clash with the text colour [8] . Tables and figures can add new information or graphically present what has already been said in the poster. The arrangement of figures and tables varies and there is no universal rule, however figures interspersed within text is popular and looks attractive. Furthermore, ensure that the figures and images chosen are of a good resolution to avoid blurring when printed and presented.

3.5. Font size

The conference may specify this, however, generally for the main body, size 24 is used for text and size 32 for titles. The introduction section at the top of the poster should have a larger font than this [2] .

3.6. Colour

It is a good idea to stick to one or two colours for main text; anymore and your poster may look too busy. It is also important to check colours in advance at the place you wish to print your poster, as certain colours may come out in a different way to that expected [9] .

3.7. Printing

Make sure to factor in the time (and cost) of printing the poster if this is required. Some companies will print the same day, while others may take longer. Check with your host institution/conference if they use a specific company, as they may be able to provide a discount.

3.8. Electronic posters

A growing number of conferences are using electronic posters (e-posters), which are screens that display an electronic copy of your poster, rather than a paper version. These can either be static images which are laid out similarly to a paper poster, or they can be slide shows of your work, which are displayed like a PowerPoint presentation which then go on rotation at the conference. They may also include videos and animations, so bear this in mind when you are selecting content for your poster [7] , [8] .

4. On the day

Poster presentations are generally more relaxed than oral presentations. You will need to arrive on time to put your poster up – bring extra pins or Velcro tabs as these aren't always in supply. Many presenters also place a plastic pocket to the bottom or side of their poster on the day which provides a small version of their poster for readers to take away – this can be useful.

Delegates of the conference will usually be able to look at the posters throughout the day or during tea/lunch breaks. However, there will usually be a set time when judges will inspect the posters. During this time, you will need to stay with your poster, perhaps present it and answer the questions which the judges or audience members will have.

4.1. Presentation

While presenting, the intention is to guide the reader through your poster which if organised in a logical order, should not be read off but simply used to illustrate your point. What you say can then be substantiated by pictures which you can refer to for emphasis. Do keep your presentation succinct and highlight the salient points of your study. Moreover, its good practice to provide some background to your work at the start – it may sound obvious, but the audience may not necessarily know why this work is important and it is up to you to set the scene on the relevance of the project.

It's a good idea to refresh your memory on your project and be familiar with it before the presentation as the audience will likely have questions and there are often prizes for the best posters. Examples of common questions to prepare for include: how your work may be relevant to current clinical practice, how can it be developed further and what the limitations of your study were.

Attire is also often overlooked. You must maintain a professional appearance throughout and this can often add hidden points to your poster score under presentation. Be friendly and approachable and if there are any questions left unanswered, acknowledge this and offer to develop your study further.

• • Academic posters are a good way to showcase your work.
• • Preparing posters in advance is vital.
• • Stick to a clear format which is easy to read from 1 m away.
• • Practice your presentation in advance and think about questions you may be asked after your presentation.

Sources of funding

No funding received.

Author contribution

BG, KK, LK, KW contributed to writing the paper.

Conflicts of interest

Buket Gundogan.

Creating Effective Posters

• Poster Design
• Creating Posters
• Elements of a Research Poster
• Poster Templates
• Citation Styles
• Presenting Your Poster
• Poster Examples

What is a Research Poster?

"A large-format poster is a document that can communicate your research at a conference, and is composed of a:

• introduction to your research question
• an overview of your methods/novel approach
• your results
• an insightful discussion of your conclusion
• previously published articles that are important to your research  
• an acknowledgement of the assistance and support you received from others"

 Credit: Colin Purrinton ,  Swarthmore College

The Periodic Table of Poster Elements

Example layout of a poster

I: Introduction and Research Question

Your introduction sets the stage for the project and serves to give the reader an overview! It should peak their interest.  Best practices include:

• Put your topic within context of published literature
• Provide a description and justification of your experimental approach
• Hint at why your subject is ideal for such research
• Give a clear hypothesis
• Minimize the background information and definitions - include just what is relevant!
• Don't repeat your abstract

Approximate word count:  200 words  

Font size for your introduction:   

Headings: about 44 pt

Main text:  about 32 pt

II: Methods

Here, describe your experimental equipment and the research methods you used.  In addition to the text, you might want to add:

• Figures or tables to help describe the design
• Flow charts to describe the experimental procedures
• Pictures or labeled drawings of the organism or the equipment used

Approximate word count: 200 words

Font size for your methods or research question section:  

Captions for your figures:  about 28 pt

III: Results and Findings

This section analyzes your data and explains if your experiment worked out, or if you were not doing an experiment, what your research findings were. Things to include are:

• Data analysis
• Supporting charts, figures, images, or tables
• Supporting information for your argument
• Legends or pictures that can stand on their own and help the viewer with an understanding

Approximate word count: 200 words.

Font size:  

Captions:  about 28 pt

V: Conclusions and Future Research

This is where you will sum up your poster and remind readers of your hypothesis and the results of your research. A few things to include:

• Focus on the take home message
• Was your hypothesis supported? 
• Why the results are conclusive & interesting
• Relevance of your findings to other published work

Approximate word count: 300 words 

VI: Acknowledgments and References

This is the part where you will credit those who helped you produce this research. Key things to include are:

• Those who funded your research
• Sources that you used during your research
• Credit for those who provided supervision and mentorship
• Credit for any figures used in your poster
• Links to a full report, if necessary 

The text on this section will vary with the number of credits necessary, but will generally stay under 100 words. 

Your poster can be customized to what your research looks like! Not all posters have each section - it depends upon what you are communicating. Some posters will have more or less text, some will have more figures and photographs than others, some will have sections detailing specific parts of their research not included in this template. 

Remember - people will be viewing your poster from multiple feet away! Include only the most important points about your research. 

Credit: University of California, San Diego Libraries. 

Poster Creating Tips

How to make a better academic poster

• << Previous: Creating Posters
• Next: Poster Templates >>
• Last Updated: Mar 11, 2024 9:14 AM
• URL: https://libguides.lib.cwu.edu/creatingposters

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

Scientific Posters

Characteristics of a scientific poster.

• Organized, clean, simple design.  
• Focused on one specific research topic that can be explained in 5-15 minutes.
• Contains a Title, Authors, Abstract, Introduction, Materials & Methods, Results, Discussion, References and Acknowledgements.
• Has four to ten high-resolution figures and/or tables that describe the research in detail.
• Contains minimal text, with figures and tables being the main focus.

Scientific Poster

A scientific poster ( Fig.1 ) is an illustrated summary of research that scientists and engineers use to present their scientific discoveries to larger audiences.   A typical poster is printed on paper with dimensions of 36-inches (height) by 48-inches (width).    

Figure 1. Scientific Poster

Posters are displayed at events such as symposiums, conferences and meetings to show new discoveries, new results and new information to scientists and engineers from different fields.   A large event can have hundreds of posters on display at one time with scientists and engineers standing beside their individual posters to showcase their research. A typical interaction between a poster presenter and an audience member will last 5-15 minutes.

Scientific posters are organized systematically into the following parts (or sections): Title, Authors, Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgments and References ( Table 1 and Fig. 2 ).   Organizing a poster in this manner allows the reader to quickly comprehend the major points of the research and to understand the significance of the work.  

Table 1. Characteristics of a Scientific Poster

The most important parts of a scientific poster will likely be its figures and/or tables because these are what an audience will naturally focus their attention on.   The phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words” is certainly true for scientific posters, and so it is very important for the poster’s author(s) to create informative figures that a reader can understand.   The “ideal” figure can be challenging to create.   Providing too much information in a figure will only serve to confuse the reader (or audience).   Provide too little information and the reader will be left with an incomplete understanding of the research.   Both situations should be avoided because they prevent a scientist from effectively communicating with their audience.  

Authors use different sizes of font for their poster text ( Table 2 ).   The general rule is to use a font size that can be read from a distance of 3-feet (1 meter), which is the approximate distance that a person will stand when viewing a poster.   The largest fonts (e.g., 40-120 point font) will be used for the title, author list and institutions.   Section headings will use 30-40 point font.   Section text, table captions, figure captions and references will typically use 20-30 point font.   Font sizes smaller than about 20-points can be difficult for an audience to read and should only be used for the References and Acknowledgements sections ( Table 2 ).  

Table 2. Poster Font Size and Style

A poster abstract contains all text (no figures, no tables) and appears at the beginning of the poster ( Fig. 2 ).   An abstract is one paragraph containing 200-300 words in length.   The Introduction section ( Fig. 2 ) appears after the abstract and typically contains 100-200 words of text, a figure(s) and/or table(s) and a caption for each figure and table consisting of 25-100 words for each caption.   The Material and Methods sections ( Fig. 2 ) appears third and consists of 100-200 words of text, a figure(s) and/or table(s) and a caption for each figure and table consisting of 25-100 words for each caption.   This is followed by the Results section and Discussion section ( Fig. 2 ).   Each of these sections contain 100-200 words of text, a figure(s) and/or table(s) and a caption for each figure and table consisting of 25-100 words for each caption. Sometimes these two parts of a poster are combined into one large section titled Results and Discussion.   Some posters contain a Conclusion section, which follows the Discussion section. The example shown is Figure 2 does not contain a Conclusion section.   The final parts of a poster are the References and Acknowledgements sections ( Fig. 2 ).  

Figure 2. Parts of a Scientific Poster

An audience will focus most of their attention on the poster title, abstract, figures and tables.   Therefore, it is important to pay particular attention to these parts of a poster.   A general rule is that less text is best and a figure is worth a thousand words.   The text contained within a poster should be reserved for the most important information that a presenter wants to convey to their audience.   The rest of the information will be communicated to the audience verbally by the scientist during their presentation.  

Its very important for a scientist to thoroughly understand all the data and information contained within their poster so that they can effectively communicate the research to an audience both verbally (i.e., during their presentation) and visually (i.e., using the figures and tables contained within the poster).   It is also important that the References section of a poster contains a thorough summary of all publications pertinent to the research presented in the poster.   This way, if an audience member wants more information on a particular topic (e.g., instrument, technique, method, study site) the presenter can direct the audience to the publication(s) where more information can be found.              

Scientific Posters: A Learner's Guide Copyright © 2020 by Ella Weaver; Kylienne A. Shaul; Henry Griffy; and Brian H. Lower is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

Customizable, intuitive, and scalable registration forms to sign up attendees with ease.

End-to-end abstract management platform; submission, review, evaluation, program and proceeding export.

Build branded & stunning event websites to engage your attendees.

Personalize your event awarness to expand your reach and drive registrations.

Host interactive virtual events with networking, streaming, engagement tools, and more.

Take a peek at our case studies and other client successes.

Receive guidance, or learn more about troubleshooting.

• Event Registration
• Abstract Management
• Event Marketing
• Virtual Events
• Case Studies
• Knowledge Center

How to Collect, Evaluate, and Present Poster Presentations at Academic Events Successfully?

Introduction: Enhancing Academic Events with Effective Poster Presentations

In the realm of academic event planning, poster presentations serve as dynamic platforms for researchers to showcase their work, exchange ideas, and foster collaboration. Unlike traditional oral presentations, poster presentations offer a visual and interactive format that allows attendees to engage with the content at their own pace.

At the core of successful poster presentations lies meticulous planning and efficient management. From the initial call for posters to the post-conference follow-up, every step of the process requires careful attention to detail and effective utilization of event management software.

In this blog post, we will delve into the intricacies of collecting, evaluating, and presenting poster presentations at academic events. We will explore the role of abstract management platforms in streamlining the poster submission process, the criteria for evaluating poster presentations, and best practices for designing and presenting posters effectively.

Join us as we navigate the journey of academic event planning, where the seamless integration of technology and expertise transforms poster presentations into impactful channels for knowledge dissemination and collaboration.

Understanding Poster Presentations

In the diverse landscape of academic presentations, poster presentations stand out as versatile and engaging mediums for sharing research findings and insights. Unlike traditional oral presentations, where presenters deliver their research verbally to a captive audience, poster presentations offer a visual platform where attendees can interact with the content at their own pace.

Key Characteristics of Poster Presentations

• Visual Appeal : Posters typically feature a combination of text, images, and graphics, making them visually appealing and easy to comprehend.
• Interactivity : Attendees have the freedom to explore posters at their leisure, engaging in discussions with presenters and asking questions in a more informal setting.
• Accessibility : Poster presentations provide an inclusive platform for researchers at all career stages, allowing them to share their work with a wide audience.

Comparison of Poster Presentation with Other Presentation Formats

While oral presentations dominate many academic conferences, poster presentations offer unique advantages:

• Flexibility : Poster sessions can accommodate a larger number of presenters, allowing for a broader representation of research topics.
• In-depth Discussion : Unlike oral presentations, where time constraints often limit discussion, poster presentations facilitate deeper engagement and interaction between presenters and attendees.
• Visibility : Poster presentations provide a visible platform for presenters to showcase their work throughout the duration of the event, increasing exposure and opportunities for networking.

Throughout this blog post, we will explore the intricacies of planning and executing successful poster presentations at academic events, leveraging the capabilities of event management software to streamline the process and enhance the attendee experience.

What is 'Call for Posters' and What Should it Include?

A compelling call for posters serves as the cornerstone of a successful poster presentation session at any academic event. It is the first point of contact between event organizers and potential presenters, setting the tone for the submission process and shaping the overall quality and diversity of submissions.

Crafting an Effective Call for Posters

• Clear Objectives : Clearly define the objectives and themes of the poster session to guide potential presenters in aligning their submissions with the event's focus areas.
• Inclusive Language : Use inclusive language to encourage participation from researchers across diverse disciplines and career stages.
• Submission Guidelines : Provide detailed instructions regarding submission deadlines, formatting requirements, and any specific criteria for eligibility.
• Engaging Content : Showcase the benefits of presenting a poster at the event, such as networking opportunities, exposure to a wider audience, and potential for collaboration.
• Promotion : Disseminate the call for posters through various channels, including academic networks, social media platforms, and mailing lists, to reach a broad audience of potential presenters.

Importance of Utilizing an Abstract Management Software

Utilizing event management software with abstract management capabilities can streamline the process of issuing calls for posters and managing submissions. These platforms offer features such as customizable submission forms, automated reminders, and centralized data storage, facilitating efficient communication between organizers and presenters.

By leveraging the power of abstract management software, event organizers can ensure a seamless and organized submission process, enhancing the overall quality and effectiveness of the poster presentation session. Throughout the remainder of this blog post, we will delve deeper into the practical aspects of poster submission, evaluation, and presentation, highlighting the role of technology in optimizing each stage of the process.

How to Prepare a Poster Submission Guidelines?

Establishing clear and comprehensive poster submission guidelines is essential for facilitating a smooth and efficient submission process. These guidelines serve as a roadmap for presenters, outlining the necessary requirements and expectations for their submissions.

Key Components of Poster Submission Guidelines

• Formatting Requirements : Specify the preferred format for posters, including dimensions, orientation, and file format. Common poster sizes include standard dimensions like 36 inches (width) by 48 inches (height) or A0 size for international conferences.
• Content Guidelines : Provide instructions for the content of the poster, including sections such as title, abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, conclusions, and references. Clearly define the maximum word count for each section to ensure conciseness.
• Visual Elements : Offer guidance on incorporating visual elements such as images, graphs, charts, and diagrams into the poster. Recommend high-quality graphics and suggest strategies for enhancing visual appeal.
• Author Information : Request detailed information from presenters, including author names, affiliations, contact information, and any disclosures or acknowledgments.
• Submission Process : Outline the steps for submitting posters, including deadlines, submission platforms or portals, and any additional materials required (e.g., supplementary files, author bios).
• Review Criteria : Communicate the criteria that will be used to evaluate poster submissions, such as relevance, clarity, scientific merit, innovation, and adherence to guidelines.
• Ethical Considerations : Remind presenters to adhere to ethical standards in research and publishing, including proper attribution of sources, adherence to copyright laws, and disclosure of conflicts of interest.

Benefits of a Clear Poster Submission Guidelines

• Streamlined Process : Clear guidelines minimize confusion and ensure that presenters understand what is expected of them during the submission process.
• Consistency : Standardized submission requirements facilitate uniformity across submissions, making it easier for reviewers to evaluate posters objectively.
• Quality Control : By setting clear expectations for content and formatting, organizers can maintain high standards of quality and professionalism in the poster presentations.
• Enhanced Communication : Well-defined guidelines foster effective communication between organizers and presenters, reducing the likelihood of misunderstandings or discrepancies.

Throughout the submission period, organizers should remain accessible to address any questions or concerns from presenters, providing timely assistance and guidance as needed. In the next section, we will explore how event management software can be leveraged to build submission forms that align with these guidelines and streamline the submission process for both organizers and presenters.

Building Poster Submission Forms with an Online Abstract Management Platform

In the digital age, leveraging online abstract management platforms is paramount for streamlining the poster submission process and ensuring efficiency and accuracy. These platforms offer a range of features designed to simplify the submission process for both organizers and presenters, from customizable submission forms to automated notifications and centralized data management.

Key Features and Benefits of Online Abstract Management Platforms

Customizable Submission Forms : Abstract management software allows organizers to create tailored submission forms that capture all relevant information from presenters. This includes fields for author details, abstracts, keywords, affiliations, and any additional requirements specified in the submission guidelines.

Automated Reminders and Notifications : Event management software can automate reminders and notifications to keep presenters informed about submission deadlines, acceptance notifications, and any updates or changes to the submission process. This helps minimize the risk of missed deadlines and ensures timely communication throughout the process.

Centralized Data Storage : Abstract management platforms provide a centralized repository for storing and managing all submitted posters and related information. Organizers can easily access and review submissions, track the progress of each submission, and collaborate with reviewers and selection committees as needed.

Flexible Review and Evaluation Tools : Many abstract management systems offer built-in tools for reviewing and evaluating submissions, allowing organizers to assign reviewers, track review progress, and compile feedback efficiently. These tools streamline the evaluation process and ensure consistency and fairness in the review process.

Secure Data Management : With robust data security measures in place, online abstract management platforms ensure the confidentiality and integrity of submitted posters and sensitive information. Presenters can submit their work with confidence, knowing that their data is protected and handled with care.

By harnessing the power of online abstract management platforms, organizers can streamline the poster submission process, improve communication and collaboration, and enhance the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the event planning process. In the next section, we will delve into the evaluation process for poster presentations, exploring the criteria used to assess submissions and select presentations for inclusion in the event.

How to Evaluate Poster-Type Abstracts?

The evaluation process plays a crucial role in ensuring the quality and relevance of poster presentations at academic events. By establishing clear evaluation criteria and employing a systematic approach to review submissions, organizers can identify outstanding presentations that contribute to the overall success of the event.

Key Components of the Evaluation Process

Establishing evaluation criteria.

Define clear and specific criteria for evaluating poster presentations based on factors such as scientific merit, clarity of presentation, relevance to the conference theme, innovation, and potential impact. These criteria should align with the objectives of the event and the expectations of the attendees.

Selection of Reviewers

Identify qualified reviewers with expertise in relevant subject areas to assess poster submissions objectively. Consider recruiting reviewers from diverse backgrounds and institutions to ensure a comprehensive evaluation process. Reviewers should be provided with clear instructions and guidelines for evaluating submissions.

Poster Review Process

Distribute poster submissions to assigned reviewers for evaluation, ensuring confidentiality and anonymity throughout the review process. Reviewers should carefully assess each submission based on the established criteria and provide constructive feedback to authors to help them improve their presentations.

Scoring and Ranking of Posters

Implement a scoring system or ranking mechanism to quantify the quality of poster presentations and facilitate decision-making. Reviewers may assign numerical scores or rank submissions based on predefined criteria, allowing organizers to identify top-rated presentations for inclusion in the event.

Consensus Building

Facilitate discussions among reviewers to resolve discrepancies and reach a consensus on the selection of presentations. Encourage reviewers to share their perspectives and insights during review meetings or discussions to ensure a fair and balanced evaluation process.

Feedback and Notification

Provide timely feedback to presenters on the outcome of the evaluation process, including acceptance or rejection of their submissions. Offer constructive feedback to rejected presenters to help them understand the reasons for their exclusion and identify areas for improvement in future submissions.

Transparency and Fairness

Maintain transparency and integrity throughout the evaluation process, ensuring that all submissions are evaluated based on merit and in accordance with established criteria. Avoid conflicts of interest and bias by implementing rigorous oversight and accountability measures.

By following a systematic and transparent evaluation process, organizers can identify high-quality poster presentations that showcase cutting-edge research and contribute to the intellectual richness of the event. In the next section, we will explore the process of notifying presenters of the acceptance of their submissions and provide guidance on how to proceed with conference registration, if required.

Acceptance Notifications for Poster-Type Submissions

After the evaluation process is complete, it's essential to promptly notify presenters of the acceptance status of their submissions. Timely communication ensures that presenters have adequate time to prepare for the event and make necessary arrangements. Here's how to effectively manage acceptance notifications:

Prepare Acceptance and Rejection Notifications

Craft clear and concise acceptance and rejection notifications to communicate the outcome of the evaluation process to presenters. Include specific feedback for rejected submissions to help presenters understand the decision and identify areas for improvement.

Timely Communication

Send acceptance notifications as soon as the evaluation process is finalized to minimize uncertainty and allow presenters to plan accordingly. Use event management software to automate the notification process and ensure timely delivery of notifications to all presenters.

Provide Detailed Instructions

Include detailed instructions in acceptance notifications regarding next steps for presenters, such as poster presentation guidelines, deadlines for final poster submission, and instructions for conference registration, if required.

Address Questions and Concerns

Be prepared to address any questions or concerns from presenters regarding acceptance notifications promptly. Provide a point of contact or FAQ section to assist presenters in navigating the next steps effectively.

Follow-Up Communications

Follow up with presenters who have not responded to acceptance notifications to ensure they receive important information and confirm their participation in the event. Provide reminders for upcoming deadlines and key milestones to keep presenters informed and engaged.

Maintain Professionalism

Maintain professionalism and transparency in all communications with presenters, regardless of the acceptance status of their submissions. Treat all presenters with respect and courtesy, acknowledging their contributions to the event.

By managing acceptance notifications effectively, organizers can facilitate a smooth transition for presenters from the submission phase to the presentation phase of the event. In the next section, we will explore the process of conference registration for presenters and attendees, including the integration of poster presentation registration with conference registration processes.

Conference Registration (if required)

In many academic events, conference registration is a prerequisite for presenters to participate in poster presentation sessions and other conference activities. Integrating poster presentation registration with conference registration processes ensures seamless coordination and facilitates efficient event planning. Here's how to manage conference registration for presenters and attendees:

Integration of Registration Processes

Integrate poster presentation registration with conference registration processes to streamline the registration experience for presenters. Provide options for presenters to register for poster presentation sessions concurrently with conference registration or through a separate registration portal.

Communicate Registration Requirements

Clearly communicate registration requirements to presenters, including deadlines, fees, and any additional documentation or information needed for registration. Provide detailed instructions on how to register for poster presentation sessions and any associated fees or discounts available to presenters.

Flexible Registration Options

Offer flexible registration options to accommodate presenters with varying scheduling and budgetary constraints. Provide options for onsite and virtual registration, as well as discounts for early registration or group registration for presenters from the same institution or research group.

Confirmation and Payment Process

Upon completion of registration, send confirmation emails to presenters with details of their registration, including session assignments, registration fees, and payment instructions. Provide multiple payment options to facilitate the payment process and ensure a seamless registration experience.

Track Registration Status

Use event management software to track the registration status of presenters and attendees in real time. Monitor registration numbers and make adjustments to accommodate changes in demand or capacity constraints.

Provide Support and Assistance

Offer support and assistance to presenters throughout the registration process, addressing any questions or concerns they may have promptly. Provide a dedicated support contact or help desk to assist presenters with registration-related inquiries.

Deadline Management

Enforce registration deadlines to ensure timely registration and accurate planning for poster presentation sessions and other conference activities. Send reminders to presenters as registration deadlines approach to encourage timely registration and participation.

By effectively managing conference registration for presenters and attendees, organizers can ensure a seamless and efficient registration process, optimize resource allocation, and enhance the overall attendee experience. In the next section, we will explore poster presentation techniques and best practices for engaging attendees during poster presentation sessions.

Poster Presentation Techniques at Academic Conferences

Effective poster presentation techniques are essential for engaging attendees, facilitating knowledge dissemination, and fostering meaningful interactions between presenters and audience members. Whether presenting posters on boards, digitally, or online, following best practices can enhance the impact and effectiveness of poster presentations. Here are some key techniques and considerations:

Poster Layout and Design

Design posters with a clear and visually appealing layout that guides viewers through the content in a logical sequence. Use color, typography, and graphics to highlight key points and attract attention. Ensure that the poster is readable from a distance, with clear headings and well-organized sections.

Poster Dimensions and Specifications

Adhere to the specified poster dimensions and formatting guidelines provided by the event organizers. Common poster sizes include standard dimensions like 36 inches (width) by 48 inches (height) or A0 size for international conferences. Ensure that text font size is legible from a distance, typically ranging from 18 to 24 points for body text.

Content Organization

Organize poster content into clear sections, including title, abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, conclusions, and references. Use concise and informative text to convey key messages, supported by relevant visuals such as charts, graphs, tables, and images.

Author Information and Affiliations

Clearly display author names, affiliations, and contact information on the poster to provide context and establish credibility. Include logos or branding elements to visually identify the author's institution or research group.

Engagement Strategies

Engage attendees through interactive elements such as QR codes, augmented reality, or multimedia content embedded in the poster. Encourage viewers to scan QR codes to access additional information, videos, or interactive demos related to the research.

Presentation Style

Prepare a brief oral presentation to accompany the poster, highlighting key findings and insights in a concise and engaging manner. Practice delivering the presentation to ensure clarity, coherence, and effective time management.

Poster Presentation Setup

Set up the poster in a prominent location with adequate lighting and visibility to attract attendees' attention. Position the poster at eye level and provide sufficient space for attendees to view the poster comfortably.

Networking and Interaction

Use poster presentation sessions as opportunities to network with fellow researchers, exchange ideas, and solicit feedback on the research. Be approachable and receptive to questions, comments, and discussions from attendees.

Digital and Online Presentations

If presenting posters digitally or online, ensure compatibility with the designated presentation platform and provide clear instructions for accessing and navigating the poster. Consider incorporating interactive features such as clickable links, embedded videos, or live chat for real-time interaction with attendees.

By implementing these poster presentation techniques and best practices, presenters can effectively communicate their research findings, engage attendees, and maximize the impact of their poster presentations at academic events. In the final section, we will explore options for publishing accepted posters post-conference and strategies for post-conference follow-up.

How to Publish Accepted Posters at Academic Events?

Publishing accepted posters post-conference offers presenters an opportunity to disseminate their research findings to a broader audience and contribute to the scholarly discourse in their respective fields. There are several options available for publishing accepted posters, including conference proceedings, online repositories, and specialized journals. Here's how presenters can explore these options:

Conference Proceedings

Many academic conferences publish proceedings that include abstracts, papers, and posters presented at the event. Presenters can submit their posters for inclusion in the conference proceedings, where they will be archived and accessible to attendees and the broader academic community.

Online Repositories

Presenters can also upload their posters to online repositories or digital libraries dedicated to academic research. These repositories provide a centralized platform for sharing and accessing scholarly content, making posters available to researchers worldwide.

Specialized Journals

Some journals accept submissions of poster abstracts or extended versions of posters for publication as full-length articles. Presenters can explore opportunities to expand their poster presentations into manuscript submissions for publication in peer-reviewed journals.

Institutional Repositories

Academic institutions often maintain institutional repositories where faculty, staff, and students can deposit scholarly works, including posters. Presenters can inquire about the availability of institutional repositories and deposit their posters for archival purposes.

Open Access Platforms

Consider publishing posters on open access platforms that promote unrestricted access to scholarly content. Open access platforms increase the visibility and impact of posters by making them freely available to researchers, practitioners, and the general public.

DOI Assignment

If publishing posters in digital or online formats, presenters can request assignment of a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) to ensure persistent identification and citability of their work. DOIs facilitate proper attribution and citation of posters in academic publications and research outputs.

Copyright Considerations

Presenters should be aware of copyright considerations when publishing posters, including permissions for reuse of copyrighted material, attribution requirements, and licensing agreements. Review the copyright policies of the chosen publication venue or repository to ensure compliance with relevant regulations.

By publishing accepted posters post-conference, presenters can extend the reach and impact of their research beyond the confines of the event venue, contributing to the advancement of knowledge and innovation in their respective fields. In the final section, we will explore strategies for post-conference follow-up, including collecting feedback and fostering continued engagement with attendees and fellow researchers.

Post-Conference Follow-Up

Post-conference follow-up is a critical step in the event planning process, enabling organizers to gather feedback, assess the success of the event, and foster continued engagement with attendees and presenters. By soliciting feedback, addressing any issues or concerns, and maintaining communication with participants, organizers can enhance the overall attendee experience and lay the groundwork for future events. Here are some strategies for effective post-conference follow-up:

Feedback Collection

Send out post-conference surveys or evaluation forms to attendees and presenters to gather feedback on various aspects of the event, including the poster presentation sessions, keynote presentations, networking opportunities, and overall event experience. Use a combination of closed-ended questions (e.g., rating scales) and open-ended questions to capture both quantitative and qualitative feedback.

Data Analysis and Reporting

Analyze the feedback collected from attendees and presenters to identify strengths, areas for improvement, and opportunities for future events. Compile a comprehensive report summarizing key findings, trends, and actionable insights to inform event planning efforts for subsequent conferences.

Thank You Notes

Express gratitude to attendees, presenters, sponsors, and volunteers for their participation and contributions to the event. Send personalized thank-you notes or emails to acknowledge their support and convey appreciation for their involvement in making the event a success.

Post-Conference Communications

Maintain ongoing communication with attendees and presenters through post-conference newsletters, announcements, or social media updates. Share highlights from the event, upcoming opportunities for collaboration or networking, and information about future events or initiatives.

Networking Opportunities

Facilitate continued networking and collaboration among attendees and presenters by providing online platforms or forums where they can connect, share resources, and engage in discussions related to their research interests. Encourage the exchange of contact information and the formation of professional connections.

Publication of Proceedings

Publish conference proceedings, including abstracts, papers, and posters, to disseminate the research presented at the event to a wider audience. Make proceedings available online or through academic libraries to ensure accessibility and visibility of the research outputs.

Post-Conference Workshops or Webinars

Offer post-conference workshops, webinars, or panel discussions on topics of interest to attendees and presenters, providing opportunities for continued learning, professional development, and knowledge exchange beyond the conference.

By implementing these post-conference follow-up strategies, organizers can maintain momentum, build on the success of the event, and strengthen relationships within the academic community. Effective follow-up not only enhances attendee satisfaction but also contributes to the long-term success and sustainability of the event series.

Mastering the process of collecting, evaluating, and presenting poster presentations at academic events is essential for organizers and presenters alike. From the initial call for posters to the post-conference follow-up, each stage of the process requires careful planning, effective communication, and attention to detail. By leveraging event management software, adhering to submission guidelines, and implementing best practices for poster presentations, organizers can create a seamless and engaging experience for presenters and attendees.

Throughout this blog post, we've explored the importance of clear communication, efficient organization, and strategic planning in optimizing the poster presentation process. We've discussed the role of online abstract management platforms in streamlining poster submissions, the criteria for evaluating poster presentations, and techniques for designing and presenting posters effectively. Additionally, we've highlighted options for publishing accepted posters post-conference and strategies for post-conference follow-up to maintain engagement and foster continued collaboration within the academic community.

As organizers and presenters continue to refine their approach to poster presentations, it's essential to embrace innovation, adapt to evolving technologies, and prioritize the dissemination of high-quality research. By working together to enhance the poster presentation experience, we can create opportunities for meaningful exchange, collaboration, and advancement in research and scholarship across disciplines.

Thank you for joining us on this journey through the intricacies of poster presentation at academic events. We hope you find the insights and recommendations shared in this blog post valuable as you plan and participate in future conferences and symposiums. Here's to the success of your poster presentations and the impactful contributions they make to the academic community.

Images by FREEPIK

Designing Effective Poster Presentations

• Poster Creation
• Presenting the Poster
• Georgia College Resources

What to know before you start:

Design notes, web resources.

• Designing conference posters Blog: by Colin Purrington
• Designing Effective Posters LibGuide by UNC Health Science Library
• Ten Simple Rules for a Good Poster Presentation Erren TC, Bourne PE (2007) Ten Simple Rules for a Good Poster Presentation. PLoS Comput Biol 3(5): e102. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.0030102
• 60 Second Poster Evaluation Rating Criteria

Workshop Powerpoint

Infographic on design.

Source: Elsevier. "Infographic: Tips for designing better research posters."  Elsevier Connect. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2017.

• << Previous: Home
• Next: Poster Creation >>
• Last Updated: Apr 9, 2024 9:26 AM
• URL: https://libguides.gcsu.edu/PosterDesign

Module 9: Beyond the Research Paper

Poster presentations, learning objectives.

Identify ways to communicate effectively in a poster presentation

Especially in the natural and social sciences, research is often presented in the form of a large, printed poster. At a conference poster session, attendees can walk around and take in a large amount of research in a short amount of time. Poster sessions usually offer the opportunity to interact with the researchers and ask questions about the research presented in the poster.

Poster session at the 111th American Society for Microbiology General Meeting, New Orleans, LA.

Tips for Creating a Research Poster

A poster is a visual representation of your research. Your poster should:

• be eye-catching
• tell the story of your research – concisely
• enable the viewer to engage with your research

The viewer should walk away remembering you and your work, not the way the poster looked.

Step 1 – Writing

Before you consider opening PowerPoint, or any other design software, open Microsoft Word. Any word processor will do, but make sure that it has the ability to track your word count and check your spelling.

• Target audience : ask yourself, who is my ideal audience for this poster? Is it other experts in your field, or perhaps the broader public? What is their level of understanding of the subject? This is an important question because if you put a bit of effort into making your poster understandable to the broader public, you automatically increase your potential audience and impact. Also consider that a poster written in plain English works with both experts and non-experts alike, while technical and complicated writing greatly limits your potential audience.
• Bullet points : a poster should not look like a paper, therefore, bullet points are your friend. 200-word paragraphs on a poster would discourage even the most motivated, sober, and caffeinated conference attendant. Bullet points on the other hand are a lot less frightening.
• Questions/knowledge gap
• Methods (keep this to the bare minimum or skip it if you can)
• Conclusions
• References and acknowledgements (smaller at the bottom)
• Fewer words : Depending on the task at hand, the word count of a poster should probably be under 250 in total. Possibly <150 words.  Less is definitely more.
• Graphs : One or two graphs is better than three or four, and certainly better than eight or nine! When selecting the graphs to display, also ask yourself who your audience is. This is important because if you are using your poster as an outreach tool for the general public, then there is no point in including complicated graphs that no one is going to understand. However, things are different if you are showing your poster exclusively to an audience of experts. In that case, it’s safe to assume your audience can read your graphs.

A student explains her research, as outlined in the poster behind her.

Step 2 – Concept

Here is where the fun starts. Grab a piece of paper, or open up your design software, and make a first draft.

• Layout and size : vertical or horizontal? Keep in mind that when you design posters, it’s always safer to downsize than to upsize, as upsizing a digital image based on a pixel grid will inevitably cause a loss of resolution.
• Panels : how do we read; left to right or right to left? Top-down or bottom-up? Make sure your poster has a clear directional flow. Start with an enlarged and readable title right at the top, then create a simple layout of panels that make it easy for the viewer to navigate. Remember that we’re committed to keep the reader in mind, so use arrows and numbered headers to help them out.

Step 3 – Design

• Negative space : for some strange reason, many academics feel the need to cover every inch of their poster with text or images. This is the wrong idea! It’s bad because it makes it difficult for the viewer to find the relevant information and to rest their eye. Clear space, also known as negative space, is a super important design concept, one that you should use to your advantage.
• Eye-catching visuals : imagine you’re walking around a poster session, and you’re far enough away from the posters that you can’t read titles or graphs. What will compel you to walk towards a particular poster? It’ll likely be a recognizable image that grabs your attention. Without a big and recognizable image, your poster will look like a fuzzy wall of text and it will likely go unnoticed. Therefore, it’s smart to include one big visual that’s related to your research and has the ability to hook people in from a distance. Be it a rocket, a lion, or an octopus — what matters is that it’s there.
• Color : this should be common sense, yet some scientific posters insist on using unbearable color combinations. Use a limited number of colors, say three to five, and stick with them! Graphs included. It’s often best to have two or three shades of a primary color of your choice, an accent color that stands out, and a couple of text colors.

• You can use the accent color to draw attention to where you want people to look. The important thing is that you use the accent color in moderation.

• See how the 87% and the dot points stand out? This is the effect you want to recreate on your own posters. In case you need some more inspiration, Material Palette  is a free tool that creates color palettes for you based on two colours of your choice.
• Background:  Maybe you have an awesome photo you really want to include in the poster. Why not blow it up and use it as the background of the whole poster?  No!  Don’t do it! You’re not doing yourself or the viewer any favors. A photo used as a background is too distracting and makes it impossible to have negative space on your poster. It’s much better to leave the background white, grey, or filled with a light color from your color palette.
• Fonts : fonts and font sizes work a bit like colors. That is, the fewer you use, the better. My suggestion is to use only one or two different fonts. Boldface should be used on titles and headlines, while all the rest should be normal. When picking the fonts to use, play it safe. Stick with the classic Arial, Myriad Pro, and other familiar fonts and you can’t go wrong. In terms of font size, try 90 for the title, 60 for the headlines, and 36 for the body text. And remember that your poster should not require a magnifying glass to be read, but rather it should be easily readable from three feet away.

• Software : some of you may be thinking that to make great posters you need great (and expensive) software. Wrong! All you really need is Microsoft PowerPoint and the principles contained in this blog post. Feeling like trying something more powerful? Then you could check out  Canva , and if you’re really up for a challenge use  Affinity Designer,   Adobe Illustrator  or  Indesign . However, be ready for a steep learning curve and a substantial investment on these latter options. On the bright side, Adobe always has significant educational discounts for students and university staff.

Step 4 – Printing

• Get feedback : you’ve designed your masterpiece. Awesome! Congratulations! Now it’s time to get feedback from your classmates and/or colleagues before printing it. Ask them to proofread it too. And remember that people are busy, so do this well in advance, as printing often takes longer than you’d imagine.
• Dummy : before spending money printing your poster, you really want to make a dummy as a final check. Print your poster A4, or even better A3 size if you can, and triple-check that important information isn’t too close to the margins. You’re likely going to put your picture in a corner, so you want to ensure your face isn’t going to get cut in half!
• Color profile : if you designed your poster with professional software, you’ll have the ability to control the color profile. Nothing complicated, there are two options: RGB and CMYK. The first one is for digital use, and the second one is for printing — pick the second one. That’s all you need to know.
• Resolution : if you designed your poster big enough from the start (e.g. A0), you should be alright. As a rule of thumb, your resolution for high-quality printing posters and images should be around 300 dpi (dots per inch).
• Where to print : you have many options, from the big office supplies stores like Office Depot, to the small print shops around campus. Print time varies from place to place, so be sure to plan this ahead of time.
• Paper : shiny things are pretty, but it’s better to avoid shiny and glossy papers when it comes to posters, as they can create annoying reflections. Matte papers are best. But paper isn’t the only option these days, some stores can even print your poster on canvas or cloth.
• Poster session. Authored by : Steven Rose. Located at : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Printed_poster_session.jpg . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
• How to design an award-winning conference poster. Authored by : Tullio Rossi. Located at : https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2018/05/11/how-to-design-an-award-winning-conference-poster/ . License : CC BY: Attribution
• Science Student Poster Symposium. Authored by : Michael J. Ermarth. Provided by : U.S. FDA. Located at : https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Science_Student_Poster_Symposium_(16796190065).jpg . License : Public Domain: No Known Copyright

• QUICK LINKS
• Registration information
• Browse the programme
• Information for presenters
• Exhibition and exhibitor information

Poster presentation instructions

Preparing your poster

Poster presenters will interact with conference participants in two ways:

• Attend and present a printed poster at the meeting (each poster presenter must bring a printed version of their poster)
• Upload a poster PDF for publication. Poster PDFs will be available for on-demand viewing in the online program during the conference and will be published and archived with the manuscript after the meeting in the conference proceedings on the SPIE Digital Library.

Instructions on preparing your poster presentation and publishing your poster PDF are below.

*Contact author or speaker must register prior to uploading **After this date slides must be uploaded onsite

Step-by-step guide to a successful in-person poster presentation

Create and print your poster

The most successful posters are graphically rich presentations of your research that highlight and summarize the main points, with the poster presenter filling in the details in person at the session and with a preview video to complement your published poster PDF (see below). The least effective poster format is an enlarged copy of your manuscript.

Your poster should include:

• The paper title and all authors at the top of the poster
• A brief introduction, goals, experimental detail, conclusions, and references; presented in a logical and clear sequence
• Explanations for each graph, picture, and table

Size, fonts, and color

• The maximum poster size is ISO standard A0 size, 84cm wide x 119cm (33in x 47in). View the SPIE Poster template
• Title: 36-point type
• List of authors: 25-point type
• Body copy should be double-spaced text: 15-point type
• Choose your colors to provide strong contrast and avoid pairing red and green elements to assist those with red-green color blindness

Print a high-resolution copy of your poster to present on site (size must not exceed 84cm wide x 119cm ).

Create and submit your poster PDF

Poster presentations can be created in a number of software applications but must be exported to PDF format to submit for publication in the conference proceedings in the SPIE Digital Library. The PDF file size must be less than 100 MB. Avoid uploading multiple versions of your poster PDF. When you finish creating your PDF, check the following:

• Is your poster PDF saved with the .pdf file extension?
• Is your file size less than 100 MB?
• Do all your graphs, pictures, and tables include explanations?
• Is your text color and size easy to read on screen?
• Did you include references?

Submit your poster PDF

Your poster PDF must be received by the deadline, approximately 3 weeks before the meeting. After the submission system opens for presentations and manuscripts, using any web browser, visit https://spie.org/myaccount and sign into your account.

• From the account dashboard, look under "Submission and Review System" and click on the symposium link
• Scroll down until you find your paper
• Click on the upload poster file link to submit your poster PDF and follow the steps to upload your .pdf file

NOTE: The contact author or speaker must be registered before uploading. Only the contact author can submit the poster PDF. The contact author can assign a coauthor as the contact author via the submission system or by sending a request to [email protected] (include your paper number in the message).

Set up your poster in person

• Bring your high-resolution printed poster with you to the meeting (size must not exceed 44" x 44" [112 cm x 112 cm])
• Check the individual conference program to find your poster session location and timing
• Set up your printed poster at least one hour before your session start time on the day you are scheduled to present
• Paper numbers will be placed on the poster boards in numerical order
• Find your paper number and put up your printed poster in the designated space
• Push pins, tape, or Velcro will be provided to hang your poster

Present your poster in person

• Each poster presenter is responsible for printing their poster and bringing it to the meeting. SPIE does not print the posters
• Each poster must have a unique presenter; one person may not present more than one poster
• Poster presenters are required to stand by the poster during the scheduled duration of the poster session to answer questions from attendees
• Presenters who have not placed their poster(s) on their assigned board at least 60 minutes prior to the start of the poster session, and attend to it for the duration of the poster session, will be considered a "no show," and their manuscript and poster PDF will not be published in the proceedings on the SPIE Digital Library
• Presenters must remove their printed posters immediately after the poster session
• SPIE assumes no responsibility for the printed posters and will not save posters left hanging after the end of the session.

Publication of your poster

• SPIE will publish and archive all poster PDFs along with the manuscript in the conference proceedings in the SPIE Digital Library
• To qualify for publication, poster PDFs must be received by the advertised due dates, and the printed poster must be presented at the meeting
• SPIE retains rights to distribute and market the published poster PDF; the presenter retains copyright of all presented content

• Event Website Publish a modern and mobile friendly event website.
• Registration & Payments Collect registrations & online payments for your event.
• Abstract Management Collect and manage all your abstract submissions.
• Peer Reviews Easily distribute and manage your peer reviews.
• Conference Program Effortlessly build & publish your event program.
• Virtual Poster Sessions Host engaging virtual poster sessions.
• Customer Success Stories
• Wall of Love ❤️

How to Write an Abstract For a Poster Presentation Application

Published on 15 Aug 2023

Attending a conference is a great achievement for a young researcher. Besides presenting your research to your peers, networking with researchers of other institutions and building future collaborations are other benefits.

Above all, it allows you to question your research and improve it based on the feedback you receive. As Sönke Ahrens wrote in How To Take Smart Notes "an idea kept private is as good as one you never had".

The poster presentation is one way to present your research at a conference. Contrary to some beliefs, poster presenters aren't the ones relegated to oral presentation and poster sessions are far from second zone presentations; Poster presentations favor natural interactions with peers and can lead to very valuable talks.

The application process

The abstract submitted during the application process is not the same as the poster abstract. The abstract submission is usually longer and you have to respect several points when writing it:

• Use the template provided by the conference organization (if applicable);
• Specify the abstract title, list author names, co-authors and the institutions in the banner;
• Use sub-headings to show out the structure of your abstract (if authorized);
• Respect the maximum word count (usually about a 300 word limit) and do not exceed one page;
• Exclude figures or graphs, keep them for your poster;
• Minimize the number of citations/references.
• Respect the submission deadline.

The 3 components of an abstract for a conference application

Most poster abstract submissions follow the classical IMRaD structure, also called the hourglass structure. 

To make your abstract more memorable and impactful, you can try the Russian doll structure. Contrary to IMRaD, which has a more linear progression of ideas, the Russian doll structure emphasizes the WHY and WHAT. It unravels the research narrative layer by layer, capturing the reader’s attention more effectively.

Your abstract should be something the reviewer wants to open in order to discover the different layers of your research down to its core (like opening a Russian doll or peeling an onion). Then, it should be wrapped up elegantly with the outcomes (see figure below)  like dressing the same Russian doll.

Hence, to design the best Russian doll, I recommend Jean-Luc Doumont's structure as detailed in his book Trees, Maps and Theorems that I adapted in 3 main components:

1. Background. The first component answers to the WHY and details the motivations of your research at different levels:

• Context : Why now? Describe the big picture, the current situation.
• Need : Why is it relevant to the reader? Describe the research question.
• Tasks : Why do we have to do this way? Review the studies related to your research question and emphasize the gap between the need and what was done.

2. Core . The center component answer to the HOW and consists in describing the objective of your research and its method:

• Objective : How did I focus on the need? Detail the purpose of your study.
• Methods : How did I proceed? Describe briefly the workflow (study population, softwares, tools, process, models, etc.)

3. Outcomes . The final component answers to the WHAT and details the take-aways of your research at different levels:

• Findings : What resulted from my method? Describe the main results (only).
• Meanings : What do the research findings mean to the reader? Discuss your results by linking them to your objective and research question.
• Perspectives : What should be the next steps? Propose further studies that could improve, complement or challenge yours.

It's worth noting that this structure emphasizes the WHY and the WHAT more than the HOW. It is the secret of great scientific storytelling .

The illustration below provides a clearer understanding of the logical flow among the three components and their respective layers. Note that, if authorized, sub-headings can be used for each section mentioned above.

4 tips to help get your abstract qualified

Here are some tips to give yourself the best chance of success for having your poster abstract accepted:

• Start by answering questions . It is very hard for the human brain to create something totally from scratch. Hence, allow the questions detailed above to guide you in creating the first path to explore.
• Write first, then edit . Do not try to do both at the same time. You won't get the final version of your abstract after your first try. Be patient, and "let your text die" before editing it with a fresh new point of view.
• "Kill your darlings'' . Not everything is necessary in the abstract. In Stephen Sondheim's words , West Side Story composer, "you have to throw out good stuff to get the best stuff". You will be amazed at just how surprising and efficient this tip is.
• Steal like an artist . As suggested by Austin Kleon's book title , get inspiration from others by reading other abstracts. It can be very helpful if you struggle finding punchy phrasing or transitions. I'm not referring to plagiarism, only getting good ideas about form (and not content) that can be adapted and used in your abstract.

When you get accepted, it's time to design your poster board and prepare your pitch. Pick your favorite graphics software and bring your abstract to life with figures, tables, and colors. We have written an article on how to make a scientific poster , do not hesitate to take a look.

5 Best Event Registration Platforms for Your Next Conference

By having one software to organize registrations and submissions, a pediatric health center runs aro...

5 Essential Conference Apps for Your Event

In today’s digital age, the success of any conference hinges not just on the content and speakers bu...

How to Present a Poster in a Conference?

• Open Access
• First Online: 24 October 2021

Cite this chapter

You have full access to this open access chapter

• Samiran Nundy 4 ,
• Atul Kakar 5 &
• Zulfiqar A. Bhutta 6  

31k Accesses

9 Altmetric

Once your scientific experiment has finished you need to tell the world about its importance [1]. The usual ways are by writing a manuscript and sending it to a peer-reviewed journal, by giving a slide presentation at a conference or by the way of a poster presentation at a conference. There are usually workshops held in conferences about how to publish papers. However, little consideration is paid to how to present a good poster. This is also a common method of presenting your work, at a conference and needs to be given importance [2].

If you can’t make it good at least make it look good. — Bill Gates, American Software Developer (1955–)

You have full access to this open access chapter,  Download chapter PDF

Similar content being viewed by others

Poster Presentation at Scientific Meetings

Presenting Thesis in Conferences: Oral and Poster Presentation

Writing the Abstract

1 what is the importance of a poster presentation.

Once your scientific experiment has finished you need to tell the world about its importance [ 1 ]. The usual ways are by writing a manuscript and sending it to a peer-reviewed journal, by giving a slide presentation at a conference or by the way of a poster presentation at a conference. There are usually workshops held in conferences about how to publish papers. However, little consideration is paid to how to present a good poster. This is also a common method of presenting your work, at a conference and needs to be given importance [ 2 ].

2 How to Start Preparing for a Poster Presentation?

The making of a poster starts with the acceptance of the abstract by the scientific committee of the conference. They will then separate the papers according to the importance of the subjects into those selected for oral presentations or traditional poster presentations. This letter of acceptance is the first step from which the journey to prepare the poster begins [ 3 ].

3 What Are Important Facts to Know Before You Start a Poster Presentation?

You should learn some preliminary facts about poster presentations before starting your project. These include [ 4 ]:

About 30% of posters are cluttered or ‘sloppy’.

About 20% have fonts that are too small to read from a distance.

In about 38% the research question cannot be located after a one-minute survey.

There is another interesting fact called the ‘10 ×10 rule for poster presentations’, i.e., the average attendee spends only 10 seconds to scan the poster as he/she strolls in from a distance of 10 feet. It is imperative therefore that the poster should be eye-catching and attract a potential reader to come close to it. Thus, poster making combines both the science and the art of scientific presentations [ 5 ].

4 What Are the Stages of a Poster Presentation?

The stages are the planning of the contents, organizing the data, drafting, and finally printing the poster. The final endorsement comes during the interaction with the audience as to how well you have been able to ‘sell’ your work and defend it at the same time.

The various steps for poster presentation are described below:

4.1 Step 1: Planning

Simplicity is the key mantra for a poster. A person does not spend more than a few seconds gazing at the poster, so there should be a minimum of clutter and a maximum of graphics.

The information provided by the conference organizers is vital at this stage. They usually specify details such as the poster size, poster number and on which day, place, and time it may be displayed.

Go through the abstract and make sure it contains all the necessary information.

Check all the data and tables and figures.

There are many paid and unpaid sites that provide templates for poster presentations (Table 37.1 ). The ideas may be borrowed from them but be creative and use your own ideas as well.

4.2 Step 2: Organization of the Poster

A poster has been compared to the story of a movie. It should contain the setting of the main plot (research question), methods, climax (results), and the ending (conclusions). Figure 37.1 shows how to organize a poster into various heading.

Organization of the poster

4.3 Step 3: Printing of the Poster

Before this stage, it is always better to show a draft of the poster to a friend or senior colleague who has more experience. Their inputs at this stage can be very useful.

There are two types of papers available for printing. Glossy paper is expensive but it is durable. There is glare as the light reflection can make it difficult to see the poster from a particular angle. There is, however, better resolution of clinical photographs, histopathology, and radiology illustrations. In comparison matte paper does not reflect light, is more economical but less durable, and also provides less resolution for illustrations [ 2 ].

5 How Should the Material Be Placed in the Poster?

A poster has three main components [ 5 , 6 ]:

Illustrations such as statistical graphs, flow diagrams, and photographs

6 Background

Make a plan for the poster and fix a space for each component [ 7 ].

The heading appears in the uppermost part of the poster. The title should be readable from at least 2 metres away. The names of the authors and their affiliations should also come under the heading [ 4 ].

Introduction should be brief and should be 3 to 5 lines and appear at the upper left portion of the poster.

Research question, aims, methodology, and results need to be placed subsequently. Do not repeat any data. If possible, use more space for tables and results.

Illustrations are important components of a poster and add life to it.

The conclusions should appear at the lower right portion of the poster.

7 What Should Be the Font Size of the Text in a Poster?

The main content of the poster should be made double-spaced with a left-sided justification.

A text with its left side even and right side jagged is easiest to read.

The font size is important. Posters should be legible from a distance of about 2 metres [ 8 ].

In general, use font sizes proportional to the subheading in the poster.

The title should have the largest font and should be bold and at least 72 points.

The subheading is the next largest and should be at least 48 points and bold.

The text of the body font should be at least 24 points.

Both landscape or portrait layouts are good for a text poster.

You need to be consistent in using fonts. Only one type should be used throughout the poster.

Bold headings stress importance. The other ways of doing this are by highlighting or underlining, or using different colours. A text in italics is difficult to read from a distance.

8 What Should Be the Word Count in a Poster?

The success of a poster is directly related to the ‘clarity of the illustrations and tables and viewing a poster should be a visual feast’. [ 2 ] The total word count of the poster text should be between 300 and 800 words. More important than the word count are the illustrations. A self-explanatory graph should govern the poster. The text should supplement the photographs wherever possible. Less text is better, be innovative in the poster, in the placement of the text, and a light background stands out (Fig. 37.2 ).

Word count in a poster

9 How Should the Poster Background Look?

The choice of a background colour depends on the presenter. Softer pastels or greys look fine. They can be easily viewed for a long time and are also ideal for graphics and photographs. Dark backgrounds should be avoided, as the graphics do not stand out against them. Backgrounds with a graded texture make a poster look too busy.

10 What Are the Important Considerations While Making a Poster?

Graphic illustrations should be visible easily from a minimum 2 metres. Do not use more than 3 colours in a poster.

Avoid photographs less than 5 × 7 inch as they may be difficult to see.

All figures should have legends.

All photographs should be at least 300 dpi for clarity and good resolution.

Cropping all unwanted details from photographs helps to depict what you want to show.

Having a thin outline around photographs, helps them to look prominent.

The colour of graphs should match with the poster.

Do not use copyright images for poster presentation.

11 What Are the Limitations of Posters?

The poster presentation occurs in a calmer environment than an oral presentation. It also encourages much more individual interaction between the author and viewer than an oral presentation. However, it has many drawbacks. Firstly, the reach of posters is limited to a few delegates compared to an oral presentation. Secondly, the interaction may need to be repeated many times with different attendees. Thirdly, any routine or inconsistent conclusions cannot be debated in a group.

12 How Should You Store and Transport a Poster?

The packing and carriage can be done in cardboard tubes or plastic rolls. Identification details should also be mentioned on the tube to recover it if it gets lost. If the poster is to be reused then using a thick quality of paper with lamination along with a box will increase its life.

13 How Should You Display the Poster?

Although the organizers usually provide pins or tape at the conference venue, it is always better to carry these with you. Also, carry a few A4 printouts for distribution.

14 What Happens During the Interaction?

The interaction during a poster presentation is a better way of communication than an oral presentation as it is only between two individuals. The time for displaying the poster and for interaction is usually given in the letter of acceptance. If the scientific content of the paper is good then the poster is shortlisted for a special poster tour. There is often an award given to the best poster for its overall content, aesthetics, and interaction of the author with the referee.

15 What Are the Types of Poster Presentations?

By convention, a poster has to be printed on paper. However, the demand for an electronic poster format is increasing in many conferences. The e-poster is inexpensive, it saves paper, is quicker, has better colours, and is easy to carry. It uses the PowerPoint format or multimedia, which is more versatile. The impact of an e-poster is greater as 3D animation and surgical technique videos can be loaded and it is visually appealing. This has revolutionized poster sessions as science has become more colourful and vivid. In this COVID era the majority of conferences except for posters are in the e-format. Smartphones and tablets are new generation devices that have paved the way towards the electronic format of poster presentation.

Examples of good and bad posters are shown in Figs. 37.3 and 37.4 .

Balance of text with graphs

Too much data, balance between text and figure is missing

16 Conclusions

A poster presentation is a combination of art and science.

It is an effective way to communicate scientific work.

It has many stages like planning, organization, printing, and transportation.

The interaction session with the viewer is important during the display and may yield new ideas.

The e-posters are a new and powerful technique being used in many conferences.

17 What Are the Various Steps in Making a Poster?

The various steps are given in Fig. 37.5 .

Flow chart of how to proceed with a poster

Gundogan B, Koshy K, Kurar L, Whitehurst K. How to make an academic poster. Ann Med Surg (Lond). 2016;11:69–71.

Article   Google Scholar  

Chopra R, Kakar A. The art and science of poster presentation in a conference 2014; 4:294–304.

Google Scholar  

Tasker F. How to make a scientific poster? Stud BMJ. 2013;21:1297.

Presentation. A MEE guide no 40. Med Teach. 2009;31:319–21.

Boullata JI, Mancuso CE. A “How to” guide in preparing abstract and poster presentation. Nutr Clin Pract. 2007;22:641-646.

Miller JE. Preparing and presenting effective research posters. Health Serv Res. 2007;42:311–28.

Erren TC, Bourne PE. Ten simple rules for a good poster presentation. PLoS Comput Biol. 2007;3:e102.

Larive CK, Bulsha E. ABCs of teaching analytic science: tips for effective poster presentation. Anal Bioanal Chem. 2006;385:1347–9.

Article   CAS   Google Scholar  

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Department of Surgical Gastroenterology and Liver Transplantation, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, India

Samiran Nundy

Department of Internal Medicine, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, India

Institute for Global Health and Development, The Aga Khan University, South Central Asia, East Africa and United Kingdom, Karachi, Pakistan

Zulfiqar A. Bhutta

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

The images or other third party material in this chapter are included in the chapter's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the chapter's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Nundy, S., Kakar, A., Bhutta, Z.A. (2022). How to Present a Poster in a Conference?. In: How to Practice Academic Medicine and Publish from Developing Countries?. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-5248-6_37

Download citation

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-5248-6_37

Published : 24 October 2021

Publisher Name : Springer, Singapore

Print ISBN : 978-981-16-5247-9

Online ISBN : 978-981-16-5248-6

eBook Packages : Medicine Medicine (R0)

Share this chapter

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Publish with us

Policies and ethics

• Find a journal
• Track your research