Presenter Hub

Poster Presentation Best Practices

It is easy to get lost in the details and want to showcase as much information as possible on your poster, but the key to an engaging poster that keeps a reader engaged is to focus on three points: clarity, being concise, and having a strategic design.

Important Information

All posters must be uploaded as a PDF.

Please make your poster accessible to all attendees. Learn how to make your poster and other documents accessible.

Clarity

Ask yourself, “What would I need to know if I were viewing this material for the first time?” And then state the information clearly.

Have you provided all the obvious information?
Will a casual observer understand your major findings after a quick look?
Will a more careful reader learn enough to ask informed questions?

Concise

Keep it simple. Place your major points in the poster and save the non-essential, but interesting highlights, for follow up discussion. Be selective. Your final conclusions or summary should leave observers focused on a brief statement of your most important findings.

Is the sequence of information evident?
Is the content being communicated clearly?

Design

The specific design of your poster should reflect your goals to convey your research and findings clearly and effectively. We recommend you consider using our own APA mod template of the Better Poster, a newer approach that focuses on the central message more explicitly.

Why use the “Better Poster” APA mod?

It fosters questions and discussion in the chat from your viewers
It’s easy to identify critical takeaways
It’s visually appealing and eye-catching which makes people more likely to stop and read more
It helps posters stand out from the pack
It encourages presenters to be creative, think about how to translate their findings, and focus on what is important.
It has been designed with accessibility for all attendees in mind.

Unsure about what font sizes and colors to use so that people can read your poster? Check out our Accessibility Guide.

APA Better Poster Mod

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