Recently, I shared some tips for conference presentations. Today, I’ll focus on conference poster presentations, a format that is especially common in STEM fields.

What is a poster presentation?

Let us start with the basics, since not everyone (for example, humanities researchers) is used to the concept of a “poster presentation”. In short, it involves displaying a large printed sheet (typically A0 or A1 size) on a designated poster wall during a dedicated conference session (typically 1–2 hours). Then you stand in front of your poster while attendees stop by to discuss your research.

The motivation for conference organisers is that you can include more participants in less time. But it is not only about maximising academic “profit”; poster presentations also encourage one-on-one conversations with interested researchers, which may, in many cases, be more valuable than running multiple parallel presentation-based sessions with few participants. For those exploring the posters, it offers flexibility, as you can choose which posters you would like to spend time with and move on to another if you feel it is less relevant.

Some conferences also combine oral and poster presentations. Then, the most common is a short “poster pitching” session, where each presenter gives a 1–2-minute oral presentation during a plenary session, followed by the poster session.

Tools for poster design

I have experimented with various tools over the years. In the early 2000s, I used InDesign but then moved to OmniGraffle. That was on my MacBook years ago; now I am on Ubuntu and prefer LibreOffice Draw for its flexibility and open-source accessibility.

Some people also use slide software, such as LibreOffice Impress (or MS PowerPoint, Apple Keynote, or Google Presentation). Some even use LaTeX. The most important thing is to use a tool that allows for easily positiong text and images on the page. So you should avoid word processors (e.g. MS Word).

Poster design principles

There are many ways to make posters. Here are my tips:

  1. Grab attention: Make your poster visually striking so people notice it from a distance and want to learn more
  2. Include strategic visuals: Include images, plots, diagrams, and data visualisations that you can point to when standing at your poster.
  3. Avoid information overload: You don’t need to include everything from your paper. Instead, highlight your main contributions. Think of the poster as a “teaser” for further exploration. Remember to add a URL or QR code.

Nowadays, I don’t make posters myself; I usually send doctoral and postdoctoral fellows to conferences to present research. But I have made many posters in the past. Here is an example of one that I think worked well, about Kinectofon:

Poster image

Notice that I have little text; it focuses on presenting the system developed and on examples of how it worked. In addition, I had the setup running on my laptop next to the poster so people could try it.

Alexander presenting poster

Presenting posters

Here are some tips for a poster presentation:

  • Arrive early: Ideally, hang your poster before your session starts. Sometimes, the organisers have set a timeslot for hanging the posters. Other times, you need to hang it at the beginning of the session. Be quick, you want to maximise the tip for interacting with people.
  • Position yourself strategically: Related to the above, if you can choose, think about where you want to be located in the space. Then it helps to arrive early to pick your preferred location. Stand closer to the entrance if you want more people to see your poster. However, it can also be a busy location where it may be difficult to hear what people are saying due to excessive noise.
  • Bring a prop: Consider bringing a physical object related to your research to capture attention and spark conversation.
  • Bring headphones: If you want to demo something with sound (which music people often do!), bring headphones for people to listen. Don’t rely on your laptop speakers; they probably won’t be audible, and you will make your neighbours unhappy. Also, bring multiple headphones! I often bring four Koss headphones (they are cheap and lightweight) and a minijack splitter so that several people can listen at the same time.

In general, though, there is no right or wrong. The most important thing is to have fun and be approachable. Also, if it gets busy, with many people coming all the time, remember to “restart” your story at regular intervals so that newcomers get the gist of what you have done.