Why & How to Host a Poster Session

Mark Saponaro (camelotspecialevents.com)

Targeted CommunicationUsing Low Tech Displays

Why A Poster Session?

Research takes a lot of time to accumulate, compile, and publish in an understandable format (click here to see how to lay out a poster board)...as the Research Presenter; you want to get this valuable information into as many of the right hands as possible.

A Poster Session is a highly effective way to do this.  A large amount of presenters can communicate their research topic to a very interested group of attendees in a short amount of time.

Efficient Information Flow

Attendees will gravitate to the poster board(s) that interest them most to have an intimate one-on-one question and answer session with the presenter.

This discussion can be in depth and last as long as two hours.  Attendees have time to fully explore and understand the presentation.

Presenters get their work seen by people who need to see it.

Brainstorming often occurs during this information exchange among peers that is beneficial to both presenter and attendee.  This synergy results in new ideas and viewpoints that can help foster advancements in the topic.

The presenter gets great exposure to his work while educating attendees.

The presenter and the attendees both meet qualified contacts in their field of interest.

Organize Your Poster Session

Promote Your Poster Session Early

As the show organizer:  Get the word out on your web site, social media, email, newsletters, word of mouth, etc.  A well attended poster session is a successful one, and will set the stage for next year's successful event.  The same is true of individual presenters...Promote, Promote, Promote.

Make a List

Presenters should pre-register; this allows you to see how much space you will need in advance of the event.  The sooner you have your list, the more likely you will get the room and date you want.  Make the registration process as easy as possible:  Set up multiple ways to register, such as on your web site (or through social media), by email, by snail mail, via telephone, and in person.

Plan Your Poster Board Room Layout

Reserve the room for your Poster Board Session and take a walk through it. Try to get a schematic of the room from the room coordinator or take measurements to make sure all the Poster Boards will fit.

While you walk through the Poster Session room, make sure to check out the building and room access that presenters will be using.  Issues such as limited parking for unloading or maze-like hallways need to be addressed.  Work out a plan that will keep the presenter "Load-in" running smooth.  Include a map of the load-in area and access hallways with the Presenter Confirmation email if they are not straight forward.

Draw a layout (to scale) of the maximum amount of Poster Board Stands that will fit in the room...this will allow you to visualize traffic flow through the room and ensure none of the poster boards are blocking access doors, fire extinguishers, etc.

Leave plenty of room between poster board rows so attendees can stand in front of boards in adjacent rows and still have room between rows to easily move around.  For example, twelve feet would leave a 4 foot viewing area at both rows and a 4 foot walking aisle.

Put numbers on the physical boards and on the layout so presenters can easily find their space at set up time. Distribute this master layout to all presenters prior to the Poster Session by email (or snail mail).

The layout will also serve as a program for attendees to find their topic of interest.  Make sure to include a list that shows: topics, presenters and poster board numbers so attendees can plan where they want to visit. 

Group similar topics in the same area of the room and color code them on both the printed layout and the poster board stands.  This will help facilitate information flow by keeping like-minded people in the same space.

Hallway Poster Board Layout

If there are no rooms available, consider holding your poster session in an extra wide hallway or lobby.  A common area can be a great location for a poster board session because people passing by can increase your attendance by a significant amount.

Layout is fairly straightforward.  Hallways that are more narrow should have poster boards running up one wall (single side use).  Wider spaces can have poster boards on multiple walls (possibly using both sides of the boards).

Continue Promoting

Communicate with potential presenters and attendees to keep them aware of the event date and any deadlines.Send email or snail mail updates and use follow-up phone calls for those special presenters and attendees.Also talk it up among colleagues…word of mouth can be valuable.Post your event on social medial sites like Facebook, Linked-In, Twitter, etc.Write an article in your blog with related links to online info.This ongoing promotion will:  1) ensure you get all poster boards occupied 2) help secure interesting presenters 3) fill your poster board session with plenty of attendees.

Final Poster Session Plans

Get commitments from presenters.  If there is a fee...make sure to get payment well before the poster board session date.  If there are no fees, institute a deadline that is two weeks prior to the event date so you have time to get programs/room layouts printed and poster board stands rented.

After your presenter list is finalized, obtain push pins, number labels, signage and all other items needed for the poster session.  Get slightly more push pins and labels than you need to cover last minute presenter requests.

At presenter set up time:  Presenters should check in so the poster board session organizer has some idea of who is in attendance.  Use a presenter list and check off presenters as they arrive.  This is a good time to hand out push pins and other items to presenters.  Have a waiting list for other potential presenters.  This will help you fill poster boards from presenter "no-shows".

It can also be a good idea to have an extra poster board stand or two if there is space for them in the room...this will allow you to host additional presenters.

Mall Map

A poster board can be used to display an extra large version of the room layout for everyone's benefit. Include a "You are here X" for easy reference (like what you see on a shopping mall map).

Locate this poster board near the main entrance.

Post a knowledgeable volunteer by the board to answer questions and point out the location of poster boards.  This will keep presenters and attendees flowing into the room and away from the entrance avoiding traffic jams.

Handouts of the room layout should be made available here.

Multiple Poster Board Sessions

When more presenters register than the room can fit, consider multiple poster board sessions in the same day.

Timing becomes more important with multiple sessions, so your poster board schedule should include a load-in and poster board set-up time, a presentation time, a poster board break-down and load out time.

An example of a full day poster board schedule is shown below: 

Session #2: 1015am Load-in & attach materials, 1045am - 1230pm poster board session, remove materials by 1245pm

Lunch Break 1230p-130p

Session #3: 130pm Load-in & attach materials, 2pm - 345pm poster board session, remove materials by 4pm

Session #4: 345pm Load-in & attach materials, 415pm - 6pm poster board session, remove materials by 615pm

Dinner Break 6pm-7pm

Session #5: 7pm Load-in & attach materials, 730pm - 930pm poster board session, remove materials by 945pm

The schedule above shows 5 poster board sessions in one day.  This allows you to increase the possible presenters in the room by 5 times.  These seperate sessions could be used to host similar or complementary presenter topics leading to a more productive poster board session.

The time alloted to presenters for attaching materials to their poster boards prior to the presentation is 15 minutes.  The same amount of time is alloted for detaching materials from the poster board immediately following their presentation.

Load-in and load-out times between poster board sessions overlap so that while one presenter is taking their material down, the next presenter is bringing their materials to the poster board to be ready to put their material up within their 15 minute time-slot.

A tight schedule such as in this example requires poster session attendants who can alert presenters that their presentation time is nearing an end (or over).  These attendants can also help presenters remove materials from their poster boards to keep the sessions running on time.  Any materials abandoned will also have to be removed by these attendants.

Poster Session Rules For Presenters:

Put together a list of rules for Presenters to follow and make sure it is printed on the registration form.  Send them a second copy with their email confirmation.

These rules are designed to keep the poster board session running smoothly and presenters available to attendees during the session.

Most rooms that are used for poster board sessions do not have ample electric outlets to allow every poster board display to have power.  This, along with the often short set-up times allowed to presenters, make it impossible to allow audio-visual equipment and such to be used.

It is wise to list no audio-video as one of the rules for presenters as well as others listed below.

Presenters must stay at their poster board for the entire session

Material set-up times and removal times may have to be strict, especially when having multiple poster board sessions.

Material left on poster boards will be taken down and recycled.

Do not write or paint on the poster board stands.

Do not deface the poster board stands in any way.

It is a good idea to list a penalty for blatant no-shows:  "Presenter no-shows at the poster board session will be put on the waiting list at next years event and will get a poster board only if available at show time".

Include other rules that make sense for your poster board session.