Presentation Guidelines: Oral Poster Symposia Moderators and Discussants

There are 10-12 posters in each Oral Poster Symposium, with two moderators and two discussants. The moderators may structure the session as they prefer. A suggested program includes three-minute presentations by each poster presenter, then 30 minutes of general poster viewing, followed by a focused discussion among clusters of four poster presenters.

The three-minute introductory presentations provide an overview of each author’s work. These brief presentations, with a maximum of three slides, should focus on the rationale for the study and how the results provide new insights and/or mechanisms. Attendees can then view all the posters and interact directly with the author for about 30 minutes.

Before the meeting, the moderators will group the posters into logical clusters, typically with four posters per group. After the general viewing period, presenters will discuss the posters in each group. Moderators also ask each presenter to come prepared with at least one question for each of the other presenters in the group. They encourage co-authors and mentors to participate actively in the discussion—those interactions are what make a poster symposium more informative and engaging than a platform session.

Oral Poster Symposium co-moderators should confer about six weeks prior to the meeting to confirm their presentation format, group the posters in a logical manner, and communicate with the abstract presenters. All participants should familiarize themselves with the abstracts in the symposia. An Oral Poster Symposium discussant helps fuel the discussion by asking relevant questions from the audience, with the goal of increasing audience participation and engagement.

Presentation Guidelines: Oral Poster Symposia Presenters

Overview: Please read the guidelines for Oral Poster Symposia moderators and discussants to get an overview of the format’s structure and rationale.

Set-Up: Each poster board is numbered sequentially in your session. Locate your assigned poster board and mount your poster within the time noted on these instructions. Pushpins will be provided in the area. 

Take-Down: Please disassemble your posted materials at the end of the session. Any materials left on the poster board at the end of the session will be removed and discarded. PAS will not be responsible for posters left at the end of session.  

Design:

Poster Board Dimension: Surface of the board: 4 feet high and 8 feet wide (1.22 metres and 2.44 metres). Note: poster must fit on the board but does not have to be the same size as the board.

Header: Prepare a headline that identifies your research to be mounted at the top of the poster board. Lettering should be 1½” (3.81 cm) high or more. Include authors and their affiliations under the header.  Disclosure information should be visibly notated on poster presentation immediately following the poster title and authors.

Organization: The key is to achieve clarity and simplicity. Do not overload or overcrowd the poster. Use a coherent sequence (top to bottom or left to right) to guide the viewer through the poster. Use figures, tables, graphs and photographs when appropriate; keep text brief. It may be helpful to have materials pre-mounted on mounting boards. All materials should be legible from a distance. 

Typography: Avoid using abbreviations, acronyms and jargon. Font should be consistent throughout.

Completion: Ask yourself the following questions about your poster:

➊  What do I want the viewer to remember?

➋  Is the message clear?

➌  Do important points stand out?

➍  Is there a balance between words/illustrations?

➎  Is the pathway through the poster clear?

➏  Is the poster understandable without oral explanation?

Date Session Time Poster Set Up
Saturday, May 2 8:00 am – 10:00 am 7:00 am – 8:00 am
Sunday, May 3 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm 3:00 pm – 3:30 pm
Monday, May 4 10:30 am – 12:30 pm

1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

3:30 pm – 5:30 pm

10:00 am – 10:30 am

12:30 pm – 1:000 pm

3:00 pm – 3:30 pm

PosterCast

New for PAS 2020: Maximize the impact of your research by recording a three-minute audio explanation of your poster presentation using PosterCast, a free smartphone app. More information on PosterCast. Note that even though the posters in Oral Poster Symposia have, by definition, an oral component, we encourage presenters to also make a PosterCast recording to further extend the reach of their work.