Academic meetings are most successful when their content is accessible to all attendees, allowing everyone a meaningful opportunity to engage with current research. These guidelines aim to help speakers reach the broadest possible audience.

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Poster presentations

POSTER SIZE: Maximum A0, 119cm x 84cm, 46.8in x 33.1in    Minimum A1, 84cm x 60cm, 33.1in x 23.4in

POSTER ORIENTATION: Portrait

Download poster dimensions here

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The standard format of a poster follows that of an oral scientific presentation: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion and Conclusions. A poster, like an oral presentation, cannot (and should not) contain all information you have on the topic. Scientific posters should stimulate interest rather than provide a detailed presentation. If all text is kept to a minimum (no more than 1000 words), a person should be able to fully read your poster in less than 10 minutes.

 

Using inclusive design principles will increase accessibility for visually impaired members and can also enhance the experience for all poster viewers. To best serve all attendees, we recommend the following guidelines to create a more accessible poster:

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Preparation and Layout

• Place the title at the top. Start with the introduction at the upper left, and finish with the conclusions at the lower right, with methods and results filling the central space.  

• Use short sentences, simple words, and bullets to illustrate your points. The text should be broken up by including graphics or photos.

Fonts

• All information should be large enough to read easily from at least 1.5m or 5ft away.

• Use a simple font like Arial or Calibri, with at least 1.5 spacing. Choose one font and then use it throughout the poster.

Illustrations (graphs, charts, photos, etc.)

• Graphic materials should be visible from at least 1.5m or 5ft away.

• Only include essential information in graphs and tables.

Use of Colour

• Check that your colours have the right amount of contrast and consider the needs of those with colour blindness. 

• Overuse of colour can be distracting – restrained use of 2 to 3 colours for emphasis is valuable and will unify the poster.

• Use a light background with darker illustrations, or a dark background with lighter illustrations.

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Please note that presenters are responsible for printing their own posters

 

Oral presentations

PRESENTATION LENGTH: Oral presentations should be 15 minutes with 5 minutes for discussion.

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For PowerPoint or Adobe PDF presentations, presenters will be required to submit them on a pen drive (USB) or by email by their arrival day at the congress. A technician will help presenters in each session room. If combining video files with PowerPoint, please make sure to check it during a coffee or lunch break prior to your session.

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Note for Apple Mac users
In order to use Mac-produced presentations on a PC-compatible computer, please note that you need to prepare them according to the instructions below:

• Use a common font, such as Arial, Times New Roman or Verdana (special fonts might be changed to a default font on a PowerPoint-based PC).

• Insert pictures as JPG files (TIF, PNG or PICT images will not be visible on a PowerPoint-based PC).

• Use a common video format, such as MPG and WMV (MOV files from QuickTime will not be visible on a PowerPoint-based PC).

• Presentations prepared on Keynote must be exported to PowerPoint or PDF files, or you may use your own Mac. In such a case please make sure to provide a HDMI adapter.

 

Using inclusive design principles will increase accessibility of your presentation for those who need it, and can also enhance the experience for all. To best serve all attendees, we recommend the following guidelines to create a more accessible oral presentation:

 

Preparation and Layout

• Slides should be clean and uncluttered, with clear, distinct points.

• Be visible, face the audience, and use the microphone when speaking in the lecture theatre. Try to stand in good light when you talk, so participants can see your face. This helps people hear and understand better, including those who are hard of hearing to lip read or have difficulty understanding accents. 

• Use simple language. Avoid or explain jargon, acronyms, and slang. Ensure that the key points of each slide are given in visual form (text and/or pictures) and verbally. 

Fonts

• All information should be large enough to read easily from all points of the room you are presenting in.

• Use large text and a simple font like Arial or Calibri, with at least 1.5 spacing. Choose one font and then use it throughout the presentation.

• Bold text is generally easier to read than highlighting, underlining, or italicising key points. 

Illustrations (graphs, photos, videos etc.)

• Images and videos should be described so that people who are visually impaired will know what is being displayed. A brief description of what is in a video before it is played will help audience members who are blind or visually impaired to establish context for what they will hear.

Use of Colour

• Avoid presentations with white slide backgrounds throughout, soft pastel colours with dark text is preferred where possible for visual accessibility.

• Check that your colours have the right amount of contrast and consider the needs of those with colour blindness. 

• Overuse of colour can be distracting – restrained use of 2 to 3 colours for emphasis is valuable and will unify the poster.

• Use a light background with darker illustrations, or a dark background with lighter illustrations.

Helpful features 

• In newer versions of PowerPoint, you can use automatic subtitles when presenting your talk, this can help accommodate individuals in the audience who may be deaf or hard of hearing, or more familiar with another language. 

• Accessibility checks can be performed on your presentation: in Microsoft Office and Adobe in the Tools menu under Check Accessibility or Accessibility.