Poster Session
Definition
A poster session is an event format where presenters display visual summaries of their research, projects, or case studies on large printed or digital posters, and stand beside them to discuss their work with attendees who browse the display area. Poster sessions are common at academic conferences, medical symposiums, and professional development events. They allow for more presentations than the schedule could accommodate as traditional talks.
Understanding Poster Session
Poster sessions provide a unique blend of visual communication and personal interaction. Presenters condense their work into a structured visual format typically covering introduction, methodology, results, and conclusions. The poster serves as a conversation starter, allowing attendees to scan many topics quickly and engage deeply with presenters whose work interests them. This format is particularly effective for presenting preliminary research, case studies, student work, and innovation projects.
Poster session logistics include providing display boards or stands (standard sizes are 4x6 feet or 4x8 feet), organizing posters by topic or track, scheduling dedicated viewing time in the agenda (typically 60-90 minutes), providing poster numbers corresponding to an abstract booklet, and managing setup and teardown. Some events enhance poster sessions with lightning talks where each presenter gives a 60-second overview, digital poster displays on screens, and audience voting for best poster awards.
Examples
- 1
A medical conference poster session displaying 200 research posters organized by specialty, with two 90-minute viewing periods and a best poster award judged by a faculty panel.
- 2
A technology conference hosting a digital poster session on large touchscreen displays, allowing attendees to swipe through poster content and submit questions to presenters via an app.
- 3
An academic symposium combining a poster session with 60-second lightning talks, where each presenter briefly introduces their poster to the full audience before the open browsing period begins.
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