Speaker Guidelines

Preparing Your Presentation

Session Time Limitations

• All sessions are 90 minutes, but depending on how many presentations there are in your session, the individual timing will differ:
  • 6 presentations: 12–15 minutes for their presentation, which leaves a maximum of 18 minutes for group Q&A
  • 5 presentations: 15–18 minutes for their presentation, which leaves a maximum of 15 minutes for group Q&A
  • 4 presentations: 15–20 minutes for their presentation, which leaves a maximum of 10 minutes for group Q&A
• Note: Not all speakers may use all their time provided. Likewise, some speakers may be included to go over their allotted time

Audio-Visual Equipment

Each presentation room will have the following equipment available:

• Laptop computer equipped with Microsoft PowerPoint / Adobe Acrobat Pro
• Projector and screen
• Computer audio

AAPOR PowerPoint Template

This year, AAPOR is offering a branded conference PowerPoint template to help presenters create polished, professional presentations that align with the overall look and feel of the event. We strongly encourage you to use this template to ensure consistency across sessions and enhance the audience experience.

Important Dates

March 23, 2026

Speaker Registration Deadline

May 13–15, 2025

AAPOR 81st Annual Conference

First-Time Conference Presenter Webinar

On April 16, the AAPOR Welcoming Committee hosted a webinar designed for those presenting research with AAPOR for the first time, providing guidance, tips, and encouragement to help you make the most of your presentation experience. Watch the recording.

Tips for a Successful Presentation

• To avoid delays, presenters should be in the room 15 minutes prior to the start of the session.
• DO NOT READ your paper. Speak from notes, not the written text of your paper. Presentations are so short that only the most important results of your work can be communicated. Identify the 3–5 most important ideas you want to convey and concentrate on those.
• Create an accessible PowerPoint for all users:
  • Avoid animation and transitions. They can be distracting, not give users enough time to read each slide, and cause problems with screen readers.
  • If you embed multimedia (which is not recommended in general), ensure it is captioned and audio is transcribed.
  • Use fonts such as Times New Roman, Tahoma, Arial, and Verdana and a font size of no less than 20 point.

• Use audio-visual aids when appropriate, but keep the following in mind:
  • Avoid presenting tables with many cells.
  • Make you print BIG: the overhead/slide must be read by people as far away as 50 feet from the screen.
  • Common mistakes include displaying tables directly from your paper without simplifying them and using fonts that can only be seen from the first few rows.
  • Present just a few important facts on each slide.

• Keep to the time allotted to you in the session guidelines. Rehearse your oral presentation to get a realistic sense of its timing. When you run over, another panelist loses time for his or her presentation, or the discussion is curtailed.
• Watch for a signal from the moderator that your allotted time is getting short or has been used up. If the latter happens, wrap up your presentation immediately.

Guidelines for Poster Presenters

• Plan on setting up early. The fabric poster boards will be available at the following times before the start of the poster session. The poster sessions are located in the Exhibit Hall.
• Poster assignment numbers will be emailed out to the presenting author several weeks prior to the conference. Please find your assigned number; boards are double-sided.
• Pushpins will be provided to mount your materials. Remove your poster board immediately following the poster session. Any posters left behind will be discarded.
• Each poster session will be 60 minutes or 90 minutes long, depending on the day. Authors are required to stand by their posters during the entire session. Be prepared to give a brief summary of your research and answer any questions from visitors. A good elevator pitch summarizes your research or obvious follow-up questions in 2–3 minutes.
• Each poster should fit into the allotted space of 8′ wide x 4′ tall (one side of the poster board), which means posters should be 8′ x 4′ or smaller.
• The preferred method of presenting a poster is to provide the information on a single, integrated poster-size sheet containing brief highlights of each of the following:
  • Title of presentation, author(s), and affiliation(s)
  • Statement of problem/hypotheses
  • Explanation of design and methodology
  • Results
  • Conclusions, recommendations, or implications
  • QR code with your networking information (email, LinkedIn profile, resume, etc.)

Although poster sessions may give you time to discuss your project at length, most attendees will attempt to get an overview of multiple posters being presented in the session. It is best to prepare a quick (1–2 minute) oral summary of the paper for those who have limited time. Having hard copies of your paper or a “fact sheet” from the poster for interested visitors is highly recommended.