GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING POSTERS Poster presentations of research abstracts have been a part of the ARO Midwinter Meeting since 1984. They have allowed the meeting to grow in size and scope without limiting the number of presentations or increasing the number of overlapping sessions. They have also provided a more informal and interpersonal way to present research data at the meeting. For the poster sessions to continue to be significant and vital part of the MidWinter Research Meeting, the ARO has drawn up some guidelines to help you in preparing a poster that is both effective and informative. General Information Posters are to assembled by 1:00 pm of the day of your poster session and completely removed by 12:15 pm of the following day. Poster session personnel will be present to assist the poster authors from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm. At least one of the authors must be present at the assigned time (1 hour) during their poster session. The presenting author's assigned time during all the poster sessions will be 1:00 pm -2:00 pm for even numbered poster board positions and 2:00 pm -3:00 pm for odd number poster board positions. Please have one of the poster authors present for at least 1/2 hour during the evening hours of 6:00 pm -10:00 pm. This time period is at the discretion of the poster authors, but should be posted on their poster with the materials provided by the poster session personnel. Poster boards, pushpins, and adequate lighting will be provided by ARO. The maximum poster board surface area will be . Feet and Inches cm High 3' 10-1/2" 118.1 Wide 5' 10-1/2 " 179 Please prepare a title for the top of your poster indicating the abstract number, title of presentation, authors and their affiliations. See lettering section for the appropriate size of the title. A copy of your abstract, in large type, should be posted near the title. Again this year, poster positions will be numbered (i.e. A1 - A-75 and B1 - B50) please leave a 3" by 5" ( 7.6 cm by 12.7 cm) space at the top left corner of the poster board for the board position number, which will be provided. This number is not the abstract number, it refers to the poster location, which will be constant for each poster sessions to allow for ease in locating posters. A message board and information desk will also be set up in the poster room to facilitate communication between poster authors and interested parties who wish to meet at a poster during the evening hours for extended discussion. To maximize the effectiveness of the poster, keep the presentation simple and clear, even if the topic is complex. Your poster should be self explanatory so that you are free to supplement and discuss particular points raised in inquiry. There should be an overall balance between text and graphics and clearly labeled sequence in the order of the layout. Arrange materials in vertical columns rather than a horizontal row format. It is easier for viewers to scan a poster by moving systematically along it rather than a zig zagging back and forth in front of it. Simple but prominent sub-headings like "Introduction", "Methods", "Discussion", and "Conclusions" are very helpful. Lettering: Lettering of the titles and text in the poster should be large enough so it can be read from a distance of 3 to 8 feet (90 to 250 cm). Minimum Letter Height Inches cm Point size Title 1-1/2 3.8 96 Subtitle 3/4 2.0 48 Text 1/4 0.7 24 Title and subtitles should be in capital letters, although the authors and affiliations in the main title can be lower case to accentuate the title. General text should be in lower case, as this is much easier to read and should be double-spaced. General text is most easily produced by photographic enlargement of typewritten text or by personal computers with word processing programs equipped with large font sizes. Graphics: One word: Simplify! Complex graphs are too difficult to read and comprehend. Lettering on the graph should be at least 1/4" (7 mm) high and lines on the graph no thinner than 2 mm. Simple use of color can add emphasis effectively. Each graph should have a heading of 1 or 2 lines stating the take-home message. Detailed information should be provided in a legend accompanying each graph. Overall graph size should not be smaller than 5" x 7" (12.7 x 17.8 cm), the larger 8" x 10" (20.3 x 25.4 cm) format preferred. Photographs: Photographs and micrographs should have good contrast and sharp focus and should not contain unnecessary or distracting detail. Remember that they will be viewed from a distance of from 3 to 8 feet and should be large enough to be understood from that distance. Important objects should be labeled, and there should be clear indication of scale. Each photograph should have a heading of 1 or 2 lines stating the take-home message. Detailed information should be provided in a legend accompanying each photograph. The same size scale as stated for graphs applies: 5" x 7" (12.7 x 17.8 cm), the larger 8" x 10" (20.3 x 25.4 cm) format preferred.   Any additional questions regarding the poster sessions or the preparation of an effective poster should be directed to: meetings@aro.org or the conference management department at (856) 423-0041, option 2.       Thank you for visiting the Association for Research in Otolaryngology ARO Office: 19 Mantua Rd. Mt. Royal, NJ 08061 USA headquarters@aro.org