Write the most central points of your presentation. You won't have much room to work with on your poster, so you want to make sure you get across exactly what you want to. Making your main points big and bold is important because people walking by your poster will only take a moment to decide if they're interested enough to stay and read the rest.
Gather graphics. Graphics will get your point across quickly without taking up a huge amount of space on your layout board. Color graphics will catch a viewer's attention quickly, so put your most important information out front in the graphics.
Prepare your poster. Make sure you know the conference rules before you begin putting your poster together. Three types of posters -- pin-up, tabletop and floor -- are the most common type of poster sessions. Pin-up is the easiest to transport, but it takes more setup time at the event. Tabletop posters stand on the table, usually in a tri-fold. Floor posters are the most expensive to make and take up the most room. They may also be too big for many conferences. Once you decide which poster to make, you can begin putting it together.
Design your poster session. Once you have all your information gathered and your graphics made, it's time to put it on the board. Oftentimes, presenters put their information on several sheets of standard printer paper, with each sheet focusing on a particular section of your research. Once you are ready, glue or pin your research to the layout board.
Review your poster session. Take a step back and make sure you've used all the information you wanted to before you take the presentation to the public.