Presenter Guidelines

To support an inclusive, engaging, and accessible experience for all participants, we ask that presenters follow the guidelines below when preparing and delivering presentations, posters, and handouts. These recommendations align with best practices for accessibility and plain language.

Creating An Accessible PowerPoint

For complete step-by-step guidance go to WebAim Microsoft PowerPoint Accessibility or Prezi Accessibility. WebAim also offers accessible PowerPoint templates.

Best Practices:

  • If you include images or graphs, always add alt text. 
  • Use a font size of 20 or greater.
  • Use sans serif fonts such as Calibri or Arial.
  • Use contrasting colors (white text on dark background or dark text on a light background).
  • Use plain language. See CDC’s guidelines.
  • Check accessibility using your PowerPoint Accessibility Tool.
  • If a video is included in your presentation, it must have captioning. 

Poster Development Tips

  • Posters must fit on mounted stands that are 4 feet tall by 8 feet wide mounted stand.
  • Keep accessibility in mind when designing your poster. 
  • The material should be well labeled and legible from a distance of 10 to 15 feet away. Lettering should be bold. Use a large sans serif font such as Veranda.
  • Consider the Better Research Poster design for an easy-to-digest poster design.

Creating Accessible Posters

  • Main findings should be between 72- and 150-point font
  • All other text should be at least 36-point font.
  • Use sans serif fonts such as Helvetica, Arial or Verdana
  • Make sure font colors contrast with the background, such as black text on a white background or white text on a dark background.
  • Use between 1.2 and 2.0 line spacing.
  • Have your research and graphs available in a QR code for attendees who are blind/low vision to access or for any attendee to view later. QR code should be at least 5″x5″. 
  • Online materials shared in a QR code should be screen reader accessible. See guidance under “Presentation Handouts” below.
  • Do not place text over images.
  • Use 300 dots per inch, or dpi, when saving images. Avoid copying and pasting images from the web that are below 250Kb.

Presentation Handouts

If your handouts will be in PDF format, follow these guidelines: