Top Tips for Presenters
Please see below for important information on preparing for UK Kidney Week 2026.
- Thoroughly read the speaker information and other communications about the conference.
- Arrive early: Be at your session are least 10 minutes early to meet with your chairperson and other presenters.
- Keep it simple.
- Use minimal text and diagrams to present your findings.
- Tailor to a broad range of kidney professionals (clinical, professional, researchers).
- Provide a high-level overview of your research, leaving details for Q&A appendix slides (oral presentations) or an online appendix accessible via a QR code (posters).
- Tell a story.
- Background: Briefly introduce the current knowledge in your field to set the stage.
- Purpose: Highlight what is unknown or misunderstood, prompting your research.
- Your Research: Explain the approach you took to address the identified gap or misconception and summarise the key findings.
- Presentation Strategy: Start with a preview of what you’ll discuss, deliver the content, and then recap the key points at the end to reinforce retention.
- Focus on impact.
- Ensure your audience understands the implications of your research for future research, policy, and practice.
- Be excited and well-prepared.
- Practice extensively. Alone, with your research group, and with non-specialists.
- Adhere to your time limit; cut content rather than speak faster.
- Preparation helps manage nerves and improve performance.
- Use Q&A to your advantage.
- Be confident and courteous. You are an expert in your field.
- Use slides and appendix slides as needed to answer more detailed questions.
- Note key questions for later reflection and incorporation.
- Handle unanswerable or tough questions graciously, suggesting further discussion post-talk.
- Use seemingly off-point questions to refine your message clarity.
- Ensure your visual materials are readable.
- Use at least 24-point standard font for the main text.
- Include ample white space for better organisation.
- Opt for a white background with black text for main text to enhance readability.
- Limit the number of accent colours and select them to maintain clarity.
- Use a solid background colour. Avoid distracting or complex background images.
- About 1 in 20 people has some form of colour vision abnormality. Avoid red/green combinations. Use an accessible colour palette, which can be found here. Verify the accessibility of your graphics with a colour blindness simulator, available here.
- Bring business cards and share your contact details in your poster/slides.
- Engage with attendees and fellow presenters.
- Bring a printed copy of your research for more in-depth discussions.
As part of our commitment to sustainability, there will be no printed posters this year. All poster presentations will be displayed on digital e-poster boards.
Preparing your e-poster
- Please make sure you have read our e-poster artwork specifications guidelines
- If you have data visualisations, use as few as possible and make the findings section larger than other sections to ensure that these can be read from a distance.
- Do not write in paragraphs. Use bullet points.
- Your poster is a visual abstract. Do not include an abstract (unless required).
How to upload your e-poster
The upload process is straightforward - you should have received an email from the Events Team with details on how to upload your poster - if you have not received an email please contact events@ukkidney.org
- Click the link in your email to access your personal portal
- Navigate to the upload your e-poster tab and upload your poster. Please note that only 'portrait' orientation PDF files will be accepted (max 3mb)
- Please make sure you save your file with the paper reference found in your email
- Before uploading, ensure you have read and followed the e-poster artwork specifications guidelines
- All abstracts MUST be submitted by 10 February 2026. There will be NO facility to add or change posters at the event.
At the event
Please refer to the information provided below, which outlines:
- The day and time of your moderated poster session
- Your assigned poster board (A–L)
- Your presentation order (1–12)
- Have fun!
- Start and finish strong.
- Set a compelling tone from start. Open with a hook—a startling statistic or provocative question—that relates directly to your research.
- Tell your audience what they’ll be learning from you at the beginning.
- Conclude in a memorable way. Emphasise the key points from your study so that any member of the audience could explain your research in a sentence or two. Consider ending with a call to action if your research has policy relevance, or a thought-provoking question if your findings should drive future research.
- Master your delivery.
- Speak clearly and vary your tone to maintain interest. Use pauses to effectively emphasise key points.
- Connect with your audience by looking around the room and making eye contact during your presentation.
- Be prepared for the unexpected.
- Be flexible with time adjustments. If you’re running short on time, know what can be skipped without losing the impact of your research findings.
- Be ready in case of technology problems. Check your presentation in the Speaker Preview Room and copy your presentation and all assets to a folder on a USB device.
- Have fun!
