The first author should plan to be with the
poster for the full session
(about 3 hrs., even when the schedule says 1 hr.).
Arrange for someone to relieve you
for coffee/bathroom breaks. Also look at other posters and make note of what makes an effective poster
Proposition everyone who
passes with "Could I interest you in a quickie?"
A few customers can soon turn into a crowd.
Take 100 handouts to
the conference. Hand these out. Offer to send the paper
when published. Ask the visitor to write down their address.
The feedback on your poster
is ideal for revising the paper.
Make notes (e.g. things that were difficult to explain and need more
clarifying, other experiments that need to be done). Ideally
you should, at this point, have a draft of
the full paper written.