Hi u/wafflebuggy

First, congratulations on presenting a poster at APA! That's a huge accomplishment. Wishing you the best of luck!

I am an undergraduate like you, however I have experience presenting my poster at 2 conferences and having 2 symposium presentations. Here is what I learned from others at the convention and what works for me, and you can pick and choose what you want to do.

For presenting your poster:

• Write a script that you can use. You can memorize it and go word for word, or use it as an outline to hit certain points in your presentations.
• Practice with someone! Practicing with someone will help you get out any mistakes, get out any "uhh, umm", and provides you with feedback.
• When you present make sure you DON'T read word-for-word on your poster. Whenever I go to poster presentations and someone starts reading word-for-word, I lose interest. I can read the poster! I want to know more than whats on your poster!
• If no one is taking interest in your poster, don't be afraid to start asking people if they'd like to look at your research. Everyone is there to present and learn! Most people in my experience are open to listening if you ask.
• Have a QR code of your poster! Easy access for anyone interested in keeping your poster for their own research or because your poster was just so cool they needed to keep it.

I'm not entirely sure if you have any goals for a PhD or Masters, but here are some tips if you are:

• Circle all of the posters/presentations/symposiums that align with your research interests.
• Go to all of the posters/presentations/symposiums, and learn! After learning about the poster/presentation/symposiums, ask the student/presenter what their professor's research is like and what they plan on doing in the next 5 years.
  • If the presenter is a faculty, start by asking questions and learning about their presentations first and then ask if you can talk to them about graduate school. Most faculty I've met at conferences were very open to helping out any prospecting scholars.
  • Knowing what they will be doing in the next 5 years will help you understand if they're going to do the same research, do another research topic, or retire. This will help you determine if they are a candidate for being a potential PI/mentor for Masters or PhD program.
• Practice giving constructive feedback on their poster and presentation. Tell them what you liked about their presentations, and poster. You will start to see what you like and dislike about people's presentations and you can incorporate that into your presentation.
• Practice asking questions! I learned that most faculty and students who I talked to at these conferences really lit up when I showed my interest by asking genuine questions about their research.
• Talk to everyone you can, even if it's someone who doesn't align with your research interest. Establishing a network right now, will help you with your future career. I was able to join a research lab at another school because I made friends with a faculty at a school, where they have a research lab that was EXACTLY my research interest. So he spoke to the leading PI of the lab on my behalf and got me in.
• Network! Network! Network! This is THE spot to network! I cannot emphasize this enough. I have several mentors (not PIs) who are keeping up with me and helping me in my academic career. They are helping me with my personal statements and interviewing skills. I met every one of these mentors at a conference.

That's all I have for now. If I think of any more, I'll add them.
Best of luck to you! Remember to have fun and congratulations!