Indeed, there is no better measure of personal taste than the food one eats. Literally and figuratively. What our presidents eat is a function family heritage, personal preference, physical condition and social obligation. In sum: a president's favorite meal is NOT always what's served in the White House.
The points apply equally to research talks, lectures, and non-technical presentations. 1  The average attention span of an adult is 20 minutes.  Implication: you should ensure that the first 20 minutes of your talk include any material that you want your audience to remember.
Students only have '10-minute attention span'. University students have average attention spans of just 10 minutes and many miss lectures because of the need for part-time jobs, research suggests. Many are ill-prepared for both learning and living a modern university life, the survey of 1,000 students claims.