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.
A survey of Canadian media consumption by Microsoft concluded that the average attention span had fallen to eight seconds, down from 12 in the year 2000. We now have a shorter attention span than goldfish, the study found. Attention span was defined as the amount of concentrated time on a task without becoming distracted.