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.
In the information blur of last year, you may have overlooked news of our incredibly shrinking attention span. 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.