DR. JOHN J. MEDINA is a developmental molecular biologist focused on the genes involved in human brain development and the genetics of psychiatric disorders.

Stay with me.

He also runs a site and authored a book entitled  “Brain Rules” in which he expounds upon “12 rules for surviving and thriving at work, home and school.”

Medina’s Rule #4 says “We don’t pay attention to boring things.”

Today’s blog focus, presentations.

Thousands of cartoons

Since presentations (and their presenters) are too often boring, we don’t pay attention to them — sometimes to our detriment.  Medina shows that every ten minutes or so our attention flags and we need a little shot of something to continue paying attention. He says this little shot should be ” emotionally relevant.”

Consider the occasional New Yorker cartoon.  For $20 each, you can insert a witty and apropos cartoon into your deck and keep your group’s attention.  Plus that, you’ll look urbane and well-read.