Yawn: [yawn] presentation small pox
Before there were Blackberries, before there was instant messaging, before there was even hangman or tic-tac-toe, there was yawning. One of the earliest obstacles to Homo sapiens’ successful navigation of wilder times (saber toothed tigers, mammoths, self-inflicted head wounds prior to the invention of helmets, etc) was communication, or a lack thereof. Convincing groups of Neanderthals to spend days chiseling a wheel without the use of memorandums, focus groups, and contracts was nearly impossible. Intelligent cavemen were repeatedly thwarted by bored, yawning tribesman, delaying the adoption of ingenious designs for generations.
Our world is more complex, busier, and technologically advanced than any other era. But some things never change: holding the attention of a roomful of adults today is no easier than it was for primitive man. Embedded in our DNA is a predisposition towards distraction—whether it protects us from pterodactyls or bureaucratic pomp is irrelevant, genetically speaking. Most unsettling is the yawn’s contagion: undoubtedly a genealogical hangover from our tribal beginnings, such communal warning systems now seem unnecessary and perhaps even unfair.
In other times, ADD may have been an adaptive asset, allowing for a sort of hyper-awareness in primordial jungles that teemed with things that killed humans. Today, a single bored individual can derail a vital presentation, setting off a chain reaction of yawning that inevitably leads to unscheduled bathroom breaks and “family emergencies”—anything to get out of the narcoleptic atmosphere. And those are just the flight-inclined individuals. Fighters channel their yawning into passive-aggressive expressions of primal rage, including but not limited to cellophane candy wrapper opening, exaggerated sighing, syncopated drum rhythms, and darning socks (reportedly).
The Takeaway: All presentations have the potential to inflict boredom, but there are practical steps you can take to mitigate that risk. Wrap your information and data within a story and make it simple and visually interesting. Entertainment engages the brain and lungs, delivering necessary oxygen to the body and eliminating the need for yawning.
