Ten things to do during a boring lecture

1. Meditate: your serene face will trick people into believing you are enjoying the talk. 

2. Play noughts and crosses with yourself - this way you'll never be the loser! 

3. Compile a thriller: get even with the speaker by constructing a plot in which he or she is the villain who gets his just deserts. 

4. Work out: try the exercises you've read in most in-flight brochures that are said to improve blood circulation while being rooted to a spot. 

5. Do a head count: check out how many people are dozing or looking bored. 

6. Become an artist. Start with a caricature of the speaker, then the audience and, if you have the time, of yourself looking bored out of your mind. 

7. Compile a list of gifts you'd like: apart from being pleasurable, it'll also look like you are taking down notes. 

8. Be a chef and invent a dessert. After all, revenge is a dish best served cold. 

9. Be a poet: compile limericks on boring lectures. 

10. Self help: write an imaginary note to the boring speaker on how to spice up a lecture. It could be your own guide to becoming a good speaker, if you are not already one!