I love this post! It articulates a background assumption I often have, so I am very glad that this post exists, so I can point to it.
I also appreciate the discourse in the comments—which is why I think communication strategy (most of the advice in the final, recommendations section) must be tailored to the specific context of audience/organization/aims.
However, I am also quite cynical about the rationality of decisionmakers, such that I think it’s less common than is typically assumed that decisionmakers rely on well-reasoned, ‘boring’ arguments. I also believe in more subtle narratives that infiltrate the news cycle and permeate throughout society, which are largely driven by what people engage with (i.e., more ‘entertaining’ content). By all means, stick to unengaging writing when it comes to pure research—but once you move into outreach and advocacy, it’s worth switching up your strategy.
I love this post! It articulates a background assumption I often have, so I am very glad that this post exists, so I can point to it.
I also appreciate the discourse in the comments—which is why I thin
kcommunication strategy (most of the advice in the final, recommendations section) must be tailored to the specific context of audience/organization/aims.However, I am also quite cynical about the rationality of decisionmakers, such that I think it’s less common than is typically assumed that decisionmakers rely on well-reasoned, ‘boring’ arguments. I also believe in more subtle narratives that infiltrate the news cycle and permeate throughout society, which are largely driven by what people engage with (i.e., more ‘entertaining’ content). By all means, stick to unengaging writing when it comes to pure research—but once you move into outreach and advocacy, it’s worth switching up your strategy.