In my own experience having written a whole lot of different texts for academic audiences, the response to what I write is overwhelmingly more positive when I make it personal and accessible — chatty, even — than when I write a paper that more closely resembles the IMRAD tone and structure. I’ve also noticed that for academic lectures, not just ones I’ve given but ones I’ve attended, audience response is much more positive when a speaker tells stories along with presenting information and argument.

Everybody wants edutainment. They may deny it, but that is, in fact, exactly what they want, I used to think, with a bit of annoyance. But now I’ve come to the more charitable view that everybody wants to be delighted while they are instructed.

—Clancy Ratliff