Last week we kicked off a new series focusing on how your business problems can be solved with better communication. This week we start with our first tip.

Your Business Problem: We had a meeting; I said all the right words, but no one listened to my direction, and we still haven’t hit our goals.

Communication is more than saying the “right words.” If you want to get people to take action, you need to understand your listeners and get them to care. Likability has been proven to be the most significant factor in electing Presidents or in any voting for that matter. If you don’t like someone, you usually don’t trust or believe what they say. It doesn’t matter if what they say is important or true; you tend to ignore it.

Albert Mehrabian, a renowned psychologist, conducted research on communication and non-verbal behavior in his book “Silent Messages” in 1981 (2nd Ed). From this book came the research that shows vocal (how you say something) and visual (what people see of you when you say it) outweigh verbal (the words you say) when you have a conflicted message. Bottom line: People buy on emotion and justify with fact.

Try: Prioritizing how you say something, not just what you say. Your words matter, but they must be matched with a consistent level of connection, energy, and credibility. Show your human side. Be compassionate, and remember that you don’t always have to be serious to be taken seriously.

Pro Tip: Record yourself for 30 seconds and watch it back. What did you notice?