How to Get Clients to Listen and Follow Through

Communication Strategies That Work

I started listening to a Mel Robbins podcast last weekend with Dr Alison Wood Brooks (one of the world’s leading experts on the science of communication). They were talking about how the way we communicate can create authority, influence and respect. As a business owner, whose business has been positively effective by studying communication, I was intrigued. 

Before I listened to the rest of the episode I wanted to answer a question for myself: how do you actually create authority, safety, respect, influence, power and admiration between my clients and myself?

It’s not about manipulation or persuasion. You don’t need to dominate people to work with them. Clients work with us because they trust us; because we make them feel safe. Replicating that effect comes down to how you relate to others and how they experience you. True influence sits at the intersection of authenticity, integrity, competence, consistency and emotional availability, and it’s visible in every interaction you have.

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Define Your Relationship

Our identity isn’t fixed; it’s co-created through our interactions. The way you show up shapes how others see you and how they respond. 

Think about one of your clients who clearly respects you. 

Ask yourself: who am I being for them? 

For me, with some clients, I’m a listener and a challenger. Someone who holds them accountable and creates space for them to grow and develop. That shapes my tone, the questions I ask and how I structure our sessions.

Then ask: who are they for me? 

Often they’re more than any client; they’re people who are making a big difference to those around them and they’re collaborators in the work we do together. 

When you treat clients as partners in a shared project rather than as problems to fix, your language and energy change. You stop assuming the worst and start expecting the best.

Compare that to the usual small complaints that creep in: “They’re always late.” “They never pay on time.” “They don’t do the homework.” When you move from complaint to curiosity, the other person often mirrors that respect back. How you think about people shapes how you speak to them and how they speak back. That’s where influence begins.

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Build Emotional Safety

Influence generally follows safety. People don’t open up, follow or change unless they first feel safe to do so. You can’t shortcut this. 

Here are a handful of ways you can start to create a safe space for your clients.

Be consistent

Show up on time. Reply in the timeframe you set. Do what you said you would do. Small acts of reliability reduce anxiety and build trust. Think of the person you never know what to expect from, you wouldn’t hand them something important to look after. The same applies to clients.

Listen without fixing

Early on I used to jump to solutions because I wanted to solve everything for everyone. Over time I learned that most people first need to be heard. When you listen fully, you create space for the other person to think and land on their own solutions. Listening and allowing them to come to their own solution, gives them a feeling of empowerment and self-trust; all of which strengthens their sense of safety. 

Validate feelings 

Everyone’s experience is real for them. Saying “that sounds exhausting” or “I can see why you’d feel that way” isn’t condoning behaviour, it’s removing the immediate threat response and creating space for rational conversation. That doesn’t mean getting sucked into endless narratives; validate, then gently steer back to the work.

People feel safe when they know you won’t use their vulnerability against them. When they realise you hold their confidence and show up consistently, admiration grows because you are grounded and real.

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Be Clear and Consistent With Boundaries

Many people think boundaries create conflict. Actually, boundaries create clarity, and clarity creates safety. When you don’t spell things out, assumptions grow and resentment follows.

Set out how you work: your response times, cancellation policy, hours, what’s included in a package and what isn’t. Put those rules in your agreement and remind people gently when they step outside them. The aim isn’t to be rigid for the sake of it; it’s to protect your energy and to tell clients what to expect; ultimately to strengthen your relationship with them. 

The more consistently you implement your boundaries, the more your clients relax into the relationship. They stop second-guessing you and start trusting the structure you provide. That’s authority by example.

You establish authority through clarity:

“Here’s how we do things.”

“Here’s what you can count on from me.”

“Here’s what I expect from you.”

Boundaries deepen connection because people know where they stand.

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Speak With Power

When I say “power” I don’t mean dominance. True power is quiet, present and aligned. It’s the ability to influence without coercion because people choose to listen. How do we speak with power, without needing to dominate the other person?

Be direct

Clarity trumps cleverness. Say what you mean in plain language and think about the intention behind your words: how do you want this to land?

Speak less, listen more 

People who fill the space with noise rarely command respect. When you listen first and speak with intent, your words carry weight.

Words = behaviour. 

If you say you’ll follow up on Friday, do it. If you promise feedback, give it. Authority collapses when language and action don’t align. Model the standards you want to see.

Power comes from the energy you carry: calmness, consistency and an unshakeable commitment to your values. That will get people to lean in far more effectively than volume or force.

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Take some time to reflect

Think about a recent interaction with a client:

How did I show up in that space?

Who was I being for them?

What did they mirror back to me?

Notice where negativity or complaint became a cycle. 

If you want respect, show respect. 

If you want trust, be trustworthy. 

If you want safety, be consistent and emotionally grounded.

Your influence and authority grow through ongoing awareness — you’re continually creating and refining how others experience you.

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You create authority, safety, respect, influence, power and admiration not by demanding it, but by embodying it. It’s a relational process built on self-awareness, clarity and consistent communication.

“Who am I for you?” creates connection.

“Who are you for me?” creates mutual respect.

Every interaction teaches people who you are and therefore, how to treat you. Keep showing up, keep listening and keep refining. Over time the people around you will reflect back on the authority and respect you model.

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