Good communication is currently a lost art. Here's a good starting point on how to get it back: Ripples: post-corporate adventures: Getting another person to listen to you.

If you're worried that someone isn't listening to your ideas, maybe you should ask yourself if you're really listening to their's. We sometimes think that if someone doesn't agree with us then their not really listening to us. If you really think that, it's probably because you're not listening to them.

This isn't really about getting people to agree with you or do as you say, but about just getting someone to hear and understand your ideas, something that rarely happens anymore. Everyone is always so tied up in their own thoughts and ideas that we rearely just listen. Good communication is about understanding someone's point of view.

The articles contains practical points about breaking through someone else's barriers and try to get them to just listen.

The best way to get people to listen? Listen to them.