Getting your message across can be hard, especially when the listener is faced with myriad distractions. One challenge you may not know about, though, is clearing the listening tendency hurdle. We all have a preference for processing information, and if your delivery doesn’t match the person’s preferred intake method, you may be fighting a losing battle, says Ethan F. Becker, Ph.D., president and senior coach and trainer for The Speech Improvement Company and coauthor of Mastering Communication