Communicating & Influencing is not scored because you held a meeting or gave a good presentation. A strong statement shows who you needed to move, what was getting in the way, how you changed the message or method for that audience and what changed because of your communication.
Communicating and Influencing is not scored by how many emails, meetings or presentations you can squeeze into 250 words. The assessor needs to see that you understood the audience, chose how to communicate, handled their response and moved something as a result.
This behaviour combines clear communication with impact. Strong evidence shows how you adapted the message or method to the audience, listened to their position and used communication to build understanding, trust or agreement.
How to tell whether your example is really Communicating & Influencing
Identify the audience’s starting position before you write the story. If you cannot explain what they needed, resisted or misunderstood, it will be hard to prove that you adapted or influenced anything.
- You can identify the audience and what mattered to them.
- You deliberately chose the channel, tone or level of detail rather than communicating the same way with everyone.
- You listened or gathered the other side’s concerns before trying to influence them.
- You explained a difficult, complex or unpopular message in a way people could act on.
- You handled questions, resistance or misunderstanding rather than ending the story after sending the message.
- The result shows a decision, agreement, behaviour change or clearer understanding caused by your communication.
The easiest test is to compare the audience before and after your involvement. What did they misunderstand, resist, worry about or disagree with? What did you do about that specific starting point? If the audience would have reached the same decision after receiving a standard email, you probably need a stronger influencing example.
Explain what you changed because of the audience
The behaviour is not proved by listing emails, presentations and meetings. Use B-STAR to show what the audience believed at the start, what they needed from you and how you changed the message, channel or argument to get a useful response.
- Belief: one short line that frames how you approach this behaviour.
- Situation and Task: establish who needed to understand or change position, what was at stake and what outcome you were responsible for securing.
- Action: show how you listened, shaped the message, selected evidence, handled challenge, adjusted your approach and influenced a decision or behaviour rather than simply transmitting information.
- Result: show what the communication achieved: agreement, changed behaviour, a better decision, clearer understanding or a relationship strong enough to move the work forward.
A short statement often hides the influence. Add what the audience objected to, which evidence mattered to them, what you changed after listening and how you knew they had moved. “I communicated clearly” uses words without giving the assessor anything to score.
Communicating & Influencing examples: poor, average and strong
All three versions use a new assurance control that operational managers initially believed would slow delivery. The stronger versions make the audience's concern clear, adapt the evidence and message to that concern, and show a measurable change in understanding or agreement.
Why the strong Communicating & Influencing example is better
- The candidate finds out what is driving resistance before trying to persuade anyone.
- The communication changes for senior leaders and operational managers because they need different information.
- Challenge is handled openly and even changes the proposal where the stakeholder has a valid point.
- The result shows influence in practice: agreement, adoption and a measurable outcome.
The strong version works because the candidate learns what is behind the resistance, changes the communication for different audiences, accepts valid challenge and shows a clear movement from opposition to adoption.
Communicating & Influencing at AA/AO, EO, HEO/SEO and Grade 6/7
The grade changes the difficulty of the audience and the consequence of the communication. Clear explanation matters at every level; senior evidence needs more deliberate influence, challenge and judgement.
Applying at AA/AO?
Show clear, considerate communication, the right channel for the person, plain language, accurate written work and real listening. The evidence can be simple if the communication choice and impact are clear.
Applying at EO?
Show that you can communicate clearly in writing and in person, adjust style to the audience, explain what people need to know and check that the message has actually landed.
Applying at HEO/SEO?
Show purposeful communication. Tailor the message and method, handle challenge, listen properly, explain difficult or complex issues and influence an outcome rather than simply passing information on.
Applying at Grade 6/7?
Show strategic communication and influence with senior or external audiences. Make complex issues easy to act on, handle difficult messages sensitively, respect competing views and use communication to secure agreement or shape direction.
Common Communicating & Influencing mistakes
1. Listing communication channels as if they were evidence
Email, meetings and presentations are tools. The score comes from why you chose them and what you changed for the audience. Explain the level of detail, timing, language or evidence you used and why that choice suited the people you needed to influence. The channel only matters when it supports that judgement.
2. Treating influence as winning an argument
Influence is not about defeating the other person. Strong evidence shows that you understood their position, dealt with legitimate concerns and moved the conversation towards a useful decision. Sometimes the strongest outcome includes changing part of your own proposal because the other side raised a point you had missed.
3. Ignoring the audience's starting position
If the reader does not know what the stakeholder believed, feared or needed at the start, it is hard to see your influence. Give the minimum context needed to explain the barrier, then focus on how you adapted your approach. The movement from starting position to outcome should be obvious.
4. Making the result about delivery only
A project being delivered does not prove your communication caused anything. Show the communication outcome first: agreement secured, misconception corrected, decision made, behaviour changed or conflict reduced. Then connect that to the wider delivery result so the assessor can see how your communication mattered.
5. Saying you tailored the message without showing the tailoring
Avoid stock phrases. Name what you actually changed. For one audience you may have removed technical detail; for another you may have added risk evidence, cost data or a clear decision request. The contrast between audiences makes the skill visible and prevents 'I adapted my style' becoming empty wording.
Final Communicating & Influencing check
- Can the assessor see why this is Communicating & Influencing without me repeatedly naming the behaviour?
- Is my own responsibility clear?
- Have I spent most of the words on my actions, judgement and reasons?
- Is the scale believable for the grade?
- Have I used most of the available word count for relevant evidence?
- Does the Result prove something useful changed?
- Would another behaviour fit the same story more naturally? If so, have I chosen the right example?
Communicating & Influencing FAQ
Do I need a difficult stakeholder?
No, but there should usually be something to overcome: uncertainty, disagreement, lack of attention, competing priorities or complex information. Otherwise the answer can become a routine briefing. The stakeholder does not need to be hostile; they simply need a reason not to accept or act on your message immediately.
Can written communication be enough?
Yes. A written submission, business case, guidance note or carefully structured email can be strong if the writing itself changed understanding or enabled a decision. Explain how you organised the message for that audience, what you emphasised or removed and what happened because they received it.
What if I changed my own position?
That can strengthen the example. Good influence includes listening and responding to evidence, not clinging to your first proposal. Explain what you accepted, why it was reasonable and how you still moved the discussion towards a useful outcome. It can show judgement as well as communication.
How do I show influencing without authority?
Make the stakeholder's choice visible. Show how you built credibility, framed the issue around their priorities, used evidence they trusted and removed barriers to agreement rather than relying on hierarchy. The strongest proof is that they changed a decision, commitment or behaviour because of the approach you took.
Should I say that I communicated clearly?
You can, but it adds little on its own because almost every candidate will claim it. The stronger evidence is the practical choice you made and the reaction it produced. Let the assessor infer clarity from the way you explain the audience, message and result.
What makes a senior example different?
Senior examples usually involve more complex audiences, competing organisational interests and greater consequence if agreement is not reached. The communication should influence a decision, direction or commitment across boundaries. A large meeting alone does not make the example senior; the judgement and consequence do.
