Communicating and Influencing: 4 Civil Service Examples

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A communicating and influencing civil service example only scores when somebody else moves. A clear update, on its own, earns nothing at all. The 250-word cap that most adverts set leaves about 120 words for the audience, the resistance and the shift. Indicator wording below is lifted from the Cabinet Office framework, Success Profiles: Civil Service behaviours, as published on 12 September 2026. Statements written for the EO, HEO, SEO and Grade 7 grades are set out below, mapped to the bullets a panel marks. Written by Mustafa Tarabya, who hired for his own company, read every application himself and now writes CVBooster's guides.

What earns the marks here

Two sentences on Success Profiles: Civil Service behaviours carry the whole behaviour.

The behaviour, quoted: "Communicate purpose and direction with clarity, integrity and enthusiasm. Respect the needs, responses and opinions of others" (gov.uk, Communicating and influencing).

Marks come from movement. Show where a person or a group stood before you spoke, and where they stood afterwards. The bullets add the channel you picked, how you handled challenge, and at senior grades being "persuasive when required". A statement about newsletters, briefings and regular updates has none of that in it.

The Success Profiles: Civil Service Behaviours PDF states the test behind every bullet. It says: "Behaviours are the actions and activities that people do which result in effective performance in a job". One bullet list covers Higher Executive Officer and Senior Executive Officer, so those two statements are marked on identical wording at different reach.

Example at EO, annotated

Written against an EO advert in a council contact centre. If your advert pairs this with service delivery, see the Managing a Quality Service example.

Complete EO: Communicating and Influencing example, 247 words, laid out as it would sit in the application form

EO: Communicating and Influencing, 250 words (247 words)

I am a customer services officer in the council tax team at a city council in Nottingham. Our contact centre of 30 handles about 1,200 calls a week.

In autumn 2025 our reminder letter was driving repeat calls. Residents rang because they could not tell whether they owed money, and some ignored the letter until enforcement started. I wanted the letter changed.

I logged the reasons for 120 reminder calls over two weeks so I had evidence rather than an opinion. I asked three colleagues to check my list. I took a one page summary to the recovery team leader. She owned the template and had refused a change the year before. She said the wording was fixed by regulations.

I read the regulations and found only two sentences were prescribed. I drafted a version that kept those two and rewrote the rest in plain English. The amount owed and the date went in bold at the top.

I offered to test it rather than argue for it. Our resident panel read both versions aloud. The old letter confused seven of the nine readers. I presented the results to the recovery team leader and the revenues manager in ten minutes. I answered their questions on legal risk with the regulation reference.

The new letter went out from January 2026. Repeat calls about reminders fell by about a third over the next quarter. The recovery team leader now sends me new templates to check before they are printed.

What the sifter is scoring

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Example at HEO, annotated

At HEO the panel wants a message shaped for one audience.

Complete HEO: Communicating and Influencing example, 249 words, laid out as it would sit in the application form

HEO: Communicating and Influencing, 250 words (249 words)

I am an employer partnership manager at a jobcentre district in Cardiff. I work with nine work coaches and around 60 local employers.

In March 2026 a logistics firm opening a 240 job site told us it would recruit only through an agency. Our claimants would have been shut out, and I had one meeting with the site director to change that.

I prepared for the audience rather than for myself. I asked two work coaches what employers actually complain about, which was unsuitable candidates and slow responses, not paperwork. I built the conversation around those two points. I brought a single page with three things.

A named contact, a 48 hour shortlist commitment, and two anonymised examples of claimants who had stayed in similar roles for over a year. The site director's objection was that our candidates would not last past week three. I did not argue with it.

I offered a trial of twelve vacancies with a review after six weeks, which put the risk on us. I followed up the same day in writing, confirming what each side had agreed. I briefed the work coaches on the standard they now had to hold. I sent a short progress note to the site director every fortnight.

Ten of the twelve trial recruits were still in post at the six week review. The firm then took 74 more candidates through us over the year. The site director spoke about the process at a district employer event in September.

What the sifter is scoring

Example at SEO, annotated

An SEO example usually means persuading professionals who do not report to you.

Complete SEO: Communicating and Influencing example, 245 words, laid out as it would sit in the application form

SEO: Communicating and Influencing, 250 words (245 words)

I manage outpatient administration at an NHS trust in Bristol. I support six specialties, 40 clinics a week and about 90 clinical staff.

In 2026 our did not attend rate stood at 11 per cent. Text reminders were the obvious fix. Three consultants had blocked the proposal twice, arguing that patients would treat a text as a cancellation.

I met each consultant separately first, because a group meeting would have turned into a vote. I asked what would convince them, and two named the same thing: proof that the text did not replace the letter. I ran a four week pilot in one specialty whose lead was willing, and agreed in advance what would count as a failure.

I presented the results in a five minute slot at the clinical governance meeting. I used one chart and the failure criteria we had set.

I quoted the two complaints in full rather than summarising them. I said plainly that the text had not reduced letters and that the postage saving was smaller than expected. I asked the patient panel to speak for two minutes, which carried more weight than my chart. The consultant who had objected most strongly proposed the rollout himself.

All six specialties were live by November 2026. The did not attend rate fell to 7 per cent over the following quarter, which is about 60 clinic slots a week returned to use. The governance meeting now asks for failure criteria before any pilot.

What the sifter is scoring

Example at Grade 7, annotated

Grade 7 bullets add persuasion, difficult messages and monitoring whether your communications worked.

Complete G7: Communicating and Influencing example, 248 words, laid out as it would sit in the application form

G7: Communicating and Influencing, 250 words (248 words)

I lead a customer strategy team of seven in HMRC. We tell agents and small businesses about changes to a filing service used by around 300,000 people.

In 2026 a proposal reached my directorate to close a legacy filing route with eight weeks' notice. Three senior directors supported the date. My analysis said the notice would strand the least digitally confident users.

I built the case in their terms rather than mine. I showed the usage data. In the past year 19,000 accounts had filed only through the legacy route, and a quarter of them had no agent. I explained the accessibility risk in two sentences, without jargon.

I then set out the cost of the call volume a short notice period would create. I gave the directors three notice periods with the trade offs, rather than one recommendation to accept or reject. The message was unwelcome, so I delivered it in a meeting rather than by email.

I said clearly that I might be wrong about the call volume, and how we would find out. Two directors moved to a longer notice period in the meeting, and the third asked for weekly monitoring. I then ran a four channel campaign and tracked open and action rates weekly. I changed the wording twice when the data showed it was not landing.

The notice period was extended to six months. By closure, 17,400 of the 19,000 accounts had moved. Call volumes in the closure week stayed within normal range.

What the sifter is scoring

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From 1 to 7: how influence is scored

One scale covers sift and interview. Both labels and descriptors come from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

ScoreThe published label and wordingWhat that means in an influencing statement
1Not Demonstrated: "No positive evidence and/ or substantial negative evidence demonstrated"Information passed on, nobody affected
2Minimal Demonstration: "Limited positive evidence and/ or mainly negative evidence demonstrated"An audience named, no reaction from them
3Moderate Demonstration: "Moderate positive evidence but some negative evidence demonstrated"Clear communication, no position changed
4Acceptable Demonstration: "Adequate positive evidence and any negative evidence would not cause concern"A chosen channel and somebody who agreed
5Good Demonstration: "Substantial positive evidence of the behaviour"Plus an objection quoted and answered
6Strong Demonstration: "Substantial positive evidence; includes some evidence of exceeding expectations at this level"Plus a person senior to you who changed position
7Outstanding Demonstration: "The evidence provided wholly exceeds expectation at this level"All of it, with the effect of the message measured

Benchmarks vary by advert. COPFS notes that "A Selection Panel may set a benchmark for interview where there is a job and business need".

Dividing the 250 words: 40 / 40 / 120 / 50

Forty words to place yourself and the audience. Forty for what had to change and why it was hard. One hundred and twenty for the action. Fifty for the shift. The action block belongs to the channel you chose, the objection you met, and the answer you gave it.

Tip: put the objection in the other person's words. It proves you listened, and it makes the result read as a change rather than a claim.

How the four statements differ

All four have the same spine. Someone holds a position, you choose a channel on purpose, you meet the objection, and the position moves. Seniority is what changes.

LevelAudienceChannel chosenThe objectionWhat moved
EOA team leader who had said noOne page, plus a read aloud test"The wording is fixed by regulations"Letter rewritten, repeat calls down a third
HEOAn employer using an agencyOne meeting, one page, written follow up"Your candidates will not last"Twelve vacancy trial, then 74 more hires
SEOThree consultants outside her lineOne to ones, then five minutes at governance"A text reads as a cancellation"Rollout proposed by the main objector
G7Three directors above himA meeting, three options, weekly trackingAn eight week notice periodNotice extended to six months

The sentences that cost marks

The first line of each pair is the wording that keeps statements at a 3.

Before you submit

Frequently asked questions

What is a good example of Communicating and influencing civil service?

A good example shows someone changing position because of how you communicated. The EO statement above is one. A council tax reminder letter was rewritten after the team leader who owned it had refused a change. The evidence was 120 logged call reasons and a read aloud test with residents. Repeat calls fell by about a third.

Can you give me some examples of Communicating and influencing in the civil service for Grade 7 students?

At Grade 7 the framework asks you to "deliver difficult messages with clarity and sensitivity, being persuasive when required". It also asks you to monitor whether your communications worked. Strong examples include moving directors off a decision with data. Others are explaining a technical risk to non specialists, and changing a campaign because the tracking said it was not landing.

Can you give me some examples of Communicating with influence?

Communicating with influence means the other person acts differently afterwards. Examples that score: an employer who recruits through you instead of an agency. A clinician who proposes the change he once blocked. A director who extends a deadline. A customer who fills the form in correctly because your letter made sense. All four are on this page in full.

Can you give me some example questions about Communicating and influencing?

Common questions are short. Tell me about a time you had to influence someone who disagreed with you. Describe a time you explained a complex issue to a non specialist audience. Give an example of delivering an unwelcome message. Tell me about a time your communication did not land. Prepare one story you can tell at two lengths.

How do you write a 250 word Communicating and Influencing statement?

Use a 40 / 40 / 120 / 50 budget: situation, task, action, result. Put the audience and their starting position in the task. Spend the action words on the channel, the objection and your response. Make the result a position that moved. Keep one sentence for how you knew the message worked.

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