Administrative Assistant (AA) – Communicating & Influencing Behaviour Statements

What is Communicating and Influencing?

Communicating and Influencing is about sharing information clearly and helping people understand what needs to happen.

For an Administrative Assistant role, this usually means explaining things in a simple way, choosing the right way to communicate, listening properly, asking useful questions, and being honest when giving information.

At AA level, communication is often practical. You may speak to customers, reply to emails, update colleagues, write notes, pass on information, or explain a process.

A strong AA Communicating and Influencing example should show that you understood who you were speaking to and adjusted your approach. The assessor wants to see that you were clear, respectful, accurate, and aware of how your words could affect other people.

The best answers often show a situation where communication made a real difference. You listened, checked your understanding, used plain language, and helped someone take the right next step.

What are the criteria at AA level?

The scoring guide for AA Communicating and Influencing has 6 key criteria.

Your statement should show that you can:

“put forward your views in a clear, constructive and considerate manner”

“use an appropriate method of communication for each person – for example an email, phone call, face-to-face – taking into consideration their individual needs”

“use plain and simple language, being careful to check written work for errors”

“consider the impact of language used on different groups of stakeholders”

“remain honest and truthful when explaining opinions”

“listen and ask questions to ensure your understanding”

To hit the first point, show that you explained your view clearly and respectfully. This could involve giving advice, explaining a process, raising a concern, or suggesting a next step.

To hit the second point, show that you chose the right way to communicate. At AA level, this could mean using email for written confirmation, a phone call for a quick explanation, or a face-to-face conversation where someone needed more support.

To hit the third point, show that you used plain language and checked your written work. This is especially useful in examples involving emails, forms, notes, letters, or customer instructions.

To hit the fourth point, show that you thought about how your wording could affect different people. This could include customers under stress, people with accessibility needs, colleagues from another team, or people unfamiliar with the process.

To hit the fifth point, show that you were honest. A strong answer can include a moment where you gave a truthful update, even when the answer was difficult.

To hit the sixth point, show that you listened before replying. This can include asking questions, checking details, summarising the issue, or confirming what the person needed.

A high-scoring answer should show clear communication, careful listening, and a sensible choice of communication method.

How to structure your statement

Use a simple structure:

Situation
Task
Action
Result

For a 250-word AA behaviour statement, keep the situation short. Explain who you needed to communicate with, what the issue was, and why clear communication mattered.

The task should explain your responsibility. For Communicating and Influencing, this should make clear what information you needed to share, explain, check, or clarify.

The action section should be the strongest part of the statement. Explain what you personally did and show how you communicated. This could include asking questions, choosing the right communication method, using plain language, checking written work, explaining your view honestly, or adapting your approach for someone’s needs.

The result should explain what happened because of your communication. Keep it practical. A good AA result might show that someone understood the process, a customer received accurate information, a colleague acted on your update, or confusion was cleared up.

For Communicating and Influencing, make sure your answer shows how you communicated, not just what information was passed on.

Subscribers can unlock guidance on how to turn the official criteria into a high-scoring AA communication statement, plus three full Communicating and Influencing example statements written around the AA-level scoring guide.

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