How to Answer Influencing Competency Questions

What the influencing competency means

Strong influencing at interview means showing that you understood your audience's priorities before you made your case, built evidence to support your position and changed tack when the first approach did not land. It is not the same as authority. The best examples involve someone who had no obligation whatsoever to agree with you. The STAR method is highly effective here. The Situation should establish that you had no formal power in the room. Your Actions should cover how you built the case, read the person in front of you and adjusted, and your Result should show that the outcome came from influence rather than instruction.

Example interview questions

Same competency, different wording. Learn one story properly and bend it to whichever version comes out of their mouth.

• Describe a time you persuaded someone to adopt an idea they were initially resistant to.
• Give me an example of when you had to influence a senior stakeholder without formal authority.
• Tell me about a situation where you had to change someone's opinion using data or evidence.
• Describe a time you built a coalition of support for a proposal that faced opposition.
• Give me an example of when you failed to influence someone and what you did differently next time.

A STAR example answer

Situation: As a supply chain analyst, I identified that switching to a regional supplier for one of our core packaging materials would reduce costs by eighteen percent and cut lead times by a week. However, the procurement director was strongly committed to the existing national supplier, with whom she had worked for over a decade.

Task: I needed to present the case for the change in a way that acknowledged her concerns, addressed the risk she was worried about and made the financial case compelling enough to warrant a trial.

Action: I started by requesting a thirty-minute conversation rather than sending a slide deck, so I could understand her reservations directly. She was primarily concerned about quality consistency and the relationship risk. I then proposed a limited three-month trial with defined quality checkpoints rather than a full switch, sourced a reference from another company that had used the regional supplier successfully and built a one-page summary showing the cost benefit alongside the risk mitigation plan.

Result: The director approved the trial. The regional supplier performed to specification throughout. At the end of the trial period, the switch was made permanently, generating annual savings of £210,000. The director cited the quality assurance framework I had built as the reason she felt comfortable approving it.

Common mistakes to avoid

Be specific, be honest, and say what you did rather than what the team did. Panels notice the difference.

• Describing a situation where you presented information and the other person agreed. That is reporting, not influencing.
• Choosing an example where you could simply have instructed them. The competency only exists in the absence of authority.
• Failing to show that you understood the other person's perspective before making your case.
• Claiming you won someone round by being persistent rather than by changing your approach.

Tips for a strong answer

Read these, then say the whole thing out loud once. You will hear the rambling long before an interviewer has to.

• Show that you worked out what the other person actually cared about before you built your case. That is empathy and strategy in the same move.
• Frame your approach in terms of their priorities, not your own: "I showed how this aligned with her goal of reducing supplier risk."
• If your first attempt did not land, put it in. Adapting after a knock-back scores better than a clean first-time win.
• Bring evidence: data, a case study, a reference from someone credible. Influence that rests purely on personality falls apart under the follow-up question.
• Practise on Voxxhire so the stakeholder dynamic still comes across when your mouth is dry and three people are taking notes.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good influencing example for a competency interview?

A strong influencing example involves persuading someone who had no obligation to agree with you, usually a peer, a senior stakeholder or a client, using evidence, empathy and careful framing. The best ones show that you tailored the approach to that specific person's concerns rather than delivering a pitch you would have given to anybody.

How is influencing different from negotiating as a competency?

Influencing focuses on shifting someone's beliefs or behaviour through evidence and persuasion. Negotiating involves reaching an agreement where both parties make concessions. In practice the competencies overlap, but influencing questions typically involve getting someone to adopt your view rather than reaching a compromise.

Can I use an influencing example where I did not ultimately succeed?

Yes, particularly if you can say what you learned and what you would do differently. Some assessors ask about a failed attempt on purpose, to test self-awareness and resilience. What matters is that your approach was sound and that you adapted thoughtfully instead of walking away from it.

What types of roles ask influencing competency questions most often?

Influencing questions are most common in consulting, policy, programme management, business development and any role requiring stakeholder management. They are increasingly common at all levels as organisations move towards flatter structures where cross-functional collaboration replaces traditional hierarchy.