5 Steps for Internal Communication Pros to Influence with Resilience

Internal communication professionals are under more pressure than ever to add critical value in increasingly complex, budget-restricted, turbulent, and fast-changing environments.

They are being asked to influence without authority, support wellbeing, drive employee engagement, and act as culture champions, all at once. It’s not a role for the faint-hearted!

Research from the IoIC highlights that the value of internal comms is rising, yet, so too is the emotional load on those doing the work. It’s no longer just about what you communicate, but how you show up as a communicator: confident, credible, and resilient.

This shift demands a new kind of internal comms professional—one who is empowered to influence while sustaining their own energy, confidence, and wellbeing.

So, how do we get a great job done, influence with impact AND keep our sanity and health in check? Here are 5 top tips to help you.

Step 1: Be a Strategic Advisor, not a ‘Yes-Person’

Strategic internal communication is far more than polishing a Town Hall slide deck, pushing out top-down messages, or automatically saying “yes” to stakeholder requests without challenge.

This reactive, always-on, people-pleasing approach risks turning comms into a service function, undermining its value and distracting from its true strategic potential.

In contrast, effective internal communication professionals approach every request with curiosity and intent. They dig into the why behind the ask, ensuring that the activity aligns with organizational priorities and contributes to meaningful outcomes. They prioritize work based on strategic relevance, not just visibility or urgency, and act as critical thinking partners to their stakeholders.

By providing evidence-based insights on employee sentiment, advising on messaging tone, timing, and channel strategy, and bringing a deep understanding of how communication shapes behavior and culture, IC professionals elevate their role.

It’s this proactive, consultative, more commercial approach that earns credibility, influences leadership, and positions internal communication as a vital driver of business success.

Resilience Tip: Focus on purpose over pressure. Before jumping into a comms request, pause to ask why it matters and how it aligns with strategic priorities. This simple habit helps you stay focused on meaningful work, reduces overwhelm, and builds long-term resilience by keeping your energy directed toward impact, not outputs.

Step 2: Build Trusted Relationships Across the Organization

In today’s often frenetic and frequently unpredictable work environments, internal communicators can’t rely solely on formal channels or top-down messaging to drive impact. To truly operate as a strategic advisor, you need a deep, real-time understanding of the business, and that comes from building trusted relationships across all levels of the organization.

By actively connecting with leaders, people managers, and frontline employees, you gain valuable insights into what matters most, where the pain points are, and how communication can add real value.

These authentic relationships not only enhance your influence and ability to shape effective narratives, but they also build personal resilience. When you’re plugged into a strong, supportive network, you’re better equipped to handle pressure, anticipate challenges, and stay grounded in purpose, making you more relevant, confident, and energized in your role.

Resilience Tip: Build real relationships before you need them. When you’re seen as approachable, reliable, and genuinely interested, you earn trust, and with trust comes influence. These relationships become your informal comms network, helping you spot issues early, influence with credibility, and navigate pressure points with more ease and confidence.

Step 3: Use Data to Drive Decisions

Using data to drive decisions is a game-changer for internal communicators who want to influence strategically and build long-term resilience. When you align your measurement with business outcomes, like engagement, behavior change, or adoption of new ways of working, you move beyond vanity metrics and start delivering real insight.

This kind of outcomes-aligned data does the heavy lifting for you: it strengthens your case when advising leaders, helps you prioritize what matters most, and removes the guesswork from your strategy.

Instead of constantly reacting, you can act with confidence, knowing your recommendations are backed by evidence. Over time, this builds your credibility as a trusted advisor, and it supports your resilience by reducing inner doubts and emotional labor of constantly having to “prove” your value. Let the data speak, and your voice will become even stronger.

Resilience Tip: Let data be your anchor. When faced with competing priorities or stakeholder pressure, come back to what the data and outcomes are telling you. Use insights to guide decisions, set boundaries, and stay focused on work that truly moves the needle. It’s a simple way to protect your energy, reduce second-guessing, and lead with confidence.

Step 4: Lead Through Change with Clarity

As an internal communications professional, you're often at the forefront of guiding organizations through periods of ambiguity and uncertainty. In these moments, your ability to provide clear, calm, and consistent communication is crucial.

Leading with clarity not only helps employees understand what’s happening, but it also builds trust and positions you as a reliable and influential advisor.

To personally stay resilient during times of change and high demands, focus on breaking down complex information into simple, actionable steps. Keep communication transparent and aligned with the organization’s strategic goals, ensuring that everyone understands the "why" behind the change. And please, advocate for human, honest, and humble comms!

Recognize your own emotional responses and take proactive steps for self-care, through such demanding times, like scheduling regular reflection time, so you can maintain your clarity, calm, and composure. Then you will lead through change in a way that inspires confidence, strengthens relationships, and solidifies your role as a trusted strategic partner.

Resilience Tip: In times of change, prioritize regular “check-ins” with yourself. Take a moment each day to assess how you're managing the emotional weight of uncertainty, and encourage your colleagues to do the same. By staying connected to your own and others' feelings, you create space to address concerns early and maintain an empathetic comms focus. It will help you all stay grounded and resilient in the face of navigating and supporting change.

Step 5. Stay Curious and Continuously Learn

Staying curious and continuously learning is one of the most powerful habits an internal comms professional can develop, not just for personal growth, but for strategic impact.

In a world shaped by fast-changing new technologies, shifting employee expectations, and evolving business priorities, curiosity keeps you agile. It opens up new ways of thinking, helps you spot trends early, and invites smarter questions at the right time.

Whether it’s learning about AI, behavioral science, leadership communication, or employee experience, every new insight sharpens your ability to add value where it counts.

This commitment to learning also builds personal resilience. It keeps your mindset open and adaptive, so you’re better equipped to handle ambiguity and change. And strategically, it positions you as a credible voice at the table, as someone who doesn’t just deliver messages, but brings an informed perspective and challenge that helps the organization grow.

In short, curiosity and learning isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s a superpower.

Resilience Tip: Make learning a daily habit, not just about industry trends, but also about yourself. Take time to reflect on your values, energy levels, and strengths. Understanding how you work best—what drains you and what energizes you—helps you show up authentically and in alignment with your core self.

When you work in ways that play to your strengths, your confidence grows, and you become a role model for others. This practice of self-awareness keeps you resilient, adaptable, and focused on what truly matters, helping you navigate challenges with clarity and ease.

The ability to influence with authority, communicate with impact, and stay grounded under pressure is a core skill-base of the role. That’s why the Empowered Communicator Coaching Programme from the IoIC is such a powerful course.

Designed specifically for internal comms practitioners, it helps you build the mindset, behaviors, and skills to thrive, boosting your confidence, sharpening your strategic edge, and helping you stay resilient while making a real difference.