Definition

In an APC context, adapting communication style means adjusting vocabulary, detail, channel, and structure to match the knowledge, role, and decision-making needs of the recipient. The RICS Rules of Conduct (effective 2 February 2022) require competent service, which includes communication the client can genuinely understand. Advice delivered in impenetrable jargon to a lay client may technically be accurate yet still fall short of this standard.

Why this matters for Communication and Negotiation

  • Level 2 application: assessors expect evidence that you have actively tailored communication on real instructions, not merely that you understand the principle.
  • Pitching advice at the wrong level is one of the most common causes of client complaint and professional dispute.
  • Rule 3 (Service) requires communication to serve the client's genuine interests, not just discharge the instruction.
  • The skill becomes critical at Level 3, where you advise strategically across multiple stakeholders with different frames of reference.

Key principles

Identify the audience before drafting anything

Establish who you are addressing, what decision they need to make, and what prior knowledge they hold. In surveying practice, the main groups are: technical peers who share your vocabulary and expect precision; senior lay clients (developers, board directors) who are commercially astute but may lack construction background; end users (tenants, homeowners) who need plain English; and regulatory bodies who need submissions mapped onto statutory frameworks.

Adjust content, not just vocabulary

The underlying advice rarely changes but its framing must. With technical peers, terms such as gross internal area or reinstatement cost need no explanation; with a lay client, replace or define them. Regulatory bodies need referenced evidence. Lay clients respond better to a concise narrative leading with the conclusion. A lender wants sensitivity analysis and loan-to-cost ratios; a tenant facing a dilapidations claim wants plain terms.

Choose the right channel

Formal written reports suit regulatory submissions and complex instructions where a permanent record matters. Presentations work well for boards, allowing real-time questions that reveal misunderstanding early. Verbal briefings suit fast-moving negotiations. Email is appropriate for confirming agreed points but is a poor vehicle for complex or sensitive advice.

Check understanding actively

Build in pauses and ask open questions: "Does that level of risk feel acceptable at this stage?" Summarise key points at the end of a meeting and follow up in writing. Many disputes arise not from disagreement about facts but from failures of understanding that active listening can prevent.

Relevant RICS guidance and legislation

  • RICS Rules of Conduct (effective 2 February 2022) — Rule 3 (Service) requires competent, client-centred communication; Rule 1 (Honesty and Integrity) requires accuracy and no misleading content.
  • Equality Act 2010 — requires reasonable adjustments in communication for clients or colleagues with disabilities, including ensuring communication is not inadvertently exclusionary.

Ethics and Rules of Conduct angle

Rule 3 (Service) requires competent service, including ensuring clients can genuinely understand the advice they receive. A member who uses technical language with a lay client or structures a report so as to obscure material risk may technically discharge the instruction while still falling short of Rule 3. Rule 1 (Honesty and Integrity) requires that communication is not misleading: oversimplification that omits a material caveat can breach this rule even when the intent is to be helpful.

APC-style Q&As

Q (Level 1)Why is it important for an RICS surveyor to adapt their communication style for different audiences?

Different audiences have different levels of technical knowledge, decision-making responsibilities, and concerns. Advice that is accurate but incomprehensible to its recipient fails to serve the client's genuine interests and risks dispute. Adapting communication style is also required by Rule 3 of the RICS Rules of Conduct, which obliges members to provide competent service.

Q (Level 1)Name three audience types a surveyor commonly encounters and describe what each needs from a communication.

A lay client (such as a homeowner or commercial tenant) needs plain English, a clear conclusion first, and an explanation of what the advice means for their budget. A technical peer (such as an architect or structural engineer) expects precise terminology and detailed methodology. A regulatory body (such as a planning officer) needs referenced evidence mapped onto the relevant statutory or policy framework.

Q (Level 2)Describe a situation where you adapted your communication style in practice and explain the outcome.

(example) I was instructed to advise a sole-trader landlord on a terminal dilapidations claim. Rather than serving the schedule alone, I produced a two-page covering note in plain English explaining which items were agreed and which were disputed, and the likely settlement range. The tenant engaged constructively, a figure was agreed within six weeks, and the landlord avoided litigation. The key adaptation was leading with practical financial impact rather than legal terminology.

Q (Level 2)What is the inverted pyramid and how does it apply to professional reports?

The inverted pyramid places the most important conclusion first, followed by key findings and supporting evidence. In a professional report, the executive summary contains the recommendation and material risks; subsequent sections provide the evidence for those who need to verify it. A board director should be able to act on page one; a technical reviewer interrogates the appendices. In a presentation, lead with the recommendation rather than building to it over multiple slides.

Q (Level 3)You have prepared a development appraisal for a mixed-use scheme. The same meeting is attended by the developer's board and the senior lender's credit officer. How do you structure your communication?

I prepare one set of underlying numbers but structure two narrative threads. For the board, I lead with headline profit on cost, the key risks (planning delay, construction cost inflation, sales void), and a simple sensitivity table showing the impact of a 10% cost overrun and a six-month sales delay. For the credit officer, I pivot to debt cover ratios, loan-to-GDV, and the downside scenario, making clear what would need to go wrong for the project to breach the lender's covenants. I circulate separate one-page summaries to each party after the meeting, ensuring each decision-maker receives the framing relevant to their role, consistent with Rule 3 of the RICS Rules of Conduct.