The Communication Trait: Identify Ability Before You Hire
The communication trait is one of four dimensions in the Emotional Competency section of the Behavioral Assessments. It measures a candidate's ability to express ideas clearly and start a conversation with a stranger. Not whether they want to talk, but whether they can get their point across when it matters.
What Does the Communication Trait Measure?
The communication trait measures a candidate's ability to talk and get ideas across to people and to start a conversation with a stranger. It does not measure a desire to talk, the ability to listen, or writing skill. It captures one specific ability: whether someone can make themselves understood and initiate contact when the role requires it.
Why communication problems are invisible in interviews
A structured interview is exactly the kind of prepared, low-stakes conversation that candidates can manage regardless of their actual communication ability. Explaining ideas under pressure, speaking up spontaneously, or initiating contact with strangers is a different skill. A behavioral assessment measures that ability across many questions, where it is far harder to fake a consistent pattern than in a single conversation.
What the Communication trait helps you evaluate before you hire
Communication is not the same as being talkative. The trait measures the ability to express ideas clearly and start conversations with strangers. A candidate who speaks deliberately and lands the point can score higher than someone who talks often but fails to be understood.
Why the Communication Trait Matters in Hiring
In roles where results depend on getting ideas across, a communication assessment score is one of the most direct predictors of job fit. A candidate who struggles to communicate clearly does not just underperform individually. They slow down everyone who depends on them for clear information or direction.
Role Performance
In sales, customer service, and management, the communication trait directly drives results. Low scorers struggle to convey ideas, build rapport, and follow up.
Team Effectiveness
Misunderstood instructions and reluctance to speak up reduce team output over time. These patterns compound and are difficult to trace back to one person.
Customer and Stakeholder Impact
In roles with external contact, communication ability shapes how customers experience your organization. Low scorers create friction that affects satisfaction and retention.
How low Communication scores show up on the job
These patterns rarely appear in the interview. They become visible within the first few weeks.
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How the Communication Trait Is Scored
The Communication score reflects a candidate's ability to express ideas and initiate contact. The borderline reading is 40.
How much weight to place on a low score depends on the communication demands of the specific role. A low score matters more for a sales or management hire than for a technical or clerical one.
A Communication score that is a concern for a sales or management role may be fully acceptable for a technical or clerical position. Always interpret in the context of what the specific role actually requires.
Low — 5 to 29
Limited communication ability. Struggles to express ideas or initiate contact. Significant for people-facing roles. Less weight for technical or clerical positions.
0 to 4 (extreme low): significant lack of ability to talk and get ideas across or start conversations with strangers. Rare and a serious signal for any role involving contact with others.
Borderline — 35 to 45
Moderate communication ability. Threshold reading is 40. Whether this is acceptable depends on the communication demands of the specific role.
Strong — 47 to 89
Solid communication ability. Can express ideas clearly and start conversations with strangers. Well-suited for roles requiring client interaction and clear communication.
Communication is one of four Emotional Competency traits
The Behavioral Assessments score all four Emotional Competency traits together: Focus, Motivation, Communication, and Self Confidence. The pattern across all four carries more predictive weight than any single score. Below is how the Communication score interacts with each sibling trait when both fall below the borderline range.
Focus
Focus measures the ability to stay on task and follow through. A low score on both traits predicts a candidate who neither stays focused nor expresses themselves clearly.
Motivation
Motivation measures the energy and drive to take action. A low score on both traits predicts poor performance in roles requiring consistent effort and client contact.
Self Confidence
Self Confidence measures the belief in one's own ability to act. A low score on both traits predicts hesitation wherever speaking up or initiating contact is required.
Average Emotional Competency
See how all four traits combine. The section overview explains what the Emotional Competency Average measures and how to read it alongside the individual trait scores.
Best Practice: Do not make hiring decisions based on the Communication score alone. The strongest signal comes from the full Emotional Competency Average read alongside individual scores, role benchmarks, Reliability Indicators, interview responses, and references.
How to Interpret Communication Trait Results
Read the Communication score alongside the full Emotional Competency Average, the other three individual trait scores, and the specific communication demands of the role.
What to Do Based on Your Communication Score
Review the communication demands of the role before proceeding. For sales, customer service, or management, this is a meaningful signal. For technical or clerical roles with limited communication requirements, reduce the weight accordingly. Follow up with targeted interview questions and reference checks focused on communication in context.
Score 0 to 4 (extreme low): rare and a serious concern for any role involving contact with others. Do not proceed for customer-facing, sales, or leadership roles. For technical positions with minimal communication demands, probe directly in the interview and check references specifically on communication.
Borderline range. Threshold is 40. The significance depends on the role. Ask one or two targeted questions about situations where the candidate had to explain an idea clearly or initiate contact with someone new. Compare the response against the actual communication demands of the position.
Strong communication ability. The candidate can express ideas clearly and start conversations with strangers. Continue the process and confirm through the interview that their communication style fits the specific role context.
Assessment results support decisions, they do not make them. Always interpret scores in context: the specific role, interview performance, references, and your organization's culture.
The Communication Trait Matters for Every Role You Hire
Communication ability is not equally critical across all positions. Where it does matter, it is one of the most direct predictors of job fit. Weight this score according to the communication demands of the specific role.
Roles where Communication is especially critical
The assessment manual identifies sales, customer service, and management as positions where a strong Communication score is part of the right candidate profile. For these roles, this trait should rate high relative to the other Emotional Competency traits.
- Sales and Account Management: communication ability is part of the right profile for a sales hire. Getting ideas across and starting conversations with strangers is a direct predictor of performance in roles built around building relationships and closing opportunities.
- Customer Service and Frontline: customer-facing roles require clear, confident communication across varying conditions. Candidates who score low create friction in interactions that affects customer satisfaction and the perception of your organization.
- Management and Supervision: communication ability is part of the right profile for a management hire. Managers who struggle to express ideas clearly or initiate difficult conversations create confusion and leave their teams without the direction they need.
Relevant for all role types
Sales and Account Management
Customer Service and Frontline
Management and Supervision
Executive and Leadership
Operations and Logistics
Remote and Hybrid Teams
If any of these situations sound familiar, this assessment is for you
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Frequently Asked Questions
It measures a candidate's ability to talk and get ideas across to people and to start a conversation with a stranger. It does not measure a desire to talk, the ability to listen, or writing skill. The Communication trait captures whether a candidate can make themselves understood and initiate contact when the role requires it.
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