Workshop: How to build trust and influence as evaluators

Date and time: Thursday 8 October and Thursday 15 October 2026, 10.00am to 1.00pm AEDT (registration from 9.45am) Registrants are to attend both sessions. (full day workshop - 2 sessions)

Venue: Via Zoom. Details will be emailed to registrants just prior to the workshop start time

Facilitator: Lydia Phillips

Register online by: 7 October 2026. Spaces limited to 25 participants

Fees (GST inclusive): Members $375.00, AES Organisational member staff $505.00, Non-members $589.00, Student member $179.00, Student non-member $275.00* *Students must send proof of their full-time student status to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Workshop Overview

Evaluators, evaluation managers and commissioners often focus on honing their technical skills and producing or overseeing quality evaluation products and processes. However, it’s often the level of influence and trust they’ve cultivated that determines whether decision-makers pay attention and whether evalution findings are used.
The 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer has found that trust is at a new low globally, with people increasingly unwilling to engage with others who have different perspectives or information sources. At the same time, AI is shifting how we work and highlighting the importance of evaluators having sophisticated communication skills and strategic relationships.
This workshop focuses on the leadership, communication and interpersonal skills required to influence diverse decision-makers and boost evaluators’ professional credibility.

Workshop Content

This workshop provides practical, evidence-based strategies and techniques to build trust and influence that can be used by evaluation professionals across fields and sectors. Specifically designed for the AES community, the workshop presents key insights from the fields of leadership, executive coaching, business and marketing. It covers topics including impactful communication, executive presence, networking without cringe and gaining buy-in from decision-makers.
Participants will engage in coaching exercises and reflective discussions and use templates, resources and case studies to apply their learning.
The first session introduces key concepts and tools and presents a simple framework for building trusting professional relationships and influence, which participants can use throughout their career, in a wide range of roles and settings. Participants will explore different strategies to build trust and influence and choose one to trial before the second session.
In session two, participants will embed their learnings and develop a personalised action plan to strengthen their influence in their current context. The group will debrief on homework activities using organisational coaching principles and refine and extend the strategies from session one, with a continued focus on peer learning, self-reflection and relationship-building.

Workshop Objectives

At the workshop’s conclusion, participants will be able to:

• Identify and leverage the physical, verbal, behavioural and cultural elements of trust and influence in professional settings

• Select techniques to gain evaluation buy-in that suit their work context, working style and personal values

• Implement simple strategies to elevate their verbal and non-verbal communication skills

• Apply a personalised strategy to increase their executive presence, build and sustain diverse relationships and/or communicate more persuasively.

PL competencies

This workshop aligns with competencies in the AES Evaluator’s Professional Learning Competency Framework. The identified domains are:

• Domain 1 – Evaluative attitude and professional practice

• Domain 3 – Culture, stakeholders and context

• Domain 6 – Interpersonal skills

• Domain 7 – Evaluation Activities

Who should attend?

This workshop is for evaluation practitioners, commissioners and anyone who champions the use of evaluation and evidence who wants to increase their influence or authority and build professional relationships more intentionally. It will be particularly useful for people in middle management roles and people seeking to become more influential in their workplaces, with other organisations and/or broader decision-makers. It will also be useful for professionals who are exploring career progression opportunities or career change.

Workshop start times:

• VIC, NSW, ACT, TAS: 10.00am

• QLD: 9.00am

• SA: 9.30am

• NT: 8.30am

• WA: 7.00am

• New Zealand: 12.00pm

• For other time zones please go to https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html

About the facilitator

Lydia has 20 years’ experience advising diverse groups in complex policy areas. Her evaluation and social policy consultancy has operated for almost a decade and it was built on, and continues to grow from, trusting client relationships.

Before consulting, Lydia held senior advisory positions in the Victorian public service and coached professionals and executive teams in the private sector. She is a certified organisational coach (Institute of Executive Coaching and Leadership Level 2), an accredited Facet5 practitioner and an experienced facilitator.

Lydia is passionate about building the profile and influence of evaluation and supporting the careers of evaluators. She serves on the AES Pathways Committee and was an Associate Mentor on evaluation careers in the AES Group Mentoring Program. She is also an alumnus of Leadership Victoria.