NB Papers P950, 951, 953, 954, 955, 956 should be considered together, for scheduling consecutively. The aim of my study is to analyse how principals in verbal accounts construct images of their schools in meetings with parents. I analyse how they present the possibilities for pupils and parents to exercise influence over schooling. My interest here is whether and in what way linguistic constructions open up, or close the door for parents' initiatives and how restrictions and stipulations regarding influence and participation are made in these accounts. I also analyse different kinds of characterizations of schools, for example regarding view on knowledge, methods and how to handle pupils with special needs. The empirical data of this study comprises recorded information meetings, with principals and parents in eight different suburban schools in Stockholm. In these meetings, the head of school inform the parents about their school, how they work and what they can offer in an emerging market-like situation. These meetings are comparable to a sales meeting where the principal can be seen as a salesperson and the parents as customers free to choose another school. With influences from theoretical and methodological aspects of discourse analysis, and a narrative approach, this study discuss how verbal accounts (descriptions, categorizations and representations) and how talk in interaction with listeners, form images of schools, legitimize actions and place actors in certain roles with attributed / ascribed emotions and expectations.