The Pushback - A Practical Lab for Reframing Training Requests

You receive a training request, but every ounce of your experience tells you that training alone won’t solve the problem. Yet your stakeholder has already decided what they need, and you find yourself pigeonholed as a training supplier rather than a strategic partner.

This practical session tackles two barriers preventing L&D professionals from creating meaningful business impact: difficulty identifying the underlying business problem and a lack of confidence or communication skills to challenge training requests constructively.

You’ll practise reframing requests and take part in a realistic conversation with an AI avatar of a senior stakeholder, designed specifically for ITE members. Afterwards, you’ll receive a personalised feedback report highlighting opportunities to strengthen your communication and influencing skills.

Changing how stakeholders see you—and how your department responds to requests—can feel disruptive. That’s why you’ll also learn the art of priming: preparing someone for a different perspective before introducing it, so you can challenge assumptions and suggest alternative solutions without creating unnecessary resistance.

You’ll learn how to:

• Challenge training requests without damaging stakeholder relationships.

• Shape the impression you make during the opening minutes of a senior stakeholder conversation.

• Reframe learning requests in business language rather than L&D terminology.

• Use priming to introduce new ideas and non-training solutions.

Please have your mobile phone available for the AI role-play activity.

Your speaker: Saad Qurashi

Saad is a communication, conflict resolution and priming expert. His experience spans navigating conflict on the streets of Brixton to leading teams of 200, generating £27 million in revenue and restructuring international operations.

He has rare experience in adulted learning, appointed the youngest Academic Dean at 29, and he later received a Principal Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy at King’s College London.

Today, Saad helps leaders communicate difficult decisions and reduce resistance. This includes helping L&D leaders communicate and influence as strategic business partners. He is a founding member of the L&D Means Business Learning Cluster at L&D Shakers, a community of over 10,000 professionals.