The International Listening Association has met as a body every year since its founding in 1979.

Conferences have been held when a particular goal or type of work is to be explored in depth by the members of the Association. Among the topics have been intercultural listening, healthcare, the state of listening research, and the creation of the official ILA endorsed definition of listening.

1984     Northwestern College, St. Paul, MN

1985     Northwestern College, St. Paul, MN

1987     King Edward Hotel, Toronto, Canada
1990     Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland (Affiliated with International Communication Association)

1995     Massanetta Springs, Harrisonburg, VA

2000     Aomori, Japan

2006     Fall Listening Forum, Kansas City, MO*

2014     Nijmegen, The Netherlands**

Regional Conferences

In an effort to provide greater access to the information and fellowship of the ILA, conferences are occasionally held in various regions of the US and other countries. These conferences are organized and function independently of the annual meeting, with members in each geographical area taking the responsibility of conducting the conferences. The first regional conferences were held in the New York/New Jersey area at Montclair State University.  Regional conferences also took place in Florida, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Nashville. 

*"The Fall 2006 Listening Forum: Measuring the Effects of Listening on Learning, Earning, and Healing" was held in October, 2006. The Listening Forum was co-sponsored by the International Listening Association and Rockhurst College in Kansas City, Missouri. The goals for the Listening Forum were (1) to develop practical instruments to measure the effects of listening in contexts and across contexts, and (2) to develop the listening research agenda for the next five years in the contexts of Business, Education, Healthcare, Religion/Spirituality, and Theory/Research.

**“Transforming Healthcare through the Power of Listening” in Nijmegen, The Netherlands