When is Listening the Best Approach and When is it Not?

Join us at the annual convention of the International Listening Association as we explore the topic:

When is Listening the Best Approach, and When is it Not? 

We like to think of listening as this pure, uncomplicated good—something that always helps, always heals. But out in the real world, it isn’t always that simple. There are moments when listening feels like opening a door we’re not sure we should walk through. Moments when someone wants to hand us a story we may not be able to carry. Moments when listening could quietly validate harm, or blur a boundary, or take us somewhere we didn’t consent to go. This session sits gently inside those uncomfortable moments. Together, we’ll explore the questions most of us don’t say out loud: Should I listen to this right now? Is this mine to hear? What responsibility comes with knowing someone else’s truth? Think of this as a space to wonder together about the roles of vulnerability and discernment in our listening practice, and how to balance them. Expect to engage in conversation about the ethics of listening with more curiosity than certainty.

Participants will leave with a deeper sense of the weight and wonder of listening, and a clearer understanding of how to show up with integrity when someone asks, silently or directly, “Will you listen to me?”

View the full program and register for this year’s online ILA Convention at listen.org