International Day of Listening

The International Day of Listening was developed in 2016 by the International Listening Association, an organization devoted to the study, development, and teaching of listening. To mark the day, the association encourages people around the world to have genuine one-on-one conversations. Businesses are invited to hold seminars on the importance of listening in the workplace, and communities can gather for meetings where citizens truly listen to one another’s concerns. The core challenge is disarmingly simple: on this day, make it a point to do more listening than talking.

The association behind the day has deep roots. Dr. Ralph G. Nichols, known as “The Father of Listening,” formed the International Listening Association in 1979 while serving as a professor at the University of Minnesota. He and the other founders believed that listening was a vital part of learning, teaching, counseling, culture, and the business world, and they built an organization to prove it. Over the decades it grew to include annual conventions, the Listening Post newsletter published since 1982, and the International Journal of Listening, first published in 1987, all carrying the same conviction that listening can be taught, studied, and improved.

Why devote a whole day to it? Because listening well changes things. In relationships, it tells the other person they matter. In workplaces, it prevents the misunderstandings that cost time and trust. In communities, it turns a room full of opinions into a conversation. And like most things, the more you practice, the easier it gets: active listening is a muscle, and September 16 is the perfect day to start training it. The listener benefits too, gaining sharper awareness of the people and the world around them.

Observing the day can be as simple as a single conversation. Sit down with a friend, a family member, or a colleague and give them your undivided attention: ask real questions, resist the urge to interrupt, and notice how much more people share when they feel truly heard. Readers can pick up “The Power of Listening” by Damian Blair or “I Hear You: The Surprisingly Simple Skill Behind Extraordinary Relationships” by Michael S. Sorenson, or tune into “The Listening Skills Podcast” by Lyn Lindbergh. Then share a favorite listening tip on social media with #InternationalDayOfListening and pass the skill along.

One note for the calendar keepers: this is not the same as World Listening Day, which falls on July 18 and was created in 2010 by the World Listening Project to celebrate soundscapes and acoustic ecology in honor of composer R. Murray Schafer. The International Day of Listening is about people, not soundscapes: less about what your ears pick up, and more about what your attention gives to someone else. On the third Thursday of September, the assignment stands: open your ears, close your mouth a little more than usual, and listen like you mean it.

The association’s history shows how seriously its founders took the mission. In its early years the ILA was housed at Telstar, which provided free administrative and technical help for the first four years of its existence. The Listening Post began in 1982 as the organization’s newsletter, keeping far-flung members connected, and the International Journal of Listening followed in 1987, giving the young field its scholarly home. By the year 2000 the association had grown to more than 600 members, all devoted to the then-radical idea that listening is not a passive gift but a teachable skill.

The skill itself is more concrete than it sounds. Good listeners do specific things: they put the phone away, make eye contact, and let the speaker finish before responding. They paraphrase what they heard to check their understanding, ask follow-up questions instead of steering the story back to themselves, and notice the feelings underneath the words. None of it requires talent, only intention. September 16 is an invitation to practice all of it at once, and to discover that the people around you have been waiting for someone to really hear them.

The day also nods to a truth that the oral-history world has long understood. StoryCorps, the nonprofit that has recorded hundreds of thousands of everyday Americans, titled its first book “Listening Is an Act of Love,” and its National Day of Listening invites families to record their elders’ stories. The International Day of Listening carries the same spirit into daily life: in classrooms, clinics, and conference rooms, the people who feel heard are the people who thrive. Doctors who listen get better diagnoses, managers who listen keep better teams, and friends who listen keep deeper friendships.

The day also has a civic heartbeat. The association suggests that communities hold meetings where citizens listen to one another’s concerns, a small act with outsized power in divided times. Most public arguments are really just two monologues happening at once; a room that agrees to listen first can find the common ground that shouting never reaches. On September 16, try it in miniature: in one conversation, let understanding be the goal instead of winning, and notice how different the ending feels.

THE STORY BEHIND INTERNATIONAL DAY OF LISTENING

👂 The Father of Listening
Dr. Ralph G. Nichols, known as “The Father of Listening,” formed the International Listening Association in 1979 while a professor at the University of Minnesota. He believed listening was vital to learning, teaching, counseling, culture, and business.

🌍 A Day Built in 2016
The International Listening Association developed the International Day of Listening in 2016 to advance its mission: promoting the study, development, and teaching of listening around the world.

📅 The Third Thursday Rule
The day is observed on the third Thursday of September each year. The National Day Calendar lists September 15 for 2022, September 21 for 2023, and September 16 for 2027.

💬 Talk Less, Hear More
The day’s core challenge is beautifully simple: do more listening than talking. Businesses hold workplace seminars, communities hold listening meetings, and individuals commit to genuine one-on-one conversations.

📚 A Reading List for Your Ears
The association recommends “The Power of Listening” by Damian Blair and “I Hear You: The Surprisingly Simple Skill Behind Extraordinary Relationships” by Michael S. Sorenson, plus “The Listening Skills Podcast” by Lyn Lindbergh.

🔊 Not That Listening Day
World Listening Day is a different observance on July 18, created in 2010 by the World Listening Project for soundscapes and acoustic ecology. This day is about listening to people, not soundscapes.

WAYS TO CELEBRATE

👂 Have One Real Conversation
Sit down with a friend or family member for a true one-on-one where your only job is to listen. Ask real questions, resist interrupting, and stay fully present from start to finish.

🏢️ Bring Listening to Work
Suggest a listening seminar or a meeting where everyone gets heard. Teams that listen well misunderstand less, trust more, and get more done.

📚 Study the Skill
Pick up a book on listening or an episode of The Listening Skills Podcast, then practice one new technique the same day. Like most skills, listening gets easier the more you practice it.

Celebrate the International Day of Listening

On September 16, 2027, give someone the rare gift of your full attention. Listen a little longer than feels natural, and discover how much more the world has to say when somebody is truly hearing it.