2. DEFNITION
• Miscommunication occurs when two people have
a conversation or another form of
communication but come away with different
understandings of what was said or
communicated.
• Miscommunication can be defined as a particular
case where the mental state of the agent lacks
alignment specifically when they diverge on
occurrences or communication results.
3. Where do you find
miscommunication?
Miscommunication is present everywhere in
the world.
It can be found at the work place and
mostly it happens due to the differing
perception between employees and
employers. Perception can be different on the
basis of life experiences, culture and language.
4. Example Of Miscommunication
• Medical field have high rates of miscommunication.
Since a patient describes certain symptoms that
may point out towards a particular disease. There was
a case of a patient, who complained of diarrhea, high
fever, dehydration, vomiting flu and was bleeding from
the body openings. The patient died on arrival to
hospital before the doctors could make a clear
diagnosis of the mysterious disease that had killed him.
Since he came from a remote, rural village in Africa,
other people within the locality started exhibiting the
same symptoms and dying immediately.
5. .
• People started fleeing the village and the rest of the
country avoided visiting the area. Within a week, the
area was isolated from the rest of the world since
people barred the residents from visiting other
regions. The media made it worse by speculating that
the mysterious disease was the swine fever that had
originated from Mexico and killed several people,
since no cure has been found. There was fear that
this deadly disease had found its way to Africa and
people panicked. There was another speculation that
it might be the deadly Ebola, since the mysterious
disease had similar symptoms.
6. .
• People were so scared by this revelation and refused to
attend funerals of the dead people for fear of catching
these fatal diseases. The government moved in swiftly
and did various laboratory tests on the victims and
discovered that the disease was cholera accompanied
by dysentery. People were tested and treated and the
disease was contained within a week. In medical fields,
miscommunication can be avoided by carrying out all
possible tests that will provide the correct diagnosis of
a certain disease. Research has showed that the
occurrence of medical disputes happens without
negligence and the consequences resulting from them
are costly
7. Major reasons for miscommunication
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•
•
•
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Lack of Clarity (not enough information, etc.)
Audience is not taken into consideration.
Cultural Differences
Lack of Active Listening
Poor manners and rudeness.
8. How to Avoid Miscommunication
Think before you speak. If you think about what you say before you speak, you have
the chance to organize your thoughts, rehearse your words, evaluate the situation,
and not say something stupid
9. Speak up. If you don't voice your needs, you won't get what you
want. And say what you want clearly and loudly enough to hear.
10. Be clear. Keep the message as simple as possible. Don't
ramble or go on to a lot of extra details.
11. Be polite. If you're interrupting other people, being
rude, and disrespectful, you will not communicate
effectively anything but you're a jerk.
12. Get his or her attention. If you don't have the other person's
attention, you won't get the message across. Get eye contact,
make sure the other person is listening.
13. Organize. If you're trying to communicate, you need to be
sure the information gets to the person effectively. If you're
planning an event, you need to give important details, like
place, time, and what people need to bring.
14. Listen. If you don't listen to the other person, you are likely to
end up miscommunicating. Good listening is often more
important than whatever you say.
15. Don't assume. This is the most common presumption people
tend to make. And it is the most disastrous one as well. Unless
you say something, you usually cannot be entirely sure the other
person knows what you're thinking, feeling, or whatever.
16. Understand body language. Much of communication is
non-verbal. Pay attention; it can be very important.
17. Give reminders. Check in with the person that they understood
you, and know what they need. Even if that party is the most
important thing on your calendar, it might not be for your friend.
And people can be forgetful.
18. Learn good communication skills. If you have the opportunity to
take writing, English, public speaking, theatre, computer
programming, and world languages, these are all excellent
means to focus on communication skills