The 18 most common communication problems and errors

The vast majority of conflicts between people (or companies) are found in communication. Even though we all communicate with other people or groups, we don't always do it the right way.

Whether it is with your partner, friends or with the employees of our company, communication errors can arise at any time, so it is important to detect them.

Consequences of poor communication

Communication problems occur in all interpersonal relationships, and if not resolved properly, They can trigger endless battles and bad relationships, for example with your partner or partner. job. Communication includes at least two people, and although this seems basic, we do not always take it into account.

The importance of communication is such that even psychologists teach their patients skills social and relational, since the origin of conflicts often lies in these competencies. Likewise, a company can see its results reduced by the bad relationship between co-workers or by not being able to reach workers with their needs.

The most frequent communication errors

Now, what are the main mistakes that human beings can make around communication? What communication problems are the most common? In the following lines I explain it to you in detail.

Some basic communication problems

Some problems that can occur in different areas of daily life (in a relationship, between friends, at work, etc.) are the following.

1. Hear or listen?

It often happens that we think we are listening to a person and what we are actually doing is listening. Hearing and listening are not the same. To be able to listen, you must make use of active listening, which not only pays attention to the words that a person says, but also to their body language and non-verbal and emotional communication in general.

Active listening improves interpersonal relationships because it improves communication.

• If you want to know more about this concept, you can read our article: "Active listening: the key to communicating with others”

2. Say what one thinks without taking others into account

In these situations where active listening is not used, it is common for people to say what they have in mind instead of paying full attention to what the other interlocutor He says. That is why active listening is important, because it places us in the shoes of the other person, it allows us to understand their true emotions and get the message appropriately. This also helps the other person to understand that we are interested in what they say..

On the other hand, there are many situations in which individuals already know what they are going to say even before the other interlocutor has finished speaking, either because of the prejudices he has or because both have a conflict, are on the defensive and want to be right at all coast. In this way, it is impossible for good communication to flow and for constructive debate to appear.

3. Talk or say?

Whether in written or spoken language, speaking is not the same as saying: the important thing is not to speak or write a lot but to do it with brevity and precision. It is not about making use of many words but about using the appropriate intensity and depth, of communicating something interesting.

4. Lack of trust

Lack of confidence can cause us not to express appropriately what we want to say and, in many cases, can lead to lack of assertiveness, not being able to express one's opinions correctly, not setting limits in relationships and, therefore, in the smooth running of communication.

5. Lack of credibility

Like the lack of trust, the lack of credibility is also important when communicating. with other people, either with our partner, in a company or when making a speech in public.

Credibility favors the other interlocutor to feel comfortable and, consequently, the trust between the two increases.

6. Lack of empathy

Empathy It is a basic social skill that is necessary to be able to live with others. It is closely related to the fact of not only expressing what one thinks, since it allows us to understand the other interlocutor and her point of view. It is key to be able to send a clear and precise message.

7. Bad emotional validation

The emotional validation is a concept that is being used more and more, and it is possessed by those people with a high emotional intelligence. It consists of accepting and giving feedback to others not only with words, but also with non-verbal language.

It favors good communication, since the other individual understands that he is being understood, recognized and understood, and, consequently, increases his verbalization.

8. Poor non-verbal language

We often pay close attention to words and forget non-verbal language. According to the results of an investigation carried out by Albert Mehrabian, the verbal component is 35% and more than 65% is non-verbal communication. This includes body posture, eye contact, or gestures.

This should happen naturally, but in some cases, for example when we are not relaxed, our nonverbal language it does not allow to convey what we are trying to say

9. Bad verbal language

Tone of voice, i.e. not speaking too loud or too low, slurring words, or using too many padding terms such as "ah", "eh" or "um" can cause the message with the interlocutor to lose force. Vocalizing correctly, a good capacity for improvisation and, ultimately, saying correctly what we want the other person to hear improves communication.

10. Problems when reading and writing

Good reading and writing skills are extremely important in some contexts, for example, in the digital world: when it comes to write in a blog and getting the message of a company to a potential client or when sending an email to a recruiter to seduce him and make him see that we are the best candidates.

Not reading well or writing well clearly affects the understanding and expression of the message in these contexts.

11. Disrespect

People open up more to others when they respect us, so respect is a basic communication skill that we must take into account when communicating effectively. It is just as important as showing credibility. In a relationship, for example, a sign of affection or a nice gesture shows that we respect to our beloved and, consequently, improves closeness, trust and communication with that person.

12. Poor persuasion and negotiation skills

Persuasion allows you to transform ideas, beliefs, behaviors and attitudes, thus satisfying the needs of both interlocutors, is key in the business environment, but also in everyday life.

Persuasion is key in negotiation which, in turn, is key in interpersonal relationships. Negotiating and reaching agreements so that the needs of both are, at least in part, covered improves interpersonal relationships and fluidity in communication between the actors.

Communication skills when speaking in public

To speak in public it is also necessary to master a series of communication skills that allow to captivate the audience and keep it entertained and attentive.

The most common mistakes that can occur when speaking in public are:

1. Lack of initial rapport

Rapport It is a phenomenon in which two people feel in tune both mentally and emotionally. It is key to bring the person closer and connect with the message, especially when the two people do not know each other, as often happens in a public talk or exhibition. When this connection does not exist, there will not be good communication either.

2. Lack of sense of humor

In a context like public speaking, one of the best ways to connect with your audience is to use your sense of humor. Thanks to a sense of humor, the listener's capacity for attention and retention of information increases.

When the talk or presentation is too serious, it is usually boring and does not help the communication flow.

• We explain this and other benefits in our article: "The 9 benefits of having a sense of humor”

3. Rigidity in the use of body language

When the person feels nervous, which is something that can happen when someone is in front of an audience, they usually express that nervousness through body language. Lack or excess of gesticulation, poor posture, and poor eye contact are some examples..

4. Excess of information and overly intellectual content

This can happen especially in oral presentations, when the person giving the presentation is not very precise and concise and does not connect emotionally with the audience since the information is too intellectual.

The excess of information becomes boring, and it is a very frequent mistake when the needs and interests of the audience are not taken into account.

5. Stage fright

Stage fright negatively affects communication in different ways, both in non-verbal and verbal language. When someone does not have enough self-confidence, the audience will notice and, therefore, there will not be a good emotional connection with them.

6. Inappropriate use of silence

Silence can be a great tool when speaking in public, it is an element of communication in itself, whose value can be equated with that of words; However, when the person misuses it, it can become boring and ruin the flow of a talk, conference or oral presentation.