->''What we've got here is failure to communicate.''
-->--'''''Cool Hand Luke''''', 1967

->''Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words can fuckin kill you.''
-->--'''''Taylor Mali'''''

Anthropologists posit that one of the turning points in human development was a growing ability to communicate. In fiction, one of the turning points in dramatic development was the ability ''not'' to communicate.

Sometimes the author wants the plot to go a certain direction, but for it to do so one or more characters have to misunderstand each other. Common enough in RealLife, so it should be no trouble to pull off in fiction, right? Well, there's a few problems... the misunderstanding is pretty easy to clear up, and the characters are pretty good speakers who are on good terms and speak frankly to each other without needlessly holding back.

So what's the author to do? They have ''the coolest'' [[MandatoryTwistEnding plot twist]] or ClimaxBoss fight, but it absolutely hinges on these guys being, however briefly, unable to articulate their point.
To solve this problem the author gives the characters PoorCommunicationKills, reducing their verbal skills to those of three-year-olds. ''Shy'' three-year-olds, with a stutter.

All the characters involved go [[OutOfCharacterMoment out of character for a moment]] so that they [[CannotSpitItOut can't (or won't) tell]] their [[OneSideOfTheStory side of the story]], or creates a false urgency because there's "NoTimeToExplain", or just plain making them act like a disgruntled loner and telling their friends to FigureItOutYourself when cooperation (or at least [[RightHandVersusLeftHand non-interference]]) is infinitely preferable. No matter which reason, it seems that at least half of the people involved have simultaneously gotten hold of the IdiotBall, if not [[IdiotPlot everyone]].

Or to cut through all the pretentious SesquipedalianLoquaciousness above: PoorCommunicationKills is when a misunderstanding is [[WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief entirely implausible]] and [[CharacterDerailment against]] the characters' previously exhibited communication skills, personality and relationship, and any [[ViewersAreMorons normal person]] could clear up the misunderstanding in less than 30 seconds and solve the plot.

Though similar, this trope does not include things like SelectiveObliviousness, YoureJustJealous, or SarcasticConfession as those are failures to ''listen'' rather than speak; though honestly authors can nerf even ''that'' ability when they need the ReasonableAuthorityFigure to become a [[AdultsAreUseless useless adult.]]

Compare RightHandVersusLeftHand.

Contrast: JustEatGilligan, AmnesiaDanger.
----
Common ways to ''NOT'' get the point across:

* CannotSpitItOut - The character purposefully keeps quiet out of conflicted feelings.
** DidntMentionIt - character chooses not to tell something that is very awkward NOT to mention, such as a child or marriage.
* CannotTellAJoke - A character's attempts to be humorous just leaves their audience bemused, bothered and bewildered.
* CassandraTruth - A character who is never believed because her claims are seen as insane.
** NotSoImaginaryFriend - This poor soul can't expose the DevilInPlainSight, how infuriating!
** TheJorEl - A borderline case, usually disbelieved because of acting like (or being) the AgentMulder.
** CryingWolf - The dumbass has lied to them before, so they think he's lying again even when he's telling the truth.
* CrypticConversation - Being mysterious for the sake of being vague, this rarely helps the heroes get anywhere or stop the villains.
* CultureClash - Each character is quite certain that the other understands what is meant.
* DiggingYourselfDeeper- How most people get tongue tied into being a CassandraTruth.
* FriendOrFoe - You can't tell who to trust.
* HangingSeparately - Your [[strike:friends]] allies regard you as a greater threat than their (and your) enemies.
* [[{{ptitle4t9luy42yhzf}} Hulk's Cooldown Hug Corollary]] - Any time a non-violent solution against a nigh-unstoppable force seems likely, ''someone'' will shoot at it.
* JediTruth - Telling the recipient something the speaker knows is not true, or at least mostly not true, but considers it justified as being true "from a certain point of view."
* [=~Let's You And Him Fight~=] - Why any two {{Super Hero}}es or teams fight in comic books. At least it usually gets sorted out fairly quickly.
* LockedOutOfTheLoop - Keeping vital information from the hero, either for valid reasons or "just because". Rarely ends amicably.
* LostInTransmission - You are getting some vital information when suddenly, right as you are being told the key ingredient, the phone cuts out. Or the radio falls into static, or the computer has a psychotic break from reality. In any case, you are now standing there with a green wire in one hand, a red wire in the other, and no idea which one you were supposed to cut.
* NoTimeToExplain - An excuse for several of the following; considering [[TalkingIsAFreeAction how time works in movies]], pretty much a non-excuse.
* NotNowBernard - Shushing away children or allies when they have important news.
* NonverbalMiscommunication - When words are out of the mix, things tend to get worse. If only someone created a [[SignLanguage language based on making signs]]... still they'd find a way to mess it up.
* OneSideOfTheStory - The result of several of these.
* RageAgainstTheMentor - The result of heroes getting fed up with abstruse and cryptic mentors and allies.
* RightHandVersusLeftHand - What happens when two groups who should be allies fight, simply because no one bothers to find out ''which side they're all on!''
* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness - When Smart people CanNotSpitItOut because their language is too elevated.
* WeCouldHaveAvoidedAllThis - The end result of many communication breakdowns.
* [[{{ptitle0jmz3tvmmlub}} Why Didn't You Just Say So?]] - The standard response to finally breaking through PoorCommunicationKills. An example of LampshadeHanging.
* YouHaveToBelieveMe - Very often in the disaster and horror genre, anyone who learns of the impending disaster in time to stop it loses the ability to not talk like a homeless schizophrenic.
* YouKnowWhatYouDid - A soap opera staple, the result of a loved one thinking you're cheating because of OneSideOfTheStory. Worst part is the poor sap doesn't know what he did!
* YouMakeMeSic - A character write something to another... but the only response they get is that their spelling needs work.
----
!!Examples

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Anime ]]
* In ''GakuenTengoku,'' Oshino's inability to articulate the fact that he's a new teacher got him his ass beat.
* ''HigurashiNoNakuKoroNi'' takes a very... er... literal angle on this due to the fact that most arcs are OneSideOfTheStory, and that the series in general contains proliferations of [[CrypticConversation Cryptic Conversations]] and characters who CanNotSpitItOut. In fact, the latter point becomes a major {{Aesop}} of the series.
** However, to be fair, it's mildly justified in some cases by the fact that the 'main' character hasn't really known the rest of the cast for that long -- and the things they're not talking about are often rather more serious secrets than is usual for this trope. Like, say, [[spoiler:the fact that you just murdered someone]]. Still comes off as inexplicable at other points, though -- especially [[spoiler:since the character with the most important secrets obviously has nothing to lose by telling them]].
*** It's assumed due to the [[spoiler: GroundhogDayLoop that she ''has'' tried to tell them, hundreds and thousands of times, but just is never believed, and after a few centuries, she has resigned herself to her fate.]]
* One ''DetectiveConan'' case had an injured American tourist recuperating in a Japanese household and falling in love with a young woman. Because of a mouth injury, at first he could only communicate by writing out Japanese phrases phonetically. As he was leaving, the young woman asked if he loved her, and he wrote down the word [[spoiler:"shine", referring to his earlier words that he wanted a "shining bride", but which she quite naturally interpreted as "shi-ne," which happens to be Japanese for "die". The woman committed suicide after he left, and when he came back he ended up murdering most of the family in revenge.]] WhatAnIdiot.
* ''{{Monster}}'' sometimes relies on this trope. The show is full of characters who know bits and pieces of the overall puzzle; two of them will often unknowingly meet up, but fail to say the right things. Examples include Tenma's first meeting with Grimmer and Nina's first meeting with Lotte (who even mentions her friend [[spoiler:Johan]], just never by ''name'').
* ''ElfenLied'' is also a noteworthy offender. The good guys have almost enough information to explain the whole plot and background story, but never get the idea that any of their friends might be interested in their personal side adventures.
* Most trouble in ''BinbouShimaiMonogatari'' stems from the two sisters simply not ''talking'' with each other about what's bothering them.
* This was [[spoiler: ColonelBadass Sergei Smirnov]]'s FatalFlaw in {{Gundam 00}}. [[spoiler: His inability to reach for his son Andrei after the death of his mom Holly, leads to Andrei growing so embittered and hateful that he ends up ''killing'' his father in battle, believing him to be a traitor on top of [[YouKilledMyFather responsible for Holly's death]].]]
* A significant amount of the angst from the beginning of {{Gundam SEED}} could have been avoided, had Kira (or anyone else on the Archangel) felt the need say to ZAFT something along the lines of "Hey, there's about 30 civilians on board this ship".
** Or maybe not, [[HotBlooded Yzak]] would most likely just shoot them anyway, believing them to be fleeing soldiers.
** However Athrun telling Nicol that the pilot was Strike was a friend of his whom tragic circumstances forced him into reluctantly fighting, and not and evil natural hell bent on slaughtering them, instead of just sighing and staring off into space would have likely saved Nicol's life later on. Instead Nicol suicides into Strike in a vain attempt to save Athrun's life, which was never in danger because Kira would likely have just left Athrun alone.
* In ''AppleseedExMachina'' the government advices the general public to hand over very handy Connexus-devices telling that they've been "deemed harmful". Instead of simply saying: [[spoiler:"These devices turn you into insane cyber-zombie and may force the police to shoot you."]] Needless to say, few listen.
* ''[[MaiHime Mai-HiME]]''....ohhhh yes. ''[[MaiHime Mai-HiME]]''. Let's count the ways, shall we?
** Mai gets involved with the [=HiME=] Festival by being told she'll have to risk the most important thing to her. She assumes it's her life. [[PoweredByAForsakenChild Not quite.]]
** Nagi informs the [=HiME=] that [[spoiler:the [=HiME Star=] is descending and will continue to do so until someone gains its power. The earthquakes and weather shifts caused by its movemement make the [=HiME=] consider that it will destroy the world otherwise.]] Not really, but the [[spoiler:perceived time crunch forces several of the more impulsive [=HiME=] into actions they might've waited before taking otherwise.]]
** Yukariko blames [[spoiler:Nao for attacking her after the above revelation, in reality [[WoundedGazelleGambit an illusion projected by her CHILD]].]] Nao, already a bitter, cynical girl by nature, [[spoiler: assumes the [=HiME=] coming to confront her about attacking Yukariko are attacking her first, and [[EyeScream loses an eye in the resulting fight]], firmly shoving her from Anti-Hero into an antagonist slot.]]
** Yuiichi has no idea how deep [[{{Yandere}} the feelings]] his UnluckyChildhoodFriend, Shiho, are. Naturally, she ends up [[spoiler:trying to MurderTheHypotenuse multiple times, and her defeat in the end causes his death.]]
** Mikoto's training and [[spoiler:arguable brainwashing at a young age]] repeatedly spawn DiabolusExMachina, [[spoiler:killing Takumi and Yuiichi both.]]
** Shizuru's failure to inform Haruka she was leaving the school to look after her grievously hurt best friend leads to Haruka [[spoiler:tracking her down, seeing Shizuru's private actions while Natsuki is asleep, and jumping to all the wrong conclusions.]] Her eventual accusations [[spoiler:of her molesting Natsuki while she slept, in Natsuki's hearing, cause Natsuki to react...poorly to Shizuru's attempts to reassure her, and the perceived rejection causes Shizuru to have a psychotic break and kill lots of people that "could threaten Natsuki", ending in the deaths of Haruka, Section 1, Nao's mother, and Shizuru and Natsuki themselves in the final showdown.]]
* The manga ''SaitamaChainsawShoujo'' has the main character be a bad speaker with self-confidence issues whose only two friends in school suddenly stop talking to her after a transfer student comes in. [[{{Understatement}} She doesn't take it well]] and it gets to the part [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin why the manga is titled what it is]].
* How come {{Ranma}} wasn't mentioned yet? The entire series is more or less made of this trope.
* Parodied in ''HayateTheCombatButler''. There is an episode that has Hayate spending the night at Hinagiku's house; then Hinagiku end up bumping with Ayumu, Hayate's other love interest and Hina's new friend as well. That's when she says this is bad, and the narrator detailedly explains this trope, commenting that Hinagiku fears that Ayumu will find out somehow that Hayate is inside the house, then will run away and get frustrated because of a misunderstanding. And then it happens.
* [[CodeGeass Lelouch]], in his arrogance, is guilty of this multiple times. The best (or worst) example is when he's informed by his enemies that their [[TheAce Ace]] Suzaku is carrying a weapon of mass destruction on board his mecha, but ''fails to tell any of his subordinates''. When Lelouch's top pilot Kallen confronts him, [[spoiler: Suzaku, despite not wanting to use the weapon, [[ICannotSelfTerminate is forced by the command to "live" that Lelouch placed upon him]] to fire it, which killed ''35 million people''.]]
* In {{Sekirei}}, the protagonist's sister gets a Sekirei named Shiina. His goal is to find Kusano, his sister (whether they're actually related is unknown, but Shiina is #107 and Kusano is #108). Yukari proceeds to [[CurbstompBattle heartlessly beat]] any Ashikabi she comes across (she's become a massive bitch in the process somehow, even though some of her victims deserved it) and then ask them where Kusano is .
** Kusano is one of ''her brother's'' Sekirei.
***Even if she thinks she can't call him (you're not allowed to talk about Sekirei to {{Muggles}}, and she doesn't know he's an Ashikabi), visiting Izumo Inn would have resolved this whole subplot [[spoiler: and now she's been kidnapped by [[JerkAss Higa]]]].
* Near the end of VisionOfEscaflowne, Van attempts to kill Dilandau and Allen leaps to his rescue, apparently having never bothered to let Van in on the fact that [[spoiler: Dilandau is actually Allen's younger sister who has been sex-changed and driven psychotic by Zaibach.]] Rather than explain, "Hey, don't kill him, he's [[spoiler: my kid sister]], Allen tells Van that Allen himself should be held responsible for all of Dilandau's crimes. And rather than ask for further explanation, Van's response is along the lines of, "Okay, sure, then let's fight to the death."
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]
* In the newspaper comic, ''9 Chickweed Lane'', OfficialCouple [[TVGenius Amos]] and [[{{Tsundere}} Edda]] have broken up mostly because [[CanNotSpitItOut she wouldn't tell him what was upsetting her]] (his dreamy ramblings about the concert violinist they'd watched) and it never occurs to him A) [[YouDidntAsk to ask what was wrong]] or B) the answer might be him.
** [[IGotBetter They get better.]] [[IfYouKnowWhatIMean Hoo boy, do they get better.]]
* ''G.I.Joe'', late in the series. Cobra has captured a bunch of G.I.Joes. Cobra Commander, off-site, says to let them go. Unfortunately he conveys this as 'Get rid of them'. The officers on site dither and whine. Instead of calling back to ask 'You mean shoot them?' they agree to let a mook do it. Several Joes get their heads ventilated. GRAPHICALLY. Yikes.
* In an issue of {{Comicbook/X-Factor}}, where Siryn is trying to tell Jamie she's pregnant and Jamie thinks she leaving the team. Following a brief argument after which Jamie storms off, Monet points out to Siryn that rather than Jamie being an insensitive ass, he obviously ''didn't'' know what she was trying to say.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Film ]]
*The movie [[TwentyEightDaysLater 28 Days Later]], opens with a group of environmentalists attempting to break open cages of seemingly abused monkeys. A scientist tries to stop them and is given a chance to explain why they shouldn't torture him like he (seemingly) has done to the monkeys. His answer? " [They have] Rage." He doesn't try to explain that the Rage he is talking about is not just an emotion, even though there's a large enough of a pause to do so. Instead, he, for some reason, expects these people who have not worked in his lab, nor understand that the monkeys are sick, to comprehend a word that apparently now has two meanings. Some people might blame the PETA wannabes for killing most of Great Britain, but I blame that damn scientist.
** So do I. FOR CREATING THE DAMN VIRUS IN THE FIRST PLACE!
** As do I. For not keeping the 100% lethal pandemic virus infected monkey in a more secure location, while not even bothering to use warning signs such as "BLOODY DEADLY VIRUS INSIDE, KEEP THE FUCK OUT!"
*** Still, had the Environmentalists not snuck in like that, the virus probably would've been contained.
*** It also ought to be added that the warning signs were almost certainly there -- this troper (due to work) knows exactly what kinds of signs to expect, too. This troper also knows from professors and the occasional news story that [[TooDumbToLive intelligence is not]] [[{{Understatement}} a membership requirement]] [[AnimalWrongsGroup of theirs]], which is why any scientists working there would be insisting on the place being secure and well-signed even if what they're working on is public knowledge.
*** ThisTroper remembers another story where the scientists did in fact label the cages as containing animals infected with level 5 bioweapons, only for the leader of the AnimalWrongsGroup to go "Oh, scientists just use those signs to try and scare us off! But they can't fool me!", and releases the animals anyway. Sure enough, death plague.
* In ''[[StarWars Revenge Of The Sith]]'', Master Yoda helps get the entire Jedi Order put to the sword because he couldn't get across to Anakin how important it was to be clear-headed when he tries to change what his visions show him. He just told Anakin what to do, expecting either that Anakin would simply do what he was told or that he would respect Yoda's wisdom. Yoda does this rather than take the time to explain that if he was so terrified of losing someone, he would be willing to do ''anything'' to save them, no matter how far-fetched, dangerous, or self-destructive. And that this is a bad mental state to make any kind of decision in.
* The Finnish film ''[[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0378848/ Tali-Ihantala 1944]]'' has a scene that shows the tragic results of a language barrier between the Finnish troops and Swedish volunteers. One of the Finnish veterans is instructing the volunteer troops on using a ''panzerfaust'', stressing the fact that the weapon releases a lethal tail flame upon firing. However, he tells this in ''Finnish'', which the Swedish troops do not understand. Later, during an ambush against Soviet tanks, one of the volunteers gets killed by the tail flame. One of the Finnish soldiers tries to warn him not to hold the weapon against his shoulder while firing, but since the warning is again in Finnish, he does not understand it and fires anyway.
* Subverted in ''MarsAttacks!''. At first it appears that poor communication is the cause of the Martians' attacks on the humans. Later it's made clear that the Martians intended to invade and destroy humanity anyway.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature ]]
* HarryPotter's godfather Sirius Black was a valiant and caring daredevil who would willingly give his life for his friends, but boy, did he SUCK when it came to explaining his innocence.
*''{{Dracula}}'', where the excessively gentlemanly heroes deliberately choose not to tell Mina Harker about their vampire hunt so as not to distress her, thus making her the [[DistressedDamsel perfect target]]. Ironically, once the damage is done and they must let her in on it, she copes rather better than her husband did.
* [[PGWodehouse Everything bad that ever happened to Bertie Wooster.]]
* Every....single...protagonist in Robert Jordan's [[WheelOfTime The Wheel Of Time]] series appears to suffer from this. Seriously.
** Luckily, the antagonists have the exact same problem, and while the protagonists have a long-term scheme and may be able to at least put aside their differences, the antagonists are busy squabbling over who gets to be TheDragon.
*** Unluckily, the BigBad can (and does) give concrete orders that will be carried out. The side of good has... about 50 chronic arguments? At least?
*** Considering the whole Aiel vs. the Whitecloaks vs. the Rebel Tower vs. the White Tower vs. Elidia vs. the [[OverlyLongGag Asha'man]] vs.... well, ''everyone'' the Dark one could probably just sit back and wait for the good guys to kill each other off, although at least half of the disputes arise or are at least made worse by agents of the Dark one amongst them.
* {{Shakespeare}} seemed to be fond of this trope. The most famous example is probably ''RomeoAndJuliet'', where Juliet fakes her own death, and her message to Romeo explaining the situation never reaches him, causing Romeo to kill Paris and commit suicide. Upon discovering this, Juliet also kills herself.
** [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in ''BellsAreRinging'', where answering service girl Ella tries to explain to a policeman that "my job is to get messages to people on time" and imagines herself at "Veronaphone" passing Juliet's message on to Romeo.
--->"See what I could have done? Maybe I'm right! Maybe I'm wrong! But if I'd got that message through on time, I'm telling you--THOSE TWO KIDS WOULD BE ALIVE TODAY!"
* In ''TheRuins'', poor communication literally kills, as the Mayan-speaking locals are unable to effectively warn the main characters away from the titular ruins. Why they don't speak Spanish is [[FridgeLogic not explained]].
** Because it's very common for Mayans in the poor rural areas of Mexico to speak no or very little Spanish.
* Herman Melville took this trope literally in his little-known novella ''Billy Budd'', in which Billy, a Christlike figure whose only flaw is a tendency to stutter when he gets upset, [[spoiler:killed the master-at-arms, Claggart, after Claggart falsely accused him of conspiracy to mutiny. He got so upset when he couldn't stop stuttering long enough to defend himself that he punched Claggart in the temple and he died. All three main characters--Billy, Claggart, and Captain Vere--die.]] But, then again, without it all of Melville's lovely [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic symbolism]] falls apart, and we can't have that.
* DavidWeber has this on a grander scale then most with his ''HellsGate'' series when poor communication causes two civilizations, which hadn't even known the other existed until recently, to start what is promising to be a long and brutal war.
** And in the {{Honorverse}}, deliberately tampered with communication restarts the Manticore-Haven war.
* In ''TheForeverWar'', a war that lasts centuries between humans and an alien race [[spoiler:turns out to be based on a misunderstanding]]. Considering that the author is a Vietnam vet, one need merely read The Pentagon Papers to see where he gets his idea.
* A large part of later books in the EndersGame series. Turns out [[spoiler:the formians were not hostile, but simply unaware that humans were intelligent, at least on an individual level. After the second war, the tried to apologize, but were destroyed before the learned to communicate with us.]] In addition, the whole debate over whether two alien species can communicate and coexist is dominant, especially as a situation gets closer and closer to "Communicate with them, or commit Xenocide." [[spoiler: Placing our heroes in the exact same situation as the formians.]]
* BeingThere is a variation; the whole plot is based on characters misinterpreting most everything ChanceTheGardener says (with the twist that he cannot correct them because he isn't able to understand what's going on).
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]
* In ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' episodes 2.09 and 2.10; Mohinder utterly failed to tell OverprotectiveDad Noah that he didn't need Claire, just a pint of blood to save a life and stop a plague rather than kidnap her. Instead he made it seem like he had done a FaceHeelTurn and was going after this OverprotectiveDad's daughter and bringing about the season's TearJerker episode.
** Peter and Hiro ended up in a fight because neither was all too keen on examining why each was doing what they're doing by defending and attacking Adam respectively. And these are people who can ''[[TalkingIsAFreeAction stop time!]]'' Hiro and Peter could have had talked it out while sipping tea in Tokyo and come back with the whole thing handily resolved, were it not for "With great power [[DeusExitMachina goes]] all intelligence".
*** The Writer's Strike is probably the reason they had to speed through that. If the season was allowed to take its natural course they might have done all that (well, maybe not the sipping tea in Tokyo part).
*** According to a behind the scenes look, that scene was going to end with the plague vial falling to the floor and shattering, leading into a massive 'plague containment' arc. Which the Writer's Strike truncated. So it was going to turn out even stupider.
** That's nothing. In the first episode of Volume Four, Claire gets word that Nathan is sending government agents out to get Peter and Matt. So she calls Peter. Reasonable enough, right? She tells him people are after Matt ... then ''completely fails to mention they're after Peter too.''
* Jeff in ''{{Coupling}}'s'' entire personality comes from this trope. He's the page quotation provider for DiggingYourselfDeeper.
*Fans (and detractors) of ''{{Lost}}'' have commented on the characters' apparent inability to ask the right questions. In particular, they've had Juliet among them since her HeelFaceTurn, but have not asked her any questions about the intentions or nature of the Others. This tendency was [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in the season 4 episode "Cabin Fever," as [[spoiler:Christian]] says to Locke, "So why don't you ask the one question that does matter?"
** Not just the lack of asking "the right questions", But the lack of ''SHARING'' vital information as well, for whatever reason..
* The climax of the ''{{Firefly}}'' episode "The Message" has the intrepid crew under siege and almost certainly about to die at the hands of an overzealous cop hunting down Mal and Zoe's friend, Tracey. Shepherd Book hatches a plan: the first part is surrendering to the cop and telling him they're going to turn Tracey over to him. Tracey, upon hearing this, becomes understandably upset, but it's not until after he's flipped out for several seconds, threatened the crew with a gun, [[KickTheDog held Kaylee hostage]], and finally been ''mortally wounded by Mal'' that they inform him that the rest of the plan was to threaten and blackmail the cop into leaving without actually giving him what he came for. Tracey, rather than angrily demanding why they didn't tell him that in the first place, ''feels bad'' for screwing up the plan before dying moments later. Although, to be fair, Tracey didn't really give them a chance to explain before becoming violent.
** Also mitigated in that Mal and Zoe were Tracey's superior officers in the military, accustomed to giving orders to him without a need for explanation. Given Mal's attitude about his {{Nakama}}, he may also have thought it obvious that Tracey would understand their plan, or at least their loyalty.
** Numerous situations like this seem to crop up in ''{{Firefly}}'', particularly around Mal's tactics. Friends new and old are asked to implicitly trust him right at the point where he has given every indication that he's changeable as the wind and about to screw them (Simon and River frequently being the subjects here -- perhaps most notably in "Safe"). This generally complicates things further, as above, by making the ostensible rescuees filled with anger and suspicion.
* In ''{{Babylon 5}}'', the whole Human[=/=]Minbari war starts because of this, mostly because they don't know each-others language or cultural traditions.
** To be fair, at first contact the humans mistook the Minbari gesture of greeting as an attempt to attack and opened fire. After this event the Minbari, being Minbari, didn't bother with trying to communicate and instead just destroy all humans.
** Sheridan once mentions that the need for proper communication was the first thing he learned at the Academy.
** There's a ''whole'' lot of other unnecessary lack of communication. Just watch the end of Season 1 / the beginning of Season 2.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]
* In ''{{Warhammer}}'', the Slaans - the mage-priests of the Lizardmen - sleep most of the time, and when they wake up, they speak in very short sentences without any context. As a result, unpleasant things have happened. When the High Elves arrived in Lustria, they were brought before a Slaan who said, "They should not be here". His Saurus guards read this as "Destroy all High Elves" and killed them. Whether he actually meant "Send them home" will never be known.
* One of the Fluff asides in ''{{Reign}}'' involves an instance of NonverbalMiscommunication that rises to this level -- the mercenary commander had a mixed troop that each knew one of three different sets of military hand signals; he'd only bothered to check that they all knew hand signals, not that they all knew the ''same ones''. His signal to "hold up" was variously interpreted correctly, as an order to attack, or as an order to retreat, and they were routed in the chaos resulting.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Theater]]
* GilbertAndSullivan were also fond of this trope, but the they actually hang a lampshade on it in the Act I finale of ''The Mikado'', when Katisha tries to tell the people of Titipu that [[spoiler: Nanki Poo is the son of the Mikado]], only to have the chorus interrupt her every time she opens her mouth.
* PoorCommunicationKills in ''RomeoAndJuliet''. ''Literally''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]
* About half of everything bad that happens in ''[[TalesOfSymphonia Tales of Symphonia]]'' or ''[[TalesOfTheAbyss Tales of the Abyss]]'' could be averted if not for the characters' refusal to explain certain things in order to keep certain information from the player, even when it is extremly obvious and logical that they should do so. The general hierarchy of screwedness is as follows:
** "Don't worry about it": You should be very worried.
**"It's not important": It's ''extremely important.''
**"But could that mean?... No, impossible.": Yes it is and no it's not.
**"I'll tell you later.": They'll tell you after a sizeable portion of the world's population has died as a result of them not sharing this information. This is always somehow [[WhatTheHellHero your]] [[NiceJobBreakingItHero fault.]]
* In the fighting game, ''Last Blade'', three siblings end up fighting each other with bladed weapons because A) the one suspected of killing their master is too much of a loner to bother saying he's innocent, B) his brother won't stop and listen to their sister (who knows who really killed their master), and C) they both find it appropriate to thwart their sister's attempts to communicate with them by attacking her with swords.
* In ''NeverwinterNights2'', [[spoiler:Shadra Jerro]] wouldn't had had to die if she could have gotten her [[spoiler:Grandfather]] line out before [[spoiler: her grandfather Amnon Jerro blasted her for releasing the demons and devils that gave him his extra powers (and minor demon army)]].
** Also, a lot of people wouldn't have had to die if [[spoiler:Ammon Jerro had just returned to Neverwinter and tried convincing people that the King of Shadows was becoming a threat again. It is not entirely unlikely they would have taken him seriously - since he originally died fighting him. Instead he launches his own search for the Shards to remake the Silver Sword of Gith, and on his way settles a few old scores - leaving quite a few dead bodies - many of whom were on the PC's side]].
***Furthermore, while trying to get Neverwinter's support is a questionable idea, simply stopping to talk to the hero one of the many times they crossed paths would've prevented a LOT of unnecessary bloodshed. To make it worse, when they do finally team up, Ammon keeps blaming the hero for everything that's happened. It takes influence and the right words in an optional scene to finally get him to admit to some guilt over his deeds.
** While we're on the subject of BioWare [=[=RPGs=]=], ''KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' contains a joke the player character can tell based on this trope. A group of Sith ask the player to make them laugh, and they'll let him live in return. The player can fight, or go right into a wonderful joke (requires decent ranks in Persuade): Two [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Mandalorians]] are walking through the forests of Dxun, when they're attacked by an animal. One is critically wounded, but the other manages to kill the beast. The standing one radios back to base, saying, "My partner's wounded! What do I do?" His commanding officer responds, "Relax, trooper. First, make sure if your partner's dead." Blasterfire echoes through the communicator, followed by "Okay, now what?"
* Partially into the second third of ''FinalFantasyV'', the party passes through a town of [[WolfMan werewolves]] led by Kelgar, a wolf who once fought [[BigBad Exdeath]] alongside Galuf. As Galuf explains that the other three party members came from the "other half" of the world, Kelgar jumps to the conclusion that they work for Exdeath and were responsible for [[SealedEvilInACan his release]]. Without giving Galuf a chance to deny this (never mind that he was the one who introduced them in the first place), he challenges main character Bartz to a fight to the death, which ends with the wolf ''bedridden for the rest of his life''. Any possible explanation of how he reached his conclusion would be appreciated, especially considering that ''the two halves have never been at war at any point'', and that the player is meant to acknowledge that ''Kelgar is a hero''.
* In ''Starcraft: Brood War'' Judicator Aldaris learns that the Dark Templar Matriarch [[spoiler: is being mind-controlled by Kerrigan.]] Instead of calmly informing Zertaul and Artanis upon their return to Shakuras, he incites a rebellion and babbles on like a deranged zealot. He nearly does get to tell them what's going on, but by then he wasted so much time spouting off apparent nonsense that Kerrigan manages to surround and kill him.
**Pretty much all of Starcraft: Brood War is an example of poor communication killing, or Kerrigan taking advantage of people's poor communication. The battles between the UED and the Dominion probably could have been avoided if the UED had attempted diplomacy, and Kerrigan probably couldn't have screwed over the Protoss so badly if Zeratul and Artanis still had contact with Raynor and Fenix. As things were, by the time those guys realized that teaming up was better than continuing to fight each other, it was too late to stop Kerrigan.
*** It's stated [[AllThereInTheManual in background info]] that in this universe, the [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny United Earth Directorate]] is ''far'' from diplomatic...
**In a bizarre example, [[NonEntityGeneral YOUR]] poor communication also kills. Your character witnesses Duran abandon his position and allow the zerg to overrun a UED position. In the very next mission, your character also witnesses Duran tricking DuGalle into thinking that Stukov is the real traitor. Your character inexplicably does not mention Duran's treachery.
* Illidan Stormrage from Warcraft pretty much lives on this trope, bad decision making skills, and angst about his choices. Just about everything he's ever done, especially after he was freed from his prison, has been a terrible idea done for the right reasons, but since he never bothers to tell anyone, they assume he's evil. Specifically:
** He consumes the Super-Oh-My-God powerful demonic artifact, the Skull of Gul'Dan and turns into a half demon, but only because that's the only way he can not only deny the Burning Legion it's power, but defeat the otherwise invulnerable burning legion forces that would've conquered Azeroth. He never mentions this to anyone, so Malfurion tells him to go away, since he's clearly only looking after himself.
** He uses another powerful artifact to attempt to destroy the Scourge (and Yog-Saron by virtue of the fact that Saron's prison is well inside the line of fire), but doesn't bother to tell anyone, so everyone rushes to stop him assuming he's doing something evil.
** He attacks the Scourge in Icecrown, trying to finish what he started, but never bothers to let his brother or any of the people with massive armies and a score to settle know, so he loses the fight.
** He conquers outland to raise an army not only to defeat the burning legion, but also to try fighting Arthas again, but never tells anyone so we go and kill him.
** Despite being dead, this troper expects him to do this sort of thing at least three more times, including once in an alternative timeline.
*ANY online game where you have to work as a team, such as in ''Left4Dead''. Things will quickly go down the drain if players fail to even tell their teammates what plans they have or what is going on.
* This is utilized in a malicious manner by the titular ''Mastermind'' in a flash movie based off of ''Mastermind: World Conqueror''. He uses it to confuse a superhero before [[SharkPool pressing the Shark Tank button]].
-> Superhero: I'm here to deliver a tall frosty glass of ''justice''!
-> Mastermind: No, no, I ordered a glass of just ice!
-> Superhero: Just ice?
-> Mastermind: Yeah, a glass with only ice in it! Seriously, not a single ****ing thing gets done around here... ****.
-> Superhero: I'll get a glass for you, then.
-> Mastermind: Be a dear, won't you? *presses button*
-> Superhero: *drops into the SharkPool*
-> Mastermind: *EvilLaugh* You stupid ***hole!
* While a lack of communication will cause casualties, in {{Americas Army}} this trope is also subverted. When a player throws a grenade, the soldier will shout "Frag out" (albeit in a foreign language), giving away his position and alerting the enemy to the incoming grenade.
* In DevilMayCry 3, Dante finds [[spoiler:Arkham's]] dead body, and is immediately confronted about it by [[spoiler:his daughter]]. She asks if Dante killed him, and in spite of having no involvement whatsoever in his death, Dante responds "So what if I did?" Cue a fierce battle between the two...
* Near the end of ''ProfessorLayton and the Diabolical Box'', we learn that [[spoiler:the "vampire", Anton, is upset because he thought Sophia had left him for another man. Understandable, as ''she said something that could easily be interpreted that way!'']] Is that really better than saying, [[spoiler:"You're going to be a father, but I can't raise a child here. Since you can't leave, I've got to leave you."]]
* In BrutalLegend, [[spoiler:Eddie]] uses some ''very'' flimsy evidence and some epic conclusion jumping to accuse [[spoiler:Ophelia]] of being a demon - cue a [[BreakTheCutie broken cutie]], FaceHeelTurn, and pain for everybody. Then [[ItGotWorse it gets worse]]. All of which could have been avoided if [[spoiler:Eddie]] hadn't [[IdiotBall been such a prat]], and they'd spent a couple of minutes talking things out.
* [[spoiler:The Poxians]] from GoldenSun. [[spoiler: Though you'd have a hard time believing the civilization was acting for the greater good when their first team of warriors accidentally [[DoomedHometown destroy the hero's hometown]] and show no remorse for it. Oh, and the leader of their second group of warriors fighting for the sake of mankind was [[NotHelpingYourCase CONVINCED THAT PROX WAS PLANNING TO ENSLAVE ALL OTHER CIVILIZATIONS ON THE PLANET]].]]
* The backstory of off-beat adventure game ''The Bizarre Adventures of Woodruff and the Schnibble'' has a shining example: when humans first arrived at the Hill, the Bazouks decided to scare them off. Their means was a giant statue of an armed, armored Bazouk warrior. The humans read this as a threat, and the resulting war began a long history of mistreatment for the Bazouks.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Web Comics ]]
* In [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0367.html this]] ''OrderOfTheStick'' strip, Thog is questioned by a prison guard, and gives an honest and accurate account that confirms Elan's attempt to explain that [[spoiler: he was framed by his EvilTwin brother Nale.]] However, Thog's statement is chock-full of homophones (and [[SesquipedalianLoquaciousness far more elaborate than his usual speech]]), rendering it comprehensible (with a bit of effort) to the reader but total gibberish to the guard.
** Elan's aforementioned attempt to explain just digs him into deeper trouble, but that isn't an example of this trope -- for him, it's perfectly in character to go off on ill-considered tangents.
** In a particularly tragic example of this, Varsuuvius in the Battle of Azure City is inadvertently discovered by fleeing soldiers who stumble upon him while invisible. They ask her to save them with his magic, but since she fled the battle because he was out of spells, the soldiers stand around allowing the hobgoblins to catch up and slaughter them. V might have convinced them to continue running if she said "I am out of spells you fools! Flee for your lives!", though doing so might have made the hobgoblins aware of him as well. V spends the next few months in a sleep-deprived equivalent state so as not to relive that nightmare.
*** V's verbosity is such a strong characteristic that this could indicate the dream was a guilt-induced distortion rather than a true flashback of the events.
** It gets worse: when V [[spoiler: tells her mate that she made a DealWithTheDevil to save him and their children]], and he gets angry. She insists that he doesn't know the whole story. He admits this, but calls her on [[spoiler: keeping the power she needed to save their family]], and asks her to make a choice between her power and their family. V could have tried to explain more, if only to justify herself and why she needs (or wants) to keep her power a little longer, but instead she just says that she needs to make everything right again. [[{{Vergil}} This troper]] will grant her some leniency since an ultimatum had been issued and time was slipping away, but for someone who wants to keep both, V certainly isn't acting in a manner that will let her do so. Though her mental state may be justified.
* In ''GirlGenius'', much bloodshed could be avoided if certain main characters (most notably Agatha Heterodyne and Baron Klaus Wulfenbach and his son Gilgamesh) ''simply sat down and talked to each other''. Instead, distrust and misunderstandings lead to characters fighting each other and working at cross-purposes when they could be allies, while the real enemy gets away. Happened especially during the Sturmhalten story arc. [[spoiler:Tarvek deliberately sabotaging Agatha's holographic message to the Baron about Lucrezia being the Other and having taken over her body didn't help either. Instead, the edited message made it sounds like she was accusing the Baron of being the Other. And Dimo apparently forgot his previous conviction that the Baron should be informed ASAP about the Geisterdamen with the Hive Engines leaving Sturmhalten through underground tunnels.]] Various characters have pieces of the puzzle, but crucial information is not relayed. If only they shared this information, they could easily resolve their problems.
** Objection - if only they shared this information, Baron Wulfenbach would dissect Agatha, seeing as how [[spoiler:she's possessed by the Other and all that's holding her back is a single flimsy amulet.]] As Gilgamesh said, let's be fair: He '''does''' have cause.
*** On top of that, every last one of them is either a MadScientist or a creation thereof, both classifications of individual not normally known for their ability to think on a level we usually call "normal", let alone communicate on it.
**** Exemplified in [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090415 this]] comic, where the wrong impression is given simply because the relaying party has a different perception of the words, and thus gets the meaning wrong.
**** The root of it is probably that the BigBad is very good at sowing deception and hostility within groups. [[spoiler: Something, probably the Big Bad, causing Barry to mistrust the Baron, resulting in the problems caused in the earlier chapters, while the problems caused in later chapters were most definitely due to the Big Bad's moles and hidden supporters along with seceretly mind controlling first Agatha and now the Baron]]
*** However, they [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080416 eventually]] could compare notes with Gil, making him the guy who knows the most about what's going on.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Web Original ]]
* A literal example in ''SurvivalOfTheFittest'' Simon Wood mistakes Darnell Butler for a player of the game (not altogether unreasonable, as he is holding a bloodied sword) and attacks, obstentatiously to [[HeroicSacrifice buy his girlfriend time to escape]]. Before Darnell can get the chance to explain, he has [[spoiler:accidentally killed Simon.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]
* As the KangarooCourt episode shows, Aang from ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'' does not have a future as a defense attorney. More specifically, he was put on trial for "crimes" his past life had committed, and when his friends Katara and Sokka coach him with various innocence proving facts, he sort of... spazzes out.
** There's also the communication gap of life-or-death proportions in [[GrandFinale "The Phoenix King"]]. [[spoiler: Zuko is outraged at the rest of the Gaang's seemingly slacking off when Sozin's Comet is due any day. Turns out they forgot to tell him that they've figured the Fire Nation already rules the whole world so they might as well just wait until after the comet's come and gone before fighting the Fire Lord again. Zuko then tells them the Fire Nation is going to use the comet to burn the Earth Kingdom to the ground, which he's slightly more justified in withholding from the rest as he assumed they were still planning to have the fight before the comet arrived.]]
-->'''Aang''': [[spoiler: Why didn't you tell me about your dad's [[OmnicidalManiac crazy plan]] before?]]
-->'''Zuko''': [[spoiler: I didn't think I had to. I assumed you were still going to fight him before the comet. No one told ''me'' you decided to wait!]]
* Near the end of the second season of ''JusticeLeagueUnlimited'', the Watchtower's energy cannon is hacked into and used to blow up the headquarters of the GovernmentConspiracy, also destroying a good portion of a small town, for the sake of making the League look bad. The League goes out to help the survivors, and a man asks The Flash why they're helping when they shot at them in the first place. Instead of saying "Our satellite was hijacked by an enemy," Flash stutters out, "We didn't... I..."
** To be fair, "An unknown third-party jacked our KillSat" doesn't sound much better.
* ''SouthPark'' combined this with PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad once. The boys were [[CassandraTruth trying to tell their parents, etc.]] that they were weirded out by Mr. Garrison's new lifestyle choice. The parents thought their use of "gay" as a slur aimed at homosexuals; the boys' used the word "gay" to mean [[{{Squick}} Mr. Garrison is openly performing flagrant sexual acts in front of the entire class.]]
** It doesn't help that when Mr. Garrison and his partner, Mr. Slave, are asked to make a speech in front of the parents, they're intentionally trying to be as offensive as possible with their homosexuality as part of a [[ZanyScheme Get Rich Quick Scheme to sue the school for discrimination]]. He becomes increasingly frustrated as the audience can't stop talking about how "brave" they're being.
**There was also another episode, "Raisins", where Wendy broke up with Stan. Stan gets Jimmy to tell her that she is a "continuing source of inspiration to him". Unfortunately, Jimmy gets stuck on the first syllable of "continuing", so it sounds like he's saying "you are a cunt". Wendy is offended and walks away, and only then can Jimmy finish the sentence. Maybe not a good idea to send the boy with the ghastly stutter on this errand.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Real Life]]
* There is a ([[http://www.snopes.com/language/misxlate/toux.asp false]]) urban legend about Napoleon standing over a mass of prisoners. His men asked what to do, and Napoleon coughed, said something about it, and all the prisoners were killed. Apparently, the words "Ma sacrée toux!" (My damned cough!) sound a lot like "Massacrez tout!" ([[KillEmAll Kill them all]]!) Oops.
* A real life example of this trope occurred during the Crimean War, during the infamous Charge of the Light Brigade, immortalized in the famous Tennyson poem. Poor communication, mutual jealousy and just plain incompetence among the British commanders led to the slaughter of hundreds of brave soldiers, sadly enough. Incidents like this led critics to later describe the Crimea as a "war of lions, led by donkeys."
* The anime industry in the US and UK. Unless it pertains to them being awesome, most companies will say absolutely nothing in regards to their shows and often any issue that happens will hit fans square in the chops where there was a perfectly decent about of time for someone, say, ADV to say that they had lost the rights to something.
** This was also one of the contributing factors to the end of Anime Central (the UK TV Channel).
* The aviation industry uses a standardized vocabulary and English is used even when the pilots and controllers aren't native speakers. Many crashes and incidents have been caused because someone ignores, misunderstands, or assumes wrongly what someone else said, the most notable being the 1977 [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenerife_airport_disaster#Communication_misunderstandings Tenerife airport collision]]. Investigations focused around several misunderstandings in communication, especially the Dutch co-pilot saying "We are at takeoff" - a phrase the controller interpreted as 'we are ready' not 'we are taking off'.
* Preventing this sort of situation is why modern militaries and other organizations make such a big deal about communicating in specific ways: NATO armies have a standard method to issue orders, air traffic control and pilots (and submarine and ship crews) acknowledge instructions by repeating them back, and so on.
** It has been claimed that bad communication is the number one cause of major military disasters. From the top of my head, Gallipoli counts, and the Bravo Two Zero & the Black Hawk Down incident as well. The Grenada invasion of 1983 was full of communication snafus, but was saved due to the incompetence of the defenders. Interested parties are welcome to add to the list.
* The Lydian king Croesus, thought to be the richest man of his age, went to the Oracle of the Delphi to ask what would happen if he invaded the Persia. After being told that he "will destroy a great empire", Croesus went ahead and launched the invasion. Things did not go well for him, and he narrowly escaped being burned alive by Cyrus the Great. Later he sent another emissary to the Oracle asking for an explanation. Her response: Croesus ''had'' destroyed a great empire - his own.
* Henry II and the Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket had disagreements over the rights and privileges of the Anglican Church. Four of his knights were in the room when Henry said something along the lines of "Who will rid me of this troublesome priest?" The knights interpreted this as a royal command. On December 29, 1170, they arrived at Canterbury and killed Becket when he refused to leave the cathedral.
** Nicely spoofed in the first series of ''BlackAdder'', when two knights overhear the King merely ''quoting'' Henry II in midst of a discussion about how glad he is not to have the same trouble (the King is actually very pleased with the job Edmund is doing as the new Archbishop). Of course, it doesn't help that the King is played by BrianBlessed and so everything that comes out of his mouth sounds like an angry command.
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