History Main / PoorCommunicationKills

* In ''Manga/Kurokami'', had the BigBad simply explained that he was out to kill off a whopping third of the entire human population because [[spoiler: if he didn't, a BiggerBad would come along and kill off ''every single living being on the planet'']], at the very least, the good guys might have been at least more willing to sit down and talk things out. It didn't help that the BigBad seemed to only employ ObviouslyEvil [[JerkAss jerkasses]] into his organization.

* In ''Manga/BlackGod'', had the BigBad simply explained that he was out to kill off a whopping third of the entire human population because [[spoiler: if he didn't, a BiggerBad would come along and kill off ''every single living being on the planet'']], at the very least, the good guys might have been at least more willing to sit down and talk things out]]. It didn't help that the BigBad seemed to only employ ObviouslyEvil [[JerkAss jerkasses]] into his organization.

* In ''LegendOfMana'', [[KnightTemplar Escad]] attempts to tell anyone who will listen that Irwin is trying to destroy the world. Unfortunately, ''no one'' will listen; everyone assumes he's JustJealous. Helps that he's kind of a jerkass, but in this instance, JerkassHasAPoint. And it quite literally kills someone when Escad and Daena come to blows.

* ''Anime/{{Another}}'': Seriously, you couldn't tell the new transfer student that the entire class's lives depended on [[spoiler:[[TheMasquerade ignoring a student's existence]]]] so you could avoid an evil ghost curse BEFORE he started attending class and tried making friends with [[spoiler: [[TheUnperson said ignored student]]]] and not trust you because you chose to be threateningly vague about it until [[RuleOfThree THREE PEOPLE DIED]] and it became obvious that the "Charm" was no longer an option...

* ''Anime/{{Another}}'': Seriously, you couldn't tell the new transfer student that the entire class's lives depended on [[spoiler:ignoring a student's existence]] so you could avoid an evil ghost curse BEFORE he started attending class and tried making friends with [[spoiler: said ignored student]] and not trust you because you chose to be threateningly vague about it until THREE PEOPLE DIED and it became obvious that the "Charm" was no longer an option...
** Of course [[spoiler:Mei]] acting ambiguously and not letting anyone know her [[spoiler:Long lost twin sister]] was actually the first victim in the curse didn't help things either, Nor did [[spoiler:Akazawa]] blaming her for everything since it seemed that at that point in the anime/manga mostly everyone was so passed the {{Despair Event Horizon}} that they were willing to agree and...well, things just [[{{Dying like animals}} got wost after that]]...

** During the Fullbring arc, half of the problems could have been avoided if [[spoiler: Ishida had shared his suspicions about Ginjo earlier. Ryuuken even calls them out on not sharing information. Although he's the one to talk...

* Oh Jason, if only {{Batman}} had told you he loved you. How much trouble, trauma and violent murder could have been avoided? Possibly justified in that Batman thinks his love for his boys is [[CannotSpitItOut perfectly obvious.]] And Jason probably wouldn't have believed him anyway.

* ''FanFic/TurnaboutStorm'' has a number of examples.

** Phoenix not being able to explain to Twilight Sparkle [[spoiler: why he's accusing Fluttershy]] at that moment caused more than a few problems. However, it seems not to be as bad, since it allows Twilight and Phoenix to split up and gather twice as much evidence than if they did it together.
** Actually [[InvertedTrope inverted]] in ''Part 3 - Twilight'' when Apple Bloom lets Twilight know [[spoiler:that she saw Rainbow Dash moving the storm cloud to the Everfree Forest, and that RD told her not to tell anypony about it]]. Had this come out in court, it would have been ''much'' more difficult (if not impossible) to extend the trial.

* CanYouHearMeNow - characters are unable to communicate by phone due to a plot-convenient malfunction, such as a lack of signal or a flat battery.

* 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.

** [[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.

** Theatre/{{Othello}} was easily swayed by Iago to believe his wife had been cheating on him and kills her. Only later does he realize that if he had bothered to verify the truth with anyone other than Iago, the stories wouldn't have matched up. Emilia at least was smart enough to figure out what was going on.

** Subverted with Homura. She uses CrypticConversation since [[spoiler:the last time she goes open, nobody believes her, and when the truth comes out, it goes GoneHorriblyWrong.]]

* Subverted in ''[[FanFic/ADelicateBalance]]'': A case of GossipEvolution leads Rainbow Dash to believe that Fluttershy is developing romantic feelings for Twilight, and she rushes off to inform Rarity and Pinkie of her discovery. Rather than believing her, Rarity traces the rumor back to its source and immediately realizes how far off it is.

* During ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'''s second season, Angel [[FaceHeelTurn became evil]], and Spike [[EnemyMine formed an alliance with Buffy]], but neither of these developments lasts that long; by the time Season 3 starts, [[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor Angel's back to being a good guy, and Spike's back to being a villain]]. No one told Joyce this, however, so she welcomes Spike into her home and locks Angel out when he comes to save her.

* Happens in ''Aliens" several times. Lieutenant Gorman orders the marines not to use their firearms or explosives when going after the captives, but never explains *why*. As a result, some use their firearms anyway, which later ruptures the cooling system and sets the station on a course towards nuclear meltdown. Later, Ripley finds out that Burke was responsible for the whole alien menace to begin with, but doesn't tell anyone. She just threatens him with arrest after they return back home and then lies down and takes a nap.....

** Litchi's case is a particularly gratuitous instance of this trope. While Rachel and Kokonoe weren't helpful to her for their own reasons, both sides could have contained their tempers just a bit better and gotten their point across - Litchi wanted to inform the others she was succumbing to Boundary corruption in her mission to save Arakune, and Rachel and Kokonoe wanted to tell her why he's too far gone for her to help, but they slammed each others' {{Berserk Button}}s in the process. [[spoiler:In ''Chronophantasma'', Rachel makes it clear to Litchi that cross-observations cause an identity conflict, and if one loses sight of themselves whilst observing they will [[PuffOfLogic disappear into the Boundary]] - it just so happens the other person observing Arakune happens to be Terumi himself, who [[DealWithTheDevil coaxed Litchi into joining by promising a cure for him]] (to be fair to Litchi, [[ForcedIntoEvil she only went along when she ran out of options]]).]]

* An episode of ''{{Scrubs}}'' focused on the effects JD's insane hours at the hospital were having on his life. It manifested in particularly dramatic fashion on a date, where JD, upon looking at the incredibly gorgeous girl he was about to kiss, instead saw the hideous cancer patient he was treating earlier in the day. He mumbled something incoherent and walked away. The next day, when the girl asked him why he bailed, JD actually said ''nothing'' instead of explaining the situation. JD's narration even lampshaded the communication failure, and it was included in a trio of scenes where men proved utterly incapable of communication with their girlfriends.