talk past
Fail to connect
To talk past someone is to fail to communicate despite speaking, usually because each party addresses different aspects of an issue or operates from incompatible assumptions.
Two people talking past each other may use the same words but mean different things, or may be so focused on their own points that neither engages with what the other actually says: They argued for an hour but were just talking past each other.
- misunderstandingFailure to grasp meaning
- missing the pointFailing to understand essence
- lost in translationMeaning altered between languages
- confirmation biasPreferring belief-supporting information
- dialogueSpoken exchange between parties
disconnect · rhetoric · mediation · discourse · ambiguity · debate · misinterpretation · deaf ears · brick wall · equivocation · compromise · exchange · distortion · mumble · framing effect · persuasion · groupthink · willful ignorance
talk pastconnect
Join or link
find common ground · get through to · see eye to eye · click · communicate
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