Unfortunately, sometimes both dominant and compliant people stop listening and therefore fail to understand the issues being presented. As a result, they don’t always get other group members’ points of view, even when those opinions have been clearly and fully stated.

One source of this problem is the propensity for argument discussed above. Another is that internal ruminations about unexpressed disagreements (or rehearsals for the next contribution to the dialogue) create distractions from the interaction and further interfere with listening and understanding.

But there are many other sources of distraction. Occasionally, something said calls up a memory for someone that triggers a chain of free associations that are only peripherally related (at best) to what’s actually happening. Frequent episodes of these and other kinds of space out cause listening gaps that are hard to compensate for.

In addition to such lapses, there are the inevitable misunderstandings. Sometimes individuals mishear what’s being said and take off with great enthusiasm on what they think they heard. These kinds of problems can cause needless and sometimes heated argument. If such misunderstandings are not corrected, any input made based on them is likely to be irrelevant or inappropriate. These misunderstandings also result in the appearance of agreement when there really is none and still more confusion follows.

Solution: When this happens, it’s the job of the facilitator to recognize it and do whatever s/he can to correct it and call on other participants to help. All group members will be urged to ask for clarification of any issue they feel confused about. They will all try to help if they sense that others are not understanding. It’s important that any confusions that exist are identified and cleared up, so that unnecessary misunderstandings and conflicts can be avoided and everyone can make a reasonable and informed contribution to each issue.

Ultimately, it’s the facilitator’s job is to see to it that misinformation and the resulting unpleasantness are surfaced and attempts are made to correct them before they get too entrenched.