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Communication is at the very center of what it means to be human. Our whole experience, after a brief vacation in infancy, is moderated by language. The essential problem, though, is that words are only ever poor metaphors for what they're meant to express - the word "chair" is not itself a chair. It's an imperfect system, with built-in tendency for misunderstanding. The best you can do is be aware of it and be responsible for it on both sides, speaking and listening. You can only control whichever part of the communication you're responsible for. If you're speaking, you're responsible for how the listener hears you. If you're listening, you're responsible for the baggage you bring to your interpretation. Once you realize this, there's great power and freedom in communication.
I think you'd be suprised how impermanent communication can be - clarifications and apologies can never turn back the clock and take back the words, but they can alter the context in which those words are understood. ratbastid and I go through this all the time in our marriage - we say something that's taken the wrong way, we apologize and make ourselves clear, the hurt is gone, the misunderstanding is gone, and what's left is an appreciation for the other person's responsibility and thoughts.
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"If ten million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing."
- Anatole France
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