An ordinary misunderstanding grows when embarrassment blocks the simple correction.

Most misunderstandings are trivial when they occur and expensive a fortnight later. What makes the difference is not the size of the error but the awkwardness of raising it: correcting someone who has already acted on the wrong information means admitting that you let it stand. So the window closes, the wrong version gets built on, and by the time the truth surfaces it is a bigger conversation than it needed to be.

When you notice a small mistake, say it immediately and lightly, before it becomes a topic. A quick correction reads as helpfulness; the same correction three weeks on reads as a revelation, which is harder for everyone.