In this work we provided a comprehensive description of the electrochemical kinetics of multi-step multi-electron reactions, revisiting the definitions of the Tafel slope and exchange current densities to alleviate fundamental misconceptions that have prevailed in the literature over the last decades. We showed that the widely held notions about the Tafel slope providing rich information about the reaction mechanism is false. Instead, it reflects the symmetry factor, number of electrons transferred at the rds, and coverage changes in the Tafel region. The latter is crucial in discussing multistep reactions. Regarding the concept of the exchange current density, it is not a universal kinetic descriptor, but rather depends on the method/region of determination, with values derived from the two Tafel regions and the micropolarization region being different in the general case. The developed framework was then employed in the analysis of the HOR/HER reaction, providing anticipated Tafel slopes and reaction orders for the classical Tafel-Volmer and Heyrovský-Volmer paths.