Circumstantiality

Circumstantiality is circuitous and non-direct thinking or speech that deviates from the main point of a conversation before returning to the original theme of a conversation or the initial question asked. This type of communication is language or thinking that is over-inclusive, perseverative, and sometimes repetitive. An individual who displays this characteristic includes unnecessary and insignificant information in their speech that diverges from the central theme or main point of a conversation or the question asked. The overinclusion of this irrelevant information can make it difficult to follow the speaker's train of thought or to arrive at a meaningful answer, particularly to a question posed in a clinical context. Eliciting information from patients presenting in clinical situations with a circumstantial thought process or speech pattern may require advanced interviewing skills by healthcare professionals.