Circumstantial Speech could be a pattern of communication in which a person gives excessive, unnecessary, or irrelevant details before eventually reaching the main point.
The person may not eventually answer the question or reach the intended point, but the response takes a long, indirect route.
Example
Question: “Why were you late to work?”
Circumstantial response:
“Well, I woke up at 7:00, which is earlier than I usually do. My alarm clock is an older one, and I’ve been thinking about replacing it. Then I went to make coffee, but we were out of coffee, so I had to go to the store. The store was crowded because it was a Tuesday, and Tuesdays are usually busy… Anyway, I was late because I had car trouble.”
The person eventually gets to the point:
“I had car trouble.”
Key characteristic
Circumstantiality: excessive detail, eventual return to the main point.
It may often be considered a type of thought process or speech abnormality observed during a Mental Status Examination (MSE).
Circumstantial vs. Tangential Speech
| Type | Does the person eventually answer the question? |
|---|---|
| Circumstantial speech | Yes, eventually |
| Tangential speech | No, they move away from the topic and do not return to the point |
Simple way to remember it:
Circumstantial speech takes the long way around, but eventually gets there.
Circumstantial speech may occur in many contexts, including anxiety, certain personality styles, ADHD, mania, psychosis, and other psychiatric or neurological conditions: Please, consult with a Neurologist. By itself, it does not establish a diagnosis.
Sherevan K Shahhian
LIBERTY PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION 