CIRCUMLOCUTION
GPT5.iconTo put it bluntly, CIRCUMLOCUTION is the use of "roundabout ways of saying / putting in other words" to convey meaning. It refers to the way in which technical terms are broken down or the same content is supplemented with different expressions (examples, metaphors, diagrams, gestures). E.g., replace "hyperkalemia" with "high potassium in the blood (hyperkalemia)", etc.
Points in the Gendlin Context
This is one of the creative functional relations, the activity of gradually clarifying the outline of the "Felt Meaning" that cannot be reached by the first expression alone, by adding related separate expressions one after the other. → Not only words, but also diagrams, gestures, and supplementary sentences are included in "expression". concrete example
"I got a new phone, you know, the one that doesn't carry ...... around."
- The ambiguity of "phone call" is corrected with a single word of follow-up.
Duplicate the explanation by text to diagram (explain in text and then show the relationship diagram).
Tips on how to use (practice)
1. paraphrase in three ways: surround the same core with definitions/metaphors/examples and counterexamples.
2. add modality: words + diagrams (sketches) + gestures.
3. digging in clean language: "How does that 'xxx' feel?" and increase the number of related expressions while keeping the other person's expression.
In short, CIRCUMLOCUTION is "a technique of converging meaning by circling the same core (or closely related content) with separate expressions. In short, "a clever detour." ---
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