Digression undermines effective communication.
The act and result of interrupting the thread of a speech by introducing elements that lack a direct link with the central theme is called a digression . The term comes from the Latin word digressio .
Surprise topic change
The digression, therefore, threatens the normal development of the discourse. What is introduced does not maintain a close connection with the issue being discussed, which can cause the listener to get lost and stop paying attention.
It can be said that digression implies a change of topic that temporarily affects the discourse. The speaker may resort to digression to refer to a different or parallel event , then returning to the main topic.
We must not forget the importance of maintaining the thread of the speech so that communication is effective, so that the interlocutor receives a clear message and can interpret it without having to "clean" it of unnecessary elements.
Example of digression
Let's see an example of a digression: “The American singer offered a shocking show for two hours. Not only did he present songs from his latest album, but he also reviewed his hits. The audience, in this way, did not stop singing and dancing, forgetting for a while about the serious economic crisis that affects the country. The government, in fact, announced yesterday that the unemployment rate already exceeds 20%. And for specialists it could continue to grow due to the new protectionist policies of several powers. “The North American artist, with his spectacular concert, brought some joy to these punished lands.”
As you can see, the most important theme of the story is the show of a singer. Whoever makes the chronicle, in any case, appeals to digression and refers to the situation of the economy , before returning to the show.
In the field of journalism, digression is frowned upon, as it can generate interference between the main topic and the public. Although in an entertainment article the result is not serious, since readers come to learn information about their favorite artists and can easily contextualize them in the situation of a country, the same would not happen in the opposite case.
Let's imagine for a moment an article focused on the unemployment rate of a country that, suddenly, dedicates a couple of sentences to the concert of a foreign artist and the devotion of his fans in the stadium. Readers would probably be confused by such an association of events, since it adds nothing to the main theme, but rather muddies the message with a passing distraction that is not even relevant.
going around the bush
It should be noted that many times the digression is not carried out on purpose, but rather the narrator ends up moving away from the subject almost without realizing it. This situation is often referred to as “leaving or beating around the bush.”
When digression occurs, the interlocutor usually loses interest in the conversation.
This phenomenon occurs spontaneously in many people, to the point that it is considered part of their personality. When this is the case, they are generally not aware that they are digressing , so they continue speaking until they conclude their labyrinth of topics or until their interlocutors interrupt them and ask them to return to the main topic.
On the other hand, there are those who deviate from the main topic spontaneously and without will, but after a few seconds they realize their digression, apologize to their interlocutor and resume the previous conversation . This doesn't happen to everyone, but it is very common, especially when the broadcaster feels great passion for the topics they are playing.