But I've heard this said about mathematicians (and mathematically-oriented people):

First they translate what you say into their internal language. And then they reply to that.

Sadly only works when applied in good faith. Some respond with what they wanted to hear, or their own straw man shell of your argument. Afraid I'm guilty of this sometimes.

But isn't that just a plain old straw man?

Regular strawman is stealthily changing the thesis, this is doing it in the open and pretending you're doing it in good faith because you're so much smarter than the other guy.

It's similar, I think. It's a straw man with the goal of appearing smarter than the person asking the question rather than just making an argument.