Changing the Subject
Changing the subject consists of abruptly turning a discussion in a different direction. Not every shift constitutes an error. The new direction may be more promising. Or it may be a way to provide a timely but polite rebuke. Suppose someone asks you a rude or inappropriately personal question, such as “What is your annual income?” or “Why don’t you and your spouse have any children?” Having no obligation to reply, you might say something totally unrelated to the question, such as “I wonder which teams will make it to the Super Bowl” or “The Northeast has had an unusually hot summer this year.” This is a perfectly legitimate way of letting the person know the question was improper.
Changing the subject is an error only when the original issue is
appropriate and the shift is used deceptively. Sadly, this kind of shift is common in interviews of public figures. The interviewer asks a question,and the interviewee avoids that question and talks about something else.Clever individuals will manage to mention the subject of the question and thus create the impression that they are being forthright when in fact they are not. For example, a presidential candidate asked the question What is your position on abortion? might answer something like this:
改变话题
改变话题包括突然地将一个讨论转变到不同的方向。并非每一次移位都构成错误。新方向可能更有前途。或者它可能是一条提供了及时但是礼貌责难的道路。假设一个人问你一个无礼或者不合适的私人问题，就像“你年均工资是多少？”或者“为什么你和你配偶没有孩子？”没有义务回应，你可能说一些完全和这个问题不相关的一些事，就像“我好奇哪个队会夺得超级碗”或者“东北部已经在今年有了个不寻常的夏天。”这是一个完美的合理道路去使人们知道这个问题是不合适的。
改变话题只有当初始事件是合适的且之前的转变是诱惑的才会是错误。难过的是，这种转变在公众人物的采访中是普遍的。采访人问一个问题，被采访者回避这个问题并且谈论其他的事。聪明人将准备提到问题的话题且由此创作印象，他们很直率但实际上他们不是。比如，一个校长候选人问了一个你对流产的立场的问题？可能问一些像这样的事：
