Diversion works by changing the subject, giving a vague or rambling non-answer, or raising an unrelated grievance instead of engaging with the actual question — keeping the other person chasing tangents instead of ever pinning down a real answer. George Simon frames this as one of the simplest and most common manipulation tactics precisely because it doesn't require lying: the manipulator never says anything false, they just never say anything responsive either.
Simon's diagnostic rule is straightforward: any answer that's meaningfully longer, shorter, or entirely different from what a direct question calls for is itself evidence something is being avoided. The corrective isn't to argue with the diversion — it's to notice that a real answer never arrived, and to calmly redirect back to the original question until it does.
Simon describes a workplace case: an employee named Don heard a rumor that a new hire might threaten his job and tried to get a straight answer from a coworker, Al, who had more information. Al never lied outright — he deflected, changed the subject, and gave vague, rambling responses every time Don pressed for specifics. Because Don kept accepting these non-answers instead of insisting on something direct, he never actually learned the truth and remained vulnerable to being maneuvered. Simon later revisits the case to point out Don's real mistake wasn't trusting Al — it was accepting a non-answer as if it were an answer.