What I Know About Avoidance
Avoidance doesn’t always look evasive. Sometimes it looks polite, even helpful. A staff member might thank you for the excellent question, then answer something entirely different. It feels like progress, but it isn’t. It is a carefully chosen detour. Honest people answer directly, even if it hurts. Dishonest people shift to safer ground, hoping you won’t notice the diversion. What I know about avoidance is this: the answer you don’t get is more important than the one you do. Bring people back to the question. Again and again, until the silence is filled with substance.