During debates of a contentious nature, deflection, colloquially known as 'changing the topic', has been widely observed, and is often seen as a failure to answer a question.
dˈʊɹɹɪŋ dᵻbˈeɪts əvə kəntˈɛnʃəs nˈeɪtʃɚ, dᵻflˈɛkʃən, kəlˈoʊkwɪəli nˈoʊn æz tʃˈeɪndʒɪŋ ðə tˈɑːpɪk, hˈæzbiːn wˈaɪdli əbzˈɜːvd, ænd ɪz ˈɔfən sˈiːn æz ɐ fˈeɪlɪɹ tʊ ˈænsɚɹ ɐ kwˈɛstʃən.