As there are a myriad of questions and question types so there must also be a myriad of possible responses.  Theorists have tried to define the types of responses that people may have to questions, the main and most important ones are:

• A direct and honest response – this is what the questioner would usually want to achieve from asking their question.
• A lie – the respondent may lie in response to a question.  The questioner may be able to pick up on a lie based on plausibility of the answer but also on the non-verbal communication that was used immediately before, during and after the answer is given.
• Out of context – the respondent may say something that is totally unconnected or irrelevant to the question or attempt to change the topic.  It may be appropriate to reword a question in these cases.
• Partially Answering – people can often be selective about which questions or parts of questions they wish to answer.
• Avoiding the answer – politicians are especially well known for this trait.  When asked a ‘difficult question’ which probably has an answer that would be negative to the politician or their political party, avoidance can be a useful tact.  Answering a question with a question or trying to draw attention to some positive aspect of the topic are methods of avoidance.
• Stalling – although similar to avoiding answering a question, stalling can be used when more time is needed to formulate an acceptable answer.  One way to do this is to answer the question with another question.
• Distortion – people can give distorted answers to questions based on their perceptions of social norms, stereotypes and other forms of bias.  Different from lying, respondents may not realise their answers are influenced by bias or they exaggerate in some way to come across as more ‘normal’ or successful.  People often exaggerate about their salaries.
• Refusal – the respondent may simply refuse to answer, either by remaining silent or by saying, ‘I am not answering’.