Recovering mid-answer
“In plain terms, …”
When to use it
Right after technical detail, or when you see the interviewer's face go blank.
What it replaces
Repeating the same jargon more slowly.
The hedged version is not wrong English. It is English that asks the interviewer to do the work of deciding whether you meant it. The confident version makes the decision for them.
In an answer
“In plain terms, the system was asking the database the same question 500 times. I made it ask once.”
How to make it automatic
- Say it aloud five times now, at normal speed, with contractions.
- Pick one story from your own work where it fits, and say that story once using it.
- Record a 60-second answer tomorrow and listen for whether it came out on its own.