Explain something technical in normal language

Someone sent you something written for people who already know the subject. The IT team’s outage note. The inspection report on the house. The vendor’s explanation of why the order system failed. You can tell it matters. You can’t tell what it’s saying.

AI is good at translating jargon. The risk is that plain language can quietly drop a condition, like a “may” or an “only if,” that changes what you should do. This method keeps those visible.

Before you paste

Work documents may be confidential, so check your employer’s policy before pasting anything from work into an AI app. Remove names, customer details, account numbers, passwords, and internal web addresses. For a medical, legal, or financial explanation, remove your identifying details and treat the result as preparation for a conversation with a professional, not a replacement for one.

Do this

1. Remove identifying and confidential details.
2. Paste the text and say where you stand relative to it: “I’m the office manager, not an IT person.”
3. Ask for the plain version, using the prompt below.
4. Read the list of conditions carefully. That’s the part that protects you from a confident oversimplification.
5. Take your questions back to the person who wrote it.

Here's a technical message I need to understand. I'm [your role or
relationship to it], and I don't have a background in this.
[paste the text, with confidential details removed]

1. Explain what it says in plain language, in a few short paragraphs.
2. Define each technical term it uses, in one sentence each.
3. Tell me what, if anything, I need to do, and by when.
4. List every condition, exception, or uncertainty in the original
   ("may", "only if", "unless", "estimated") and confirm your plain
   version kept it.
5. Give me three questions to ask the person who wrote this.

Stick to what the text says. If something is ambiguous, say so
instead of picking one meaning.

Check this before you trust it

• Any action or deadline, against the original wording.
• The conditions list. Make sure every “may”, “only if”, and “unless” in the original survived. A missing condition can turn “might need replacing” into “needs replacing.”
• Definitions of the terms your decision depends on. A general definition may not match how this writer, company, or field uses the word.

If it goes wrong

The plain version is still full of jargon. Say: “Explain it as if to a smart friend with no background in this. Define any technical term in the same sentence you use it.”

It’s more certain than the original. Point to the sentence: “The original says this may be needed. Your version says it is needed. Fix that.” Then reread the rest for the same slip.

It explains a term differently from how the writer seems to use it. Ask the writer. Fields and companies use the same words differently, and only the writer knows what they meant.

You still can’t tell what to do. That’s a legitimate finding. Send the writer one question: “What, specifically, do you need me to do, and by when?”