I always try to ask people if they’re familiar with X. Then, if they lie to me, they can only come clean or nod along

Or if I really want to talk about the topic, I ask how much they know about X

I had something like this when I was working retail during the pandemic.

Customer: Why are you wearing a mask???

M: It’s policy. And I like having my face covered because I’m trans.

C: *visibly confused* …what? Nobody else is wearing one.

M: Right, but I’m trans, so I like having the masculine parts of my face obscured by a mask.

C: …wha- I don’t care!?

##then why did you ask 🙂

People can, and will be dicks, who get embarrassed about not understanding shit and try to find blame elsewhere for their embarrassment.

Still, there is an important skill when teaching someone something, of understanding approximately how much they know, and telling them approximately the parts they don’t, leaving them to ask you questions to fill the gaps afterwards. Makes teaching really fast when done right.