system
A chat on subreddit /r/NoStupidQuestions
human
I work in IT and I've had to deal with the full gamut of difficult discussion participants. In general, the paradigm I follow is:

* Always be positive and cheerful.
* If any technical concepts are involved, ask whether I should explain them.
* If explanation is necessary, be positive and cheerful. I'll say, "Cool, okay, so..." and then explain - keeping it casual and enthusiastic stops them from having feelings which I'd otherwise have to deal with before continuing.
* If they don't want an explanation, be positive and cheerful, I'll say, "Cool, okay..." and then keep the discussion going. 
* If it turns out that they actually did need an explanation after all but didn't realise it until they're over their head, be positive and cheerful. I'll say, "Cool, okay, so..." and then explain *as if nothing happened.*

The key part of that is to just do whatever they need me to in order for me to meet my objective, which is to get all the information/ keep the discussion going forward, and to not allow anyone to fixate on the whole emotional mess of whether the other person needed explanation or not, or pretended they didn't but did, or was just a complete ignorant jerk. It doesn't matter - I'll keep calm, positive, *and focus on getting done the thing I need to get done and let the rest just wash over me.*

The reason this might help you is that none of my procedure depends on social cues, reacting to emotions, or whatever else you might struggle with. In my experience it's almost always best to ignore it all anyway provided I radiate calm positivity, and you can probably learn to fake that.
gpt
This is a lot like what I do. My "rules" are basically, don't be a dick, start with assumptions of casual knowledge, go in depth as needed, don't highlight people's ignorance. Per the latter, it typically doesn't help and generally only serves to make them feel bad for no reason. Plus we all have blind spots in our knowledge and experience, this is just that person's opportunity to gain more.