The reason people don't understand Bitcoin is that we get too caught-up in the details instead of just saying "its a currency and payment system that gets rid of all those fees you pay with Paypal and credit cards. Here, you set it up like this (download Electrum wallet, then send them some coin and have them send it back to you). There, thats all there is to it. If you want to buy coins setup an account on Coinbase (or other). If you want to accept Bitcoins for your business, setup an account on BitPay and they will instantly be converted to USD. Later."
How we explain it: "Bitcoin is a decentralized, P2P, crypto-currency which allows near anonymous world-wide exchange of value between any two parties. For the first time ever, two people don't need a bank account or a middle-man to transact. Bitcoin is secured by cryptography and miners that crunch numbers to verify the blockchain. The blockchain is a decentralized public ledger which records all transactions. Everytime a transaction is made various nodes confirm the transactions, which eventually get validated once and for all once the miners find the proper cryptographic hash... Bitcoin is going to change the world forever and end the banking monopoly on money and credit and much like email ransacked the post office. etc. etc. "