Main ideas of the pragmatic adaptation approach. The core concept of this approach is that there are aspects of the social world that aren't going to change anytime soon, and that it can just be practical to know a thing or two about handling them. Going against the grain may just cause too much of a hassle.
middleman - a person who is in a position to give you special assistance; he used his business contacts to get an introduction to the governor contact representative - a person who represents others
To explain it to a layman, you would simplify the whole thing and use basic words, perhaps even analogies, to make your point clear. A layman is someone who is not an expert in a certain field. In layman's terms means using language that an ordinary person with no expertise in that subject area would understand. An answer in layman's terms would not have any technical jargon or overly complicated explanations.