You now have two good weapons, you know how much they know of math talk, you know where their interests lie, but you have one fault - you are explaining like you want to provide them with the answer. Sorry, but they are not interested in how clever you are. You only have to pass on how easy it is for them to solve it. They probably have the notion that it is difficult, but if you can get across that maths is about making things easier and yes they themselves are capable, and they will have something not only to pass an exam but will stand them in good stead for life.
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Como say: Perhaps make explanations shorter.
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? say: Overcome your desire to explain. See what the student has done. Ask him/her to explain their process.
Try to identify what the actual problem is. What does the student not understand? What fundamentals are missing? What has the student not learned from previous or current lessons?
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nbsale say: Can you take a higher level view of what you are doing, and get them to see it from that perspective?
If you are working out a formula, circle what you are going to solve for, and ask them, how can we get this variable by itself.
If you are working on a proof, ask them what the premises give them in the way of information about a problem. What theorems can they apply, with the facts given? In a diagram, point out where you are headed (we have to find an expression for this thing) or intermediate steps (if we can find this here, it will allow us to get what we need for that there).
In other words, see if they can engage with the strategy of what you are up to, not just following the very dry steps along the way. I always thought math needed some of both--some bit of intuition that tells guides you in the right direction, as well as the rigors of a step-by-step proof. Without the former, math is just a dry, formalistic pure logic. Without the later, it's just educated guesses.
I hope that's of some help.
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