Explaining short tenures, employment gaps, a layoff, or frequent switches without defensiveness.
3 questions in HR, Screening & Offer.
State what happened in one or two sentences, say what you did with the time or what you learned from the mismatch, then stop and let the interviewer move on. The length of the explanation does more damage than the gap itself.
Give the reasons in one pass so the pattern looks like a sequence of decisions rather than a habit, then name what you have changed about how you choose a role. The answer that works is a filter you can state, not a promise to stay.
Answer the question that was asked in the first sentence, describe the ending in the same terms your former employer would confirm, keep any account of the disagreement short, and move to what you took from it. Ambiguity costs you more than the dismissal does.