Starting at the very beginning, take a straight wing and fly it through the air, the airflow will pass over and under it at 90 degrees and generates lift for the time that the airflow is in contact with the wing chord. Now sweep that same wing back, (same chord), and the airflow passes over the wing in a diagonal direction and remains in contact with the wing longer = more lift for same chord which can then result in all of the above answers you already have! Draw it out on a piece of paper. That is a very, very simple swept wing 101 and interviewers may expect more!
See Handling The Big jets, third edition, page 90, fig.5.5, also, same book, page 84, 'Sweep'.