The Third Story is a concept where an objective, impartial perspective attempts to distill the argument down to its core elements and provides a reasonable counterpoint for either party to consider.
“There are three sides to every story – yours, mine, and the truth.”
Robert Evans
Any argument about an event involves the experiences or thoughts from one side, and then the competing side. These perspectives are two different versions of the same story. Usually the people recounting their story are not lying, they are just viewing the situation from their unique perspectives.
The Third Story accounts for nuance and empathy. It takes two competing views (the first and second stories), analyzes the components of each story, accounts for the psychology behind each side, then objectively summarizes what likely occurred.
Third Story is an objective assessment of a disagreement.