The Common Third. 

The Common Third is the concept of using an activity to strengthen the relationship between yourself and another person or group. 

The Common Third empowers us, as practitioners, to create the possibility for engaging in activities where everyone can develop new skills and recognize personal development.  

What makes the Common Third particularly important is that it can promote an activity where both facilitator and the person or group they are working with as an opportunity to learn and develop together.  

In principle this could be any activity:  

• It could be it cooking, 
• It could be painting, 

• It could be pottery, 
• Building and flying a kite, 
• Going fishing together, 
• It could be gardening, 

…or playing music together! 

The exact activity really isn’t important as long as it has the potential to be more than merely doing something for the sake of it! 

To enable an equal relationship, through an activity, where all parties can share a common potential for learning and growth. 

The Common Third is about creating a commonly shared situation and activity that becomes a symbol of the relationship between the facilitator and the person or group they are working with. 

The Common Third is something third that brings us together.  

It enables the possibility of sharing an activity in a way where we can meet as equals – people connected by something which is of mutual interest.  

Though we can’t assume that all activities are by Common Thirds by default – just like strumming a guitar does not automatically create a harmonious sound – The Common Third is about identifying activities in which both the facilitator and the individual are interested in and wants to learn more about – there must be a genuine interest. 

If an activity is undertaken with the intention of enhancing human relationships, developing interest and facilitating learning possibilities, it can become a Common Third. 

The Common Third should require the activity to be able to be authentic for everyone taking part and promote the possibility of self-reflection and self-realization.  

To promote full potential for development the Common Third requires full participation of every step of the activity undertaken – there need to be engagement in all aspects of the activity, from planning the activity – if it needs planning – to evaluating it afterwards and identifying what has been learned and developed. 

The opportunities for Common Thirds are almost endless: the activities are not just those where the facilitator might be better or more experienced in, but also those where the individuals they are working with might be the expert – and thereby can teach the facilitator new skills and/or experiences – The Common Third can even be activities that both have never tried before – and new learning can now develop in unison.