The explanation that changes with the listener may be protecting approval rather than accuracy.

Adjusting how you explain something is ordinary and often kind; adjusting what is true in it is a different act. When the substance shifts depending on who is in front of you, the aim has usually stopped being understanding and started being approval. It is rarely a conscious decision, which is what makes it worth checking.

Try telling the same account twice this week to two people who would react differently, and notice what you soften. If a fact only appears in one version, that is the part worth saying to both.