DTC 355 - Clarity-Brevity-Sincerity

The C-B-S model, clarity-brevity-sincerity, represents clear, truthful, and to-the-point communication. This theory of human communication was, at first, a difficult concept to grasp. I might have been thrown off by how unrealistically it represented the communication I've experienced; but then I read on. Lanham goes on to explain that the C-B-S model may be a great theory to recognize, but it is “less useful in practice" (140).

I fully agree with Lanham on this point. The C-B-S model can be an accurate model for a small amount of communication, but I think the majority of human communication leans more on the side of rhetoric; rhetoric being the way in which we conduct an argument. The fact that this model exists, just helps us recognize what rhetoric is and how we utilize style and argument to communicate because we have something to compare it to. Humans do not communicate with full clarity, with full brevity, nor with full sincerity. Lanham points out that his theory "leaves out much of what it sets out to explain--human behavior. And if it does not work as a theory of behavior, still less does it work as a theory of expression" (Lanham 141).

People, sometimes unfortunately, don't always tend to speak with utmost brevity. Personally, it is just against my nature to not have descriptive words flying around. My friends tell me I am the worst story-teller they know. I tend to include the most unnecessary details that usually have nothing to do with the storyline. So I like to paint the whole picture? "Get to the point!" they tell me.

In any case, the C-B-S model model may be a great theory, but it doesn't work too well in practice. I am sure there are cases where it works, but the majority of humans generally have a bit of style, a few extra words here and there, and perhaps not the whole truth in their use of everyday language.



Works Cited

Lanham, Richard A.. The Economics of Attention: Style and Substance in the Age of Information. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006. 130-156.