The Most Crucial Element of Oratory

Public speaking coaches love to talk about Ethos. the Pathos, and the Logos.

But everyone fears the Kairos.

Because the Kairos is elusive, ephemeral, esoteric.

Also because its often misunderstood.

To understand Kairos, we must understand Rhetoric first.

Rhetoric is according to the Oxford dictionary, the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the exploitation of figures of speech and other compositional techniques.

Effective and Persuasive being the keywords.

Public Speaking is a challenge for many.

Effective Public Speaking is an art in which only few excel.

You want your talk / speech to create the desired Effect on your audience and hence “Effective”. For instance, Persuasion is a kind of an effect that you may desire to create.

In this endeavour, Aristotle offered certain modes of persuasion.

logos (appeals to reason),

pathos (appeals to emotion),

ethos (appeals to ethics),

Topos (use of metaphors)

But Kairos is the elusive one that is tough to employ with complete certainty.

Reason: Kairos is dependent on dynamic factors. Kairos refers to the opportune moment. The opportune moment to use the most effective canon at that moment. You can imagine how fleeting that moment is.

But if that moment can be exploited with the apt method, it creates an effect that convinces, commands, and connects.

One way of employing Kairos is to carefully blend in the place, the time, and the prevailing emotions into your speech. Mark Antony’s speech after the assassination of Caeser is a fine example. Churchill’s Darkest Hour speech is another one.

Kairos needs the orator to be completely engrossed in his speech, totally present, and yet have the ability to tune out and have a panoramic view of the place. This ability to be aware, while speaking, of the effect that the words create on its audience and the ability to employ the right mode at the opportune moment is the hallmark of a great orator.

It is a difficult art to master that can only be attained with years of practice.

In every field you will find a critical element that few can master but which separates the best from the rest.

In Rhetoric and oratory, Kairos is that element.