I’ve been thinking about this concept since yesterday — it has a few meanings, but two stand out, given recent events.
Kairos. On the face of the watch of happenstance, it’s the supreme or opportune moment. The sweet spot. The second everything falls into place and you act blessed by the stars and gods and fates themselves. No day but today, no time like the present.
But Aristotle had other designs on the idea. Even vague students of persuasion know the ethos, pathos, logos — the types of proofs. You can create an argument of character, emotion, or logic. But there’s a silent, shadowy fourth:
Kairos. Appropriateness. You cannot win, persuade, or engage without it.
It’s the time and space in which you deliver your message that makes or breaks it. We are given so many shots at this now, so many places to splay a message, so many different audiences to shoot it at.
In considering that, lies restraint. And that can be the loudest statement of all.
