Definition

Kairos which is Greek for right time, season, or opportunity – refers to the “timeliness” of an argument. As I understand it, for a headline or an argument to be successful, there must be a specific way to execute. This means that factors such as tone and structure while being presented at the right time become increasingly important when thinking about reaching an audience. This rhetorical strategy is often used to sway people based on events that are happening at the moment.

Significance

Understanding when and where to execute writing is so important when trying to reach target audiences or appeal to the masses. Another application for this would be in real life conversation, over text, or on social media – the application does not have to be limited only to a headline, ad, or article. By learning how to properly execute what we want to say, we can avoid saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. In general, utilizing kairos allows us to be more conscientious in our daily lives and it is useful to keep this in mind. It can be as simple as asking ourselves a phrase along the lines of, “is it the right time to say this” or “could there be a better time to publish this article”.

Examples

This method of presenting information is increasingly popular in commercials, ads, and headlines. For example, a commercial with someone like Taylor Swift advertising a service during her increasingly famous eras tour will be sure to catch people’s attention, even when they don’t listen to her.

Additionally, think about when a medical prescription ad airs on the radio and there’s very soft and happy music playing in the background of an advertisement, 30 seconds into the ad and then the last 5 seconds are filled with a sped up potential side effects list. This uses Kairos to first appeal to the audience, and then setting up the right time to execute the negative information, towards the end.

As a last example, a headline can also be more relevant for example if it reads “How He Survived 13 Days: Cavalcante on the Run in Pennsylvania” by the New York Times. This case happened very recently, and for most people on social media – it was all over their feed and the news. Therefore the execution of these pieces all use the strategy of the “right time” to capture their audience.