Why this? Why now?
“I say rhetoric, you say…”
You’re probably going to say pathos, logos, ethos.
Or, as you’d probably say in modern parlance - emotion, logic, credibility.
These are the three main components of Aristotle’s Rhetorical Triangle.
A framework that has been around for over 2000 years that helps to teach speaking and communication.
It’s fucking fantastic.
And I’m not saying that just for effect and to show I like a sweary word or ten. It genuinely is.
For me, speaking is a beautiful intersection between who you are, what your content is, and your audience, but you underpin it with the art of speaking.
This^ is very much part of the art of speaking.
But there are other things that Aristotle talked about which very few people seem to reference.
Two things that are arguably as important, if not more
Telos and kairos.
Telos basically translates as purpose - why does this thing that you are speaking about matter? Not just to your audience, but to you.
What is the real reason that you’re standing in front of an audience and talking about it?
Kairos translates as time - why are you saying this now? What is it about this moment and this thing that means now is the time to speak about it?
I suspect that many speakers have never thought about these two.
Or perhaps haven’t thought about these so intentionally.
To focus on things which are more obvious and tangible.
The AI tools, the movements, the best opening hook…
…but without Telos and kairos, even the best speech that has been built with love and care can feel like it’s missing a limb.
Your audience won’t be able to put their finger on it, but they’ll feel it.
That little unconscious niggle.
Many years ago, I took up photography to help with my mental health.
(When people asked me why I did it, I used to tell them that it kept me out of prison)
There was a four-year period where I took a photo every day and when you are deep in the photography world, you pick up on a few things.
You realise just how much people are obsessed by camera gear.
What lens you have.
What camera body you have.
What the weight of your tripod is.
And then some random bloke shows up with an old camera and produces an image that blows everything out of the water.
Because it’s not about the camera gear.
It’s about knowing what to photograph and how.
(I would go into rules of thirds and composition at this point, but that’s a conversation for another day)
Maybe this trap of going for shiny, new and novel is a universal thing.
Not just speaking or photography. It’s in everything.
And while it looks beautiful, it still doesn’t have the impact it should.
I wonder if it’s because we’re not asking the oldest questions.
The ones that are tried and tested.
The first principles.
The questions that sit at the heart of everything.
Why this? Why now?
When I was a podiatrist, people would come in with all kinds of foot and leg problems.
Some would wait years before they had an assessment. And I mean years. They would live with pathology for a huge amount of time.
When they took the shoes and socks off, got up on the couch and I started the assessment, I would ask them “why is this a problem now?”
The answer was usually hinged around some tipping point.
They’d been able to manage the problem until now, but something had come along which was so important that it meant managing the problem was no longer an option.
I no longer look at people’s feet for a living, but some of the questions that I asked then are still relevant now.
When I ask my clients these questions, sometimes they can answer them straight away. Other times, it takes time for them to work out.
The brain part of my process is all about this: how do we really connect back to who we are and why we’re doing things.
It not only gives us the fuel to keep going while we’re developing our speaking, but it adds something hugely important to the process.
Conviction.
You will have come across this conviction in speakers. These people are so clear on the purpose and the timing of their message.
If you look at your newsfeed and see exactly what’s going on in the world at the moment, there will be a lot more people who decide that they are going to speak up about something which is important and now is the right time.
Pathos, Logos and Ethos will help you to create amazing speeches.
Telos and Kairos will transform them into something even greater.
So why do you speak about what you do, and why do you do it now?
And if you wanna have a chat with me about how you can bring this into your speaking, slide into my DMs.