It is important when composing speeches to recognize if it is the right time and occasion to talk about a certain topic. Emma Watson's speech presented to the UN successfully uses kairos to deliver her ideas. Kairos is a rhetorical concept that represents the timing and opportunity in a given moment. This takes into account the total context of a situation and by her giving this speech to the UN, it is the perfect platform. The issue she brings attention to is not out of the line at this platform because the UN deals with issues about human rights. Watson took advantage of the moment to promote the campaign HeForShe so that there could be a uniting movement for gender equality since she pointed out that feminism is still an unpopular word. The timing is perfect because our current society right now still has many inequalities between women and men.Watson pointed out that women are still not paid the same amount for the same work after all these years. When she mentioned that it won't be until 2086 that African girls will get secondary education, that is when the audience is alerted to the urgency of the issue. "If not me, who? If not now, when?" are very good questions to end on and these bring in kairos because it is mentioning that the time to act is now. An effective use of kairos allows for the audience to be more receptive to the piece of rhetoric presented before them.
Transcript of Emma Watson's Speech
I found Watson's usage of "2086" to be interesting, because of how crazy of a figure that sounds, but can also inspire people to bring change.
ReplyDeleteHaving such a world stage (literally) was important for Watson to successfully spread her message. Her kairos did a good job in showing why societies need woman empowerment.
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