The Mistiming of Applause in Political Speeches

Abstract

According to Atkinson, speakers at political meetings invite applause through rhetorical devices, which indicate when and where applause is appropriate. Hence, speech and applause are characterized by a high degree of synchronization. Thus, incidences of unsynchronized applause are of considerable theoretical interest. An analysis of such mismatches is reported based on six speeches delivered by the three leaders of the principal British political parties to their respective party conferences in 1996 and 1997. Only a mean 61% of applause incidences were fully synchronized with speech. Four principal types of mismatch were identified: isolated applause, delayed applause, interruptive applause, and applause interrupted by the speaker. Mismatches occurred when rhetorical devices were ineffective. They also occurred in the absence of rhetorical devices when applause was not invited. It is concluded that Atkinson’s theory of rhetoric needs to be modified to take account of a distinction between invited and uninvited applause.