This post is co-authored by Ron Riggio and nonverbal communication expert Alan Crawley. When and why do we clap? We get startled, and we clap. We try to get our dog’s (or our child’s) attention, and ...

How do you decide when to start clapping after a virtuoso performance? And when do you stop? New research finds the answer lies in what other people around you are doing. The louder the applause — ...

Enthusiasm is a fine thing. But where, when, and why did it begin to go wrong? I’m thinking especially of the now ubiquitous, mandatory Standing Ovation, accompanied by whoops, hollers, and whistles, ...

First lady Jill Biden didn't get the reaction she was expecting Thursday when she delivered what she thought would be an applause line, only for her quip to fall flat, leading her to prod the audience ...

Years ago I was assigned to review a painfully unfunny off-Broadway comedy. As the show lumbered to an ignominious conclusion and the actors took their bows, I leaped from my aisle seat and sprinted, ...

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., struggled to drum up support amid her remarks about the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) on Wednesday, insisting the audience should clap throughout certain ...