Generating Applause and Laughter

Abstract

Based on video-taped data from two televised 1998 Taipei mayoral debates, this study identifies and analyzes the points at which there is applause or laughter from the audience, with a particular focus on the message content and the rhetorical devices that are used by the debaters to elicit such responses. My analysis has found that the occurrences of applause are much more likely to be influenced by what rather than how a speaker has just said, and position-taking statements, self-directed praise, and opponent-directed criticisms are types of messages that most frequently generate affiliative responses from the audience. In addition, the speaker with a more relaxed conversational style, which is characterized by direct reported speech, heart-warming anecdotes, and self-deprecating jokes, tends to elicit the highest rate of applause and laughter from the audience.