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If wordlessly clapping your hands to make as much noise as possible feels like a rather primitive thing to do, you’d be quite right. It’s thought that the origins of applause lie far, far back in the ...

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 ...

When performers didn't acknowledge the applause, I kept thinking the clappers might get the hint. But they never did in the Beethoven, and interstitial applause finally petered out only halfway ...