How to cause applause.

"So those are the mating habits of the wildebeest."

Silence.  Oh dear.

Other than a single clap which died as soon as it was born, nary a peep from the audience.

What went wrong?  They were definitely listening.  They seemed to enjoy it.  So why no applause?

Because they didn't know you'd finished.

Like tipping a waiter at the end of a meal, applauding a speaker at the end of a speech is appreciation of a job well done.

But while tipping is a solo act, applauding is done in concert with others, simultaneously.  And that can be an issue.  No-one wants to be the only person in the audience clapping, so people tend to wait for others to start.  If no-one starts, there's no applause.

So how do you get people to put their hands together at the end of your speech, creating that rewarding and comforting buzz of appreciation?

The key is for there to be no doubt about when they're expected to start clapping.

You could use the method favoured by broadcasters, which is for the studio manager to hold up a placard with the word Applause! printed on it in nice big letters while making vigorous upward motions with their free hand to prompt compliance, followed by a winding movement to keep it going and a cutting action to signify enough's enough.  This works fine with studio audiences, but may be a bit too ambitious for the average AGM.

Or you could use the method favoured by political leaders at party conferences, which is to have someone planted in the front row - a sort of cheerleader, but in a suit and without the pom-poms -  tasked to kick-start the applause.  And not only at the end of the speech, but at significant moments throughout, so everyone can see how genuine and heartfelt is the solidarity between audience and speaker.

But the simplest, quickest, most natural and most graceful way of getting people to applaud is to pause after your final words, look at the audience, and thank them for their attention. This signals you no longer require it, meaning you've finished, meaning now would be the perfect time to show their appreciation.

''So those are the mating habits of the wildebeest.''

(Pause.)

''Thank you very much.''

(Applause.)

In other words, if you want to get a thank-you from them, thank them first.